Alpine skiing-Shiffrin wins Flachau slalom in U.S. one-two with Moltzan

FLACHAU, Austria, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Mikaela Shiffrin got back to winning ways in slalom in the Austrian resort of Flachau on Tuesday, leading a U.S. one-two with Paula Moltzan for a record-extending 107th career World Cup victory.

The most successful World Cup Alpine skier of all time led Moltzan by 0.19 after the first run and stretched her advantage to 0.41 over the two legs of the floodlit night race on an icy and rutted piste.

It was Shiffrin’s sixth win from seven slaloms this season, and sixth of her career in Flachau, and came after she was beaten by Switzerland’s Camille Rast in the previous race in Kranjska Gora this month.

The American now has 70 wins in slalom, and 96 podium finishes in the discipline.

Austria’s Katharina Truppe completed the podium in third place with Rast fourth as next month’s Milano Cortina Olympics draw ever closer.

There is only one women’s slalom, in the Czech resort of Spindleruv Mlyn on January 25, remaining before the Games and Shiffrin can clinch the World Cup crystal globe in the discipline there. 

“Something I learned from Kranjska Gora is how important it is to get more comfortable with high speed in the slalom, so we’re practising that,” said Shiffrin.

“I felt like I could show some of my top speed tonight on this second run… there were even moments then when I was like ‘Oh my gosh’, just kind of closing my eyes and hoping for it to be over a bit because it’s crazy to be going down the hill in that way.

“But I felt like the second run built up like a really good track actually. I was quite worried about that from the first. It wasn’t insanely bumpy. There were some grooves for sure but it was quite enjoyable to ski.”

Moltzan has yet to win a World Cup race, with her four career second places all coming on Austrian snow, but the 2025 world championships giant slalom bronze medallist came closer to her dominant teammate and shared an embrace at the finish.

It was her first slalom podium of the season although she was second in giant at the opening race in Soelden and third, also in giant, in Kranjska Gora.

“It feels a bit long-awaited but I’m very grateful to be closing the gap to Mikaela which has kind of been the goal the whole season,” said Moltzan.

Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener finished fifth, ahead of Swedish pair Anna Swenn Larsson and Sara Hector, with Italian-born Albanian Lara Colturi eighth and skiing the fastest second leg in a time of 53.77.

Israeli skier Noa Szollos was an eye-catching 30th after starting the first run from 71st place. She skied out in the second leg.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Toby Davis)