Austrian skier Julia Scheib showcased her dominance in the women’s World Cup giant slalom season opener in Solden, Austria, preventing American skier Paula Moltzan from securing her first career win. The U.S. ski team put up a strong performance with Mikaela Shiffrin finishing fourth and Nina O’Brien in sixth place, along with four more Americans in the top 20.
Scheib extended her lead from the first run by 1.28 seconds to clinch victory with a margin of 0.58 seconds, marking the Austrian women’s team’s first World Cup GS triumph since 2016. Lara Gut-Behrami claimed third place, trailing Scheib by 1.11 seconds, while Shiffrin followed behind by 1.42 seconds.
Expressing her relief, Scheib stated, “A load of thousands of kilos has dropped off my shoulders, I was so relieved to see the green light.” Despite feeling uncomfortable in the second run compared to the first, Scheib credited the pressure of being the last racer at the start.
Moltzan expressed her enthusiasm for achieving a career-best result, highlighting the difference between training and race performance. Scheib surprised the favorites in the first run with a strong race line, finishing ahead of Moltzan by 1.28 seconds. Shiffrin, starting 20th due to lower GS rankings after last season’s injury, displayed a strong comeback, finishing sixth in the opening run and advancing further in the final run.
Val Grenier of Canada commenced her season with an 11th-place finish. Shiffrin, the 2018 Olympic GS champion, acknowledged areas for improvement but expressed satisfaction with her performance. She mentioned her ongoing recovery from a crash in Killington, Vermont, and the need to regain her race mentality.
In the men’s category, a giant slalom event is set to take place on the same hill the following day.