KILLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — New Zealand skier Alice Robinson led a women’s World Cup giant slalom after the tight opening run Saturday, with Mikaela Shiffrin looming in fifth position.
In a run affected by strong winds on the upper part of the Superstar course, Robinson clocked the fastest time in the last section to finish 0.06 second ahead of Olympic champion Sara Hector of Sweden.
Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami, who won the first GS of the season in Austria last month, was 0.08 behind in third.
Robinson, who was the 2019 junior world champion, has won three World Cups, all in GS, but none since March 2021.
Italian skier Marta Bassino in fourth and Shiffrin were close to each other, with 0.21 and 0.23 respectively to make up in the second run later Saturday.
Shiffrin, who led the overall World Cup standings after three races, avoided major mistakes but lost time in the windy first two sections.
“I’m actually so happy with my run. It took me a couple of turns to get into my rhythm, but then I think it’s actually the best GS I have skied on this hill,” the American said.
Shiffrin has yet to win the giant slalom of the annual race weekend on the East Coast, which has been part of the World Cup circuit since 2016. However, she has won five of the six slaloms.
Shiffrin was coming off her record-extending career win No. 89 at a slalom in Finland two weeks ago while dealing with a bruised knee after a training crash.
Shiffrin said she was finally able to train without pain again in the week building up to Saturday’s race.
“It’s really well. It’s been over three weeks since the crash, so maybe it sometimes bothers me a little bit, maybe throughout the season, but it’s not holding me back. I can push, so that’s good,” the 2018 Olympic GS champion added.
Shiffrin won the GS season title last season while setting the record for most career wins in the discipline with 21. She finished sixth in the season opener four weeks ago.
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