Industry News
The atmosphere at Killington Resort, Vermont, was pumping on Saturday, November 30, as an audience of roughly 17,000 spectators had turned out for the women’s Giant Slalom. It had looked like a fairy tale: Mikaela Shiffrin was leading after Run 1 in Killington, 0.32 seconds ahead of Sweden’s Sara Hector. A nation’s eye was trained on the greatest Alpine skier of all time for a historic 100th World Cup victory in Run 2, but what was supposed to be a triumphant victory on home ground turned into drama, as the sure-footed skier clipped a gate and spun around at full speed, sending Shiffrin spinning on her back into the B-nets. The cheer of a thousand gave way to stunned gasps of horror. Sara Hector was crowned victor amidst a stunned, silent crowd that had to refocus to find their cheer amidst the upset, but cheer they did—but let’s recap.
Run 1
The race had started off promising for Shiffrin, but it had some somewhat mixed results for other favorites who struggled on the Superstar course. As second runner after Canada’s Valerie Grenier, Shiffrin catapulted herself into the lead by 1.83 seconds. The crowd went wild. Next up was New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, who had finished second in Killington last year and second at the Giant Slalom at the season opener in Sölden, Austria. The Kiwi skier was hunting for her first-ever World Cup victory and was 0.08 seconds ahead of Shiffrin out of the gates, then struggled a little on the mid-section of the course. Just as Robinson picked up momentum into the steep section, the back of Robinson’s skis caught some softer snow, sending the 22-year-old spinning out of the course. Robinson was unhurt and managed to ski down unassisted after a few moments on the side.
Next up was Federica Brignone in Bib 4, who won in Sölden and made it two-for-two victories at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, last year. The Italian skier struggled at the same gate as Robinson but managed to release the pressure to keep control. However, the experienced ski racer crossed the finish line a disappointing 1.26 seconds behind Shiffrin. Sara Hector in Bib 5 delivered a smooth first run without any difficulty. She briefly went into the lead ahead of Shiffrin, but some smaller errors cost her half a second, and Hector crossed the finish 0.32 seconds behind Shiffrin.
- Related: Italy’s Federica Brignone Makes it 2-For-2 at the FIS World Cup Giant Slalom in Tremblant, QC
Lara Gut-Behrami in bib 6, who has won at Killington twice in the past, was more cautious than we are used to from the Swiss skier. Gut-Behrami has been struggling with her knee and sat out the race in Sölden. She finished Run 1 1.57 seconds behind Shiffrin—far out of contention for a spot on the podium.
Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund in bib 7 rounded out the top seven ranked Giant Slalom skiers who benefit from a separate bib lottery for the first seven starting bibs. The Norwegian skied a straighter run than Brignone, which paid off, skiing into third 0.61 seconds behind Shiffrin and 0.29 seconds behind Hector.
Then, the subsequent DNF happened with Austria’s Stephanie Brunner in bib 8, who was struggling for much of the course. After yet another massive error on the mid-section, Brunner skied out, realizing she was not going to make a Run 2 after the slew of big errors. The next skier fared the same fate, with Mina Holtmann adding up error upon error before finally skiing so low in the section where Robinson had spun out that she skied out, ending her bid with a DNF. Similar fates were suffered by Brunner’s teammates Julia Scheib, who had claimed third place in Sölden, and Katharina Liensberger, who has three World Cup Slalom victories to her name.
Shining on the tricky course was Zrinka Ljutic. The 20-year-old Croat continued her strong skiing from the season, shining with precise technique that rewarded her with qualification for Run 2 in what was ultimately fifth place. Paula Moltzan followed and skied in 0.40 seconds behind Ljutic, 1.24 seconds behind Shiffrin, and 0.02 seconds ahead of Brignone. The home crowd was cheering for the Team USA athlete. Camille Rast in bib 18 put down a smooth run despite the difficult conditions at Killington, catapulting the Swiss skier ahead of Ljutic into what was in the end fourth place for Run 1, 0.75 seconds behind Shiffrin.
More cheers for Team USA were soon to follow, with both Nina O’Brien and Katie Hensien qualifying for Run 2, in what was ultimately 10th and 21st place. However, the biggest star of Run 1 was Elisabeth Bocock, who managed to shine on home territory, skiing in bib 47 into eighth place, her best-ever qualification for Run 2. This saw a total of four U.S. athletes qualify for Run 2, much to the pleasure of the huge crowd at Killington
Run 2
Run 1 had seen a few upsets, with many favorites recording DNFs or finishing far behind the leader, Mikaela Shiffrin. Run 2 is operated in reverse order, with the top 30 skiers qualifying. Like on Run 1, many skiers struggled with the difficult conditions on the Superstar course and there was some talk of rocks on the course, that could have potentially accounted for the many DNFs by seasoned skiers.
With four U.S. athletes qualifying for Run 2, all eyes were on 10th starter Katie Hensien. Wendy Holdener of Switzerland was sitting in the lead, and Hensien did her best to unseat the experienced Swiss skier, but some mistakes cost her valuable milliseconds, and Hensien skied in 0.03 seconds behind Holdener. The crowd erupted in cheers, and it was ultimately an impressive 13th place for the Rowmark Ski Academy, Utah, graduate—a career-best for Hensien. Holdener hung on to her lead—and Hensien in second—for seven more skiers and was finally unseated by Slovenia’s Neja Dvornik. Dvornik managed to extend her lead from Run 1 into Run 2, as the 23-year-old put down what was ultimately the third fastest Run 2 of the day.
Dvornik hung on to the lead for another four skiers but had to surrender to Team USA’s Nina O’Brien, who had qualified for Run 2 in 10th place. O’Brien went into the gates to the cheers of the adoring home crowd and skied an aggressive line down the Superstar course. She attacked with a lot of agility and picked up half a second on Dvornik into the steep section. She gave back some of that lead but hung on to 0.27 seconds into the bottom section, a minor mistake cost her some milliseconds but it was enough for O’Brien, who finished 0.07 seconds ahead of Dvornik, to take the lead. The crowd erupted in cheers as the U.S. athlete took the leader’s seat. O’Brien could not be unseated by Gut-Behrami, nor teammate Bocock, who lost a pole on the mid-section, nor Brignone. Brignone, the defending World Cup Giant Slalom winner from 2023-24, seemed to have hit a rock or rut going into the steep section. While the Italian kept control, it caused her to miss a gate, ending her bid for the podium with a DNF.
Paula Moltzan was next as the sixth to last starter and put down a fantastic run, she gave back some of her lead and also got caught on a gate, costing her valuable time. She was behind O’Brien but managed to pick up speed into the finish, skiing into the lead by 0.24 seconds, basking in the cheers of the home crowd in the finish area. Unfortunately, Moltzan’s lead was not long, as Zrinka Ljutic, the fifth-last starter, put down a spectacular run—the second-fastest run of the day—and claimed the lead by a massive 0.95 seconds.
Camille Rast did her best to unseat the Slovanian but could not quite match the aggression, skiing across the finish 0.51 seconds behind Ljutic. Third-last skier Stjernesund did not manage to best Rast nor Ljutic and skied 0.01 seconds behind Rast and 0.52 seconds behind Ljutic. Rast and Ljutic were watching nervously from the finisher area, as the second-last skier, Sara Hector, went into the gates. The Swede confidently looked into the camera before she pushed out of the gates—may be a sign of things to come, as the 32-year-old showed just what makes her one of the best Giant Slalom skiers in the world. Hector extended her lead, but a small mistake cost her some milliseconds. The crowd gasped, but Hector managed to regain control and skied with a solid 0.54-second lead across the finish line.
The cheers were massive as the last skier, Mikaela Shiffrin, went into the gates. Shiffrin has not yet won in Killington, and the crowd was here to witness history but was also here to witness drama. Shiffrin could not quite find her rhythm, looking not as smooth as on Run 1. Some small mistakes send the crowd into fearful screams, but the biggest shock came when Shiffrin got caught and tumbled in a forward roll at full speed into the nets. Hector looked stunned until someone congratulated her in the finish area, at which point she dared to cheer. It was a victory, but it did not feel like one for the Swede, or Ljutic and Rast, who both claimed their first career Giant Slalom podiums. The crowd was dead silent as the shock at Shiffrin’s crash gave way to genuine concern for the skier. As the fanfare played in the finish, the top three nervously looked up the hill at Shiffrin, who was still sitting near the safety nets. The crowd managed to cheer for the top three, but one could tell that everyone shared concern for Shiffrin, who was ultimately stretchered off the mountain in a sled.
The incredible crowd at Killington provided a fantastic atmosphere. The stunned silence and the fact that not a soul moved until Shiffrin had passed the crowd in her sled showed where everyone’s heart was. Shiffrin gave a thumbs up to the crowd, which cheered for their hero. “It breaks my heart,” Hector said in the finish area, “but of course I enjoyed today. Thank you for coming, and thank you for cheering. You are a great crowd,” the graceful victor complimented the local audience, not stopping her victor’s speech without also pointing out the first career Giant Slalom World Cup podium for Ljutic and Rast.
Mikaela Shiffrin provided updates on her social media account from the first-aid area. She shared an abrasion on her hip and said something stabbed her on her fingers, which may have been her pole or her own skis. She shared that she will not be competing tomorrow in the slalom event. Graceful as always, Shiffrin did not sign off before congratulating the victors and her teammates O’Brien and Hensien who finished in career-best sixth and 13th respectively, as well as Bocock on her first career World Cup points.
The races at Killington continue tomorrow with a Slalom event.
