Mikaela Shiffrin continued her unbeaten streak in slalom with a demonstrative victory on Levi (Finland).
Shiffrin opened the season with a victory in Levi that saw her break the record number of wins. It is Shiffrin's 41st World Cup slalom win, moving one ahead of Ingemar Stenmark's tally of 40, putting her as the greatest slalom skier of all-time.
The American Ski Star also became the first woman to win four times in Levi, adding to her successes in 2013, 2016 and 2018 and consequently, she earned her fourth reindeer. "I wasn't thinking about that (the record) at all today. Nobody asked too so that was pretty nice. I was just trying to push Petra, she's skiing really well I know she had a really tough start to the start of the season with the sickness, so coming out here and being so strong was super impressive. She showed great strength not only physically but mentally too. I feel a little bit lucky with this win, but I also feel good with my skiing so I'm happy", Shiffrin said.
Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova wasted no time in confirming her status as Mikaela Shiffrin's main rival as she took a slim lead over Mikaela Shiffrin in the opening run by 0.13, but she crashed out early in the second run giving the podium space to Wendy Holdener.
The Swiss Skier was sixth in the first run, and she has had a solid second run that permitted her to achieve her third podium in Levi.
The Austrian women also made a strong statement in the slalom season opener, putting five women in the top 15, and three women in the top ten despite the absence of one of their top technical skiers, Bernadette Schild. The charge was led by 23-year-old Katharina Truppe, who earned her first career World Cup podium in third. Her teammates, Katharina Liensberger and Katharina Huber, finished seventh and eighth respectively. Liensberger had been cleared to compete in Levi about a week ago, after finally locking down a contract with Rossignol for the season.
