Michelle Gisin gets first slalom World Cup win after success in Semmering

The Swiss skier produced a sensational second run to fend off Mikaela Shiffrin and top the podium. The Olympic alpine combined champion climbs into second in the slalom World Cup standings with 225 points, while Shiffrin ends a calendar year without a slalom win for the first time since 2012.

Michelle Gisin kept her cool to claim a first-ever World Cup gold in slalom at Semmering and put pressure on Petra Vlhova in the race for overall glory.

The Olympic alpine combined champion was second fastest on both runs to Mikaela Shiffrin and home favourite Katharina Liensberger, but her consistency consigned her rivals to second and third respectively.

Shiffrin couldn't convert a 0.02s first-run lead into gold, meaning she will end a calendar year without a slalom win for the first time since 2012.

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'What a finish!' - Gisin claims maiden World Cup win

The 25-year-old also faces an uphill battle to regain the slalom and overall Crystal Globes she lost in 2020, sitting third and fourth in those standings.

Conditions calmed down after gale-force winds destroyed parts of the course setting and caused the cancellation of Monday's giant slalom at its midway point.

Norwegian Kristin Lysdahl led the way with six racers to go, as the 24-year-old improved on her 11th-placed finish from the first run to set the pace in the closing stages.

Vlhova, who won gold in both early-season slalom races, soared atop the standings with three racers left before Liensberger earned a podium spot at her home event with an overall time of 1:42.16.

Gisin then went 0.11s quicker to claim a first World Cup victory of her career.

Shiffrin slips into second on final run at Semmering

The 27-year-old's win marked the first time in 28 slalom events that neither Shiffrin or Vlhova had stood at the top of the standings.

The victory in Austria sees Gisin climb into second in the slalom World Cup standings with 225 points, 25 behind current leader Vlhova, with Liensberger sitting third on 200.

It was the perfect way to end the year for the Swiss competitor, and she will be looking to build on her first career victory when the action resumes in Zagreb on Sunday - the Croatian city hit by a devastating earthquake in the early hours of Tuesday.

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