Skier Hector dominates the GS, overtaking Shiffrin on the ladder; Canadian Grenier fourth
KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) – Swedish skier Sara Hector has been waiting for a new victory for seven years since her first giant slalom victory in the World Cup in December 2014.
KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) – Swedish skier Sara Hector has been waiting for a new victory for seven years since her first victory in the giant slalom in the World Cup in December 2014. Now she has won two more races in 10 days and was on the podium in each of the last four events.
She overtook Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin by a dot on i at the top of the discipline rankings on Saturday.
“I’m just in shock, the feeling is so great,” Hector said after her third win of her career.
Hector achieved the fastest time in both races on the demanding course, which is used mainly at the Men’s World Cup. She increased her narrow lead in the first run to a whopping 0.96 seconds ahead of second-placed, former French world champion Tessa Worley.
Giant slalom champion Marta Bassino finished third on Saturday, Valérie Grenier of St. Petersburg. Isidoreja, Ont., Is fourth, as the Canadian skier achieved the best result in the World Cup in her career.
Shiffrin advanced from 14th after the opening run to seventh place, 2.05 seconds behind Hector, who now leads the American with 46 points in the GS rankings of the season.
“It’s really amazing. I felt really good, but then you never know. I felt like I might be too round because I thought it was easy, ”said Hector, who became the first Swedish skier after Jessica Lindell-Vikarby eight seasons ago at the top of the GS rankings.
Lindell-Vikarby won the GS bronze at the 2015 World Championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado and was the best ranked GS racer at the end of the 2013-14 World Cup season. In the end, she was overtaken by Anna Veith, a two-time joint champion from Austria, who was performing under her maiden name Fenninger at the time.
“Jessica has been a great inspiration to me all these years,” Hector said. “If I think about it, she managed it later … not like Mikaela, like the super young one who broke through.”
Hector said she was helped by years on the Swedish team with Lindell-Vikarby, who retired in the summer of 2015 at the age of 31.
“It was good to have someone you could emulate when you’re having trouble and facing challenges,” Hector said. “If you work hard and with a good goal, you can suddenly turn around and get better.”
Luck certainly turned Hector in a good moment, as the Olympic giant slalom is only 30 days away. The race on February 7 in Beijing opens the alpine skiing schedule for women.
Shiffrin won the first two giant slaloms this season and was second behind Hector in the third, but had to finish in the next giant slalom in Austria last week after a positive test at COVID-19.
The American increased her advantage in the total of the World Cup to 135 points from Petra Vlhova, who took 15th place.
Some other favorites before the race fought on the demanding track Podkoren, which is an annual stop on the men’s lap.
World champion Lara Gut-Behrami, who raced for the first time in almost four weeks after coronavirus infection, was only 17th after the opening run, but advanced to fifth.
Shiffrin’s American teammate Paula Moltzan crashed in her second run, but “it’s okay”, the American ski team he said on Twitter.
Spectators were not allowed to take part in the race, which was moved from another Slovenian resort, Maribor, due to a lack of snow. A slalom on the same slope is scheduled for Sunday.
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Associated Press