It was a thriller at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Sunday, December 4, with some incredible racing, but the standout performances—hands down—came from winner Camille Rast and runner-up Mikaela Shiffrin, who finished well clear of the rest of the field. Rast and Shiffrin crossed the finish line more than a second-and-a-half ahead of Wendy Holdener in third. It marks Rast’s second victory at Kranjska Gora after the 26-year-old won the Giant Slalom on Saturday, December 3.
Slalom races are contested over two runs, with the fastest 30 skiers advancing to run two, and the combined time determining the final result.
Run 1
The race was opened by Germany’s Lena Dürr, who set the pace with a time of 52.51 seconds. Last season’s Slalom Crystal Globe winner Zrinka Ljutić ended her podium hopes with an early DNF, while Mikaela Shiffrin, wearing bib 3, showed what was possible on the course with a time of 50.34—more than two seconds faster than Dürr.
While Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener could not match the pace of the winningest skier of all time, her teammate Camille Rast showed she was in the same league, snatching the lead from Shiffrin by 0.10 seconds. Meanwhile, Shiffrin’s teammate Paula Moltzan skied into fourth behind Holdener. This left only one of the top-seven-ranked skiers still to start: Lara Colturi. However, the Italian-Albanian skier made an early mistake and joined Ljutić among the DNFs.
Rounding out the top seven after run one were—in order—Katharina Truppe of Austria, Emma Aicher of Germany, and Lara Della Mea of Italy.
Team USA’s AJ Hurt, in bib 31, qualified for run two in an impressive 15th place, while Elisabeth Bocock, in bib 36, advanced in 25th, suggesting she had finally broken her recent DNF streak. Nina O’Brien also qualified, sitting 28th place after the first run.
Run 2
Run two is conducted in reverse order and was opened by Italy’s Emilia Mondinelli, who had qualified back in 53rd, collecting her third career World Cup points.
Nina O’Brien, skiing third, impressed with a fierce second run that put her in the leader’s chair for the next seven racers until she was unseated by Italy’s Giulia Valleriani. From there, the lead changed rapidly until Lena Dürr, who had qualified back in 16th, showed why she is a top-seven-ranked skier, skiing into the lead by nearly three-quarters of a second. Dürr’s lead was short-lived, however, as Italy’s Martina Peterlini took over the top spot, only to be pipped moments later by Latvia’s Dzenifera Germane, who laid down the fourth-fastest second run of the day.
With only the fastest nine skiers remaining, the tension rose. The Swedish racers Sara Hector, Cornelia Øhlund, and Anna Swenn Larsson could not quite find the same speed as Germane, but Italy’s Lara Della Mea could, skiing into the lead 0.21 seconds ahead of the Latvian. Emma Aicher slotted in behind Germane, before Austria’s Katharina Truppe surged into the lead, 0.15 seconds ahead of Della Mea.
With four skiers left, the podium was still wide open. Paula Moltzan delivered a strong run to take the lead 0.23 seconds ahead of Truppe, only to be unseated by Holdener, who moved into first by 0.14 seconds. With just the final two skiers remaining, Holdener had secured herself a certain podium finish.
Shiffrin then put down a mind-boggling run, steadily extending her 0.67-second advantage from run 1 over Holdener with nearly every turn. By the finish, Shiffrin had added another second to her margin, crossing the line with a 1.69-second lead, seemingly in a league of her own.
- Related: Mikaela Shiffrin Wins Wild Slalom World Cup at Semmering, Austria, Marking her 106th Victory
But that league had room for two: Rast matched Shiffrin’s pace—and then surpassed it—posting an even faster second run and extending her lead over Shiffrin to 0.14 seconds. It was a remarkable display from both skiers, who embraced in the finish area, acknowledging one another after a formidable showcase of ski racing.
Shiffrin remains in the lead of the 2025-26 season slalom standings with now 580 points, more than 200 points ahead of Rast. Shiffrin also still leads the overall season standings with 823 points, 120 points ahead of Rast. Alice Robinson is in third with 484 points. The World Cup races continue for the speed women with a downhill and super-G at Zauchensee, Austria, on January 10-11, while the tech women have until January 13 before races resume at Flachau, Austria.
