Industry News
Conditions in Levi, Finland, were perfect on Saturday, November 11, 2023. Fresh snow, a few clouds in the sky but great visibility and fast snow, as of course the course officials had treated the freshly fallen snow to make it fast for race conditions.
Tradition in Levi has it, that the victor is given a reindeer as a prize by Santa Claus, because Levi is close to the arctic circle and the Santa Claus village of Rovaniemi. Slovakia’s Petra Vlhová won the opening race of the World Cup on Saturday, awarding Olympic Gold medallist with her sixth reindeer. This ties Vlhová with Shiffrin for number of reindeers, or should we say victories in Levi. Last season Shiffrin had won both Slalom events at the Finnish race, taking her herd to a record six.
In World Cup Slalom races, skiers weave their way down a row of red and blue poles rather than gates. The race consists of two runs and the combined time counts. The first run is in a way a qualifier as only the top 30 skiers qualify for a second run. The second run is in reverse order to the finish times of the first run, with the fastest skier going last. This ensures a nailbiting finish and makes for great watching all the way until the very end.
Run 1:
Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener was the first skier out off the gates and set a solid first run with a fast pace that the following two skiers, Anna Swenn Larsson and Leona Popovic, could not beat. Then came Mikaela Shiffrin with bib no. 4, who showed everyone just what a force she is to be reckoned with, storming into the lead with a 1.66 second time advantage on Holdener. As always, the American skier made the run look like a training run, as she effortlessly weaved down the Slalom course. The time advantage was incredible but her lead was short lived, as Germany’s Lena Dürr showed that the time was possible to beat and she put herself in the lead 0.24 seconds ahead of Shiffrin. The German has a long standing history of being in the top 3 in the first run but then narrowly missing out on the podium, as evidenced last year in Levi, where she finished in fourth on both days, and even worse in the 2022 Olympics.
Ultimately it was rank 2 for the German, as Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova with bib no. 7 managed to beat Dürr by 0.18 seconds. Vlhova has won five times in Levi and was raring to match Shiffrin for Levi victories today. Mikaela currently has six victories in the Finnish resort under her belt.
U.S. skier Paula Moltzan put down an aggressive first run that saw her finish in 9th place, 1.96 seconds behind the leader Petra Vlhova. Four Austrians managed to ski into the top 10, most remarkably Katharina Huber who catapulted herself with bib no. 29 to an impressive fifth place on her first run, one spot behind her teammate Katharina Liensberger. Canada’s Ali Nullmeyer had finished in 20th place and her teammate Amelia Smart had also qualified for the second run in 24th place.
Australia’s Madi Hoffman had her World Cup debut in Slalom skiing today. The 23-year-old has thus far only competed in Giant Slalom on a World Cup leve. The University of Utah student had a relatively good starting bib with no. 36 due to finishing second last season in the NorAm Cup. Visibly elated, the Australian finished her first run in 23rd place, qualifying her for run 2.
After the first run finished, the course was re-set and another inspection occurred before the start of the second run at 2 p.m. local time. By this time the clouds had started moving in and the sun was getting lower, as the sun sets around 3 p.m. this time of year, therefore the flood lights had been turned ou for run 2.
Run 2
Canadian Ali Nullmeyer took the lead as eleventh skier out off the gate and held the lead even into the final top 10. She was unbeaten for an incredible 14 skiers, when she was finally pipped by Sarah Hector from Sweden. Ultimately the Canadian finished in an impressive 6th place. Austrian Katharina Huber could not best the lead, but her teammate Katharina Liensberger catapulted herself into the lead ahead of Hector. Liensberger had last won in March 2022 in Åre, Sweden, but the 26-year-old went into her second run with an incredible aggression, that she could hold throughout the difficult steep section, that it secured her a podium.
Third last skier Mikaela Shiffrin went into her second run with her typical effortless style but some minor mistakes on the steep section cost her some milliseconds that put her 0.15 seconds behind the Austrian. Second last skier Lena Dürr went into her 15th Slalom World Cup race with a pdoium in sight. The German had finished fourth both races last year, so she was not going to let this happen again. She skied a near flawless second run and took the lead with 0.15 seconds ahead of Liensberger, securing herself a podium. But it was Petra Vlhová who took first place with a run that was defined by an incredible combination of aggression, perfect technique and excellent body positioning. The Slovakian only had a minor mistake on the top roller, which had thrown many skier on their second run, but it hardly made a dent on her time, as she shot into the lead with a 1.41 second lead ahead of Dürr.
U.S. skier Paula Moltzan finished in 15th place after some mistakes on the roller and steeper section. Australian Madi Hoffman won her first FIS points in Slalom with a 25th place on her debut.
It was an incredible fun race to watch and the atmosphere in Levi was pumping, with many spectators turning out to cheer on their favorite racers. Part of the Team USA supporters were members of the American National Moguls team, who are training in Levi on the moguls course that has been set up since opening day on October 6, 2023. Kai Owens, Ali Macuga, Hannah Soar and Tess Johnson were spottes supporting Shiffrin and Moltzan from the stands.
Sunday will feature the second Slalom event at Levi and it will be exciting to see if either Vlhová or Shiffrin can win the 7th reindeer.
