Saturday’s Giant Slalom podium: Julia Scheib 1st, Paula Moltzan 2nd, ALice Robinson 3rd. | Image: FIS Alpine
Saturday, March 14, saw the last Giant Slalom of the regular World Cup season in Åre, Sweden. The final Giant Slalom race before the World Cup Finals in Lillehammer, Norway, certainly did not disappoint. It was nail-biting excitement and upsets until the final racer.
With the discipline crystal globe on the line and several athletes still mathematically in contention, the race turned into a dramatic showdown that saw the lead change multiple times before Austrian skier Julia Scheib ultimately claimed both the victory and the Giant Slalom season title.
In Giant Slalom the winner is determined from the combined time of two runs. Only the top 30 from run 1 qualify for run 2. The top 7 ranked skiers in the World Cup standings benefit from a special bib lottery for the first seven starting bibs, while those ranked 8–15 are in another separate bib lottery for the subsequent starting spots. The bib lottery continues for spots 16–30, while those ranked outside the top 30 start in order of their FIS ranking. Therefore, we tend to pay close attention to the top seven starters.
Run 1
The race was opened by Olympic silver medalist Thea Louise Stjernesund, who set the pace at 1:13.30. The Norwegian was promptly outclassed by Camille Rast in bib 2 who produced a fast run which saw the Swiss skier cross the finish line 1.44 seconds ahead of Stjernesund. Current leader in the Giant Slalom rankings Julia Scheib could not quite match that pace, finishing 0.11 seconds behind Rast. America’s Paula Moltzan in bib 4 slotted into third place half a second off Rast’s time, while Alice Robinson in bib 5 slotted into fourth place just 0.04 seconds behind Moltzan.
USA’s Mikaela Shiffrin was next in bib 6 and Shiffrin was back to her usual form, leading straight from the gate. On the top section, Shiffrin was 0.15 seconds ahead, skiing with the elegant agility and controlled aggression we know from her slalom skiing. She squeezed out half a second lead on Camille Rast by the lower section, but a huge inspection mistake on the fourth-last gate saw her nearly miss the third-last gate as her outside ski skidded far. She managed to still ski around the gate, avoiding a DNF, and crossed the finish line more than two seconds behind Rast instead. “I felt really good mentally both runs,” Shiffrin said later. “The mistake was a bit of a problem, but at least I could fight for a second run and move up.”
Sweden’s superstar Sara Hector in bib 7 skied a strong run and was 0.10 seconds ahead of Rast by the bottom section, but at the same blind gate that cost Shiffrin the lead the Swedish skier lost her stance and flew into the B-nets. Hector was unharmed, but the DNF ended her hope of staying in contention for the crystal globe.
From the next group of skiers (bibs 8-15), Zrinka Ljutic showed some of the brilliance we had known from last year. Skiing in bib 9, the Croatian slotted in between Robinson and Stjernesund into fifth place, while speed queen Sofia Goggia from Italy in bib 15 finished just 0.12 seconds behind Stjernesund. Ljutic has made some strategic changes to her team after a disappointing season, reducing the number of staff and bringing back her dad as service man and fitness trainer.
Rounding out the list of fastest skiers from run 1 was Germany’s Emma Aicher in bib 17, who skied into sixth place. She squeezed in between Ljutic and Stjernesund in her weakest discipline. The young German racer is the only woman on the World Cup circuit currently competing in all four disciplines, making her a contender in the overall standings.
Team USA had a total of seven skiers at the start in Åre. AJ Hurt in bib 21 qualified for run 2 in 14th place, while Nina O’Brien in bib 14 qualified five spots behind her. Mary Bocock finished outside the top 30 in 38th, while her sister Elisabeth and Katie Hensien recorded DNFs.
Paula Moltzan has been having a fantastic season. | Image: Paula Moltzan IG
Run 2
Run 2 is held in reverse order. Sweden’s Sophie Nyberg opened run 2 and put down the second-fastest run of the day—a fantastic result for the 21-year-old in front of a homecrowd, that saw her boost into what was ultimately 14th place. Skiing the fastest run 2 of the day was her teammate Hilma Løveblom, who finished in a personal best 11th place.
Team USA also had a strong second run, with AJ Hurt boosted into ninth place after a strong second run, moving up 5 positions. The American set an early benchmark before teammate Mikaela Shiffrin put down the run she had wanted in the first run before her mistake. Shiffrin was fast out of the gate, creating speed on every gate and extending her lead on Hurt through the upper sections. She was half a second ahead of her teammate but gave back a little on the lower section, still hanging on to enough time to take the lead by 0.37 seconds.
Shiffrin’s time in the leader’s seat held for the next five skiers as big names like Lara Colturi and Stjernesund failed to unseat her, finishing behind the American. Sofia Goggia’s bid ended with a DNF when the Italian lost her outside ski and missed a gate.
It was Germany’s Emma Aicher who unseated Shiffrin by half a second. The 22-year-old fell behind Shiffrin’s run 2 on the top section, giving back some of her lead from run 1 but managed to create speed on the mid-section. She gave back some of that lead on the bottom but held on to 0.48 seconds into the finish. Ljutic could not quite match that performance, falling behind Aicher and Shiffrin.
This left four skiers at the top. Fourth-last Alice Robinson put down an absolutely incredible run. She had a bit more than half a second lead on Aicher but was fast on the flat mid-section, attacking the gates with speed and squeezing out another half second on the German. She took that speed into the lower section and ultimately crossed the finish 0.99 seconds ahead of Aicher.
Alice Robinson flying down the course. | Image: Alice Robinson IG
With three skiers left, a podium was still wide open. Moltzan was next—she only had a 0.04 second lead on Robinson from run 1 and with a strong run squeezed out more time on the lower section, putting herself 0.39 seconds ahead of Robinson. “It was a challenging course but so fun,” Moltzan said after the race. “It feels really nice to be on the podium again.”
Second-last ski racer Julia Scheib had gone into the weekend with an 89-point lead on Rast in the standings. For her, today marked the fight for the small crystal globe and the Austrian showed that when the pressure is on, she can deliver. With a smooth run, she crossed the line 0.36 seconds ahead of Moltzan. Speaking after the race, Scheib said the victory meant everything after a challenging season. “It means a lot, because the last year has not been easy,” she said. “You feel pressure, especially in a race like this, but you try to block out the outside noise and just focus on the skiing.”
This left only Camille Rast in the starting gate. She needed to win to stay in the battle for the crystal globe. Rast shot out of the gate but on the top section lost pressure on her outside ski going into the steep section, went too low, and recorded a shocking DNF. A loud “Shit!” could be heard from the Swiss racer as she slid to a stop. She certainly attacked—but today full risk came at the full cost.
Rast’s DNF left Julia Scheib to claim both the victory and the Giant Slalom crystal globe, while Paula Moltzan claimed second and Alice Robinson third. “It was a fight from the first gate to the last,” Scheib said. “I couldn’t breathe in the finish area. Winning the crystal globe has been a dream of mine for many years.” For Scheib it has been an incredible season—from claiming her first career victory in Sölden, Austria, at the opening race to now her fifth victory and crystal globe. At 27 years of age, she is no rookie, but as Scheib stated earlier in the season, “Sometimes good things take a while and you have to be patient.”
Saturday’s Giant Slalom podium: Julia Scheib 1st, Paula Moltzan 2nd, ALice Robinson 3rd. | Image: FIS Alpine
Moltzan’s result marked her 10th career World Cup podium, and remarkably half of those have come this season.
Emma Aicher earned valuable points with fourth place toward the overall standings, while Shiffrin gained important points in fifth, narrowing the gap in the battle for the overall crystal globe. Giant Slalom has always been Aicher’s weakest discipline and today’s fourth place marked a personal best for the 22-year-old.
After tomorrow’s Slalom race, the World Cup will head to the season-ending Finals in Lillehammer, Norway, where the world’s top athletes will compete for the remaining race wins and overall titles. With just 120 points separating Shiffrin and Aicher and four races for the German to catch up in, it promises to be an exciting battle to the end. A victory or a DNF by either skier can shake up the standings, as a victory comes with 100 points. The finals will remain exciting on the women’s side of the World Cup circuit. Meanwhile, the men’s overall season globe firmly sits in Marco Odermatt’s hands with an untouchable lead of more than 600 points.