EagleVail’s Mikaela Shiffrin scored another career first Sunday and took a huge step toward becoming the youngest World Cup overall winner since 2003 by winning an alpine combined event in Crans Montana, Switzerland.
It was her first victory in combined — a two-run race of super-G and slalom — and helped her stay ahead of the only woman with a faint chance of overtaking her for the overall, Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia.
Shiffrin claimed 100 points for the win while Stuhec — the best combined skier on the World Cup this season — had to settle for third to garner 60 points. Thus a race that shaped up on paper as a chance for Stuhec to make up ground on Shiffrin actually allowed Shiffrin to increase her lead on the Slovenian.
Shiffrin was in seventh place after the super-G (Stuhec was second), then posted the fastest slalom to win the race with a combined margin of 0.70 of a second.
“I was really psyched with my super-G this morning,” Shiffrin said. “I took a really big step forward from yesterday (13th in a super-G), and I was happy with that. Of course the slalom was great; I made a little mistake at the top, but I was attacking, so I don’t think it cost me too much. I’m happy to go into the U.S. races with the overall lead.”
Shiffrin is bidding to become the fifth American to win the overall, the most prestigious title in the sport. Four races remain before the World Cup finals in Aspen on March 13-19. Two are Stuhec’s specialties (downhill and super-G next weekend in Jeongseon, South Korea) and the other two are Shiffrin’s best (slalom and giant slalom the following week in Squaw Valley, Calif.), so Shiffrin figures to arrive in Aspen for the final four races with a huge lead in the overall.
“As for my overall lead,” Shiffrin said, “I think Ilka is going to put up a really good fight, so I’m certainly not losing focus.”
(Shiffrin quotes furnished by U.S. Ski Team.)
World Cup overall standings after Sunday’s alpine combined
(with eight races remaining)
Mikaela Shiffrin, EagleVail, (won Sunday, 100 points), 1,323
Ilka Stuhec, Slovenia, (third, 60) 1,025
Lara Gut, Switzerland, 1,023 (injured, out for season)
Sofia Goggia, Italy, 821 (seventh Sunday, 36 points)
Tessa Worley, France, 736 (did not race)
