Mikaela Shiffrin lands 78th World Cup win, GB's Alex Tilley falls victim to brutal Semmering course in Austria

ByBen Southby

Updated 27/12/2022 at 14:37 GMT

USA’s Mikaela Shiffrin landed her 78th Giant Slalom World Cup victory in Semmering, Austria on Tuesday, with plenty of riders falling victim to a tricky course, including Britain’s Alex Tilley. Shiffrin ousted rival Petra Vlhova with an impressive time of 1:05.49 on the first run and followed it up with a 1:01.69 time to claim the win.

Mikaela Shiffrin claimed her 78th Giant Slalom World Cup win on Tuesday, edging out rival Petra Vlhova by 0.13 seconds overall on the brutal Semmering course in Austria.

The USA rider found another gear in her second run to confirm her latest World Cup title, managing a time of 1:05.49 on her first run, 0.72 seconds ahead of Vlhova, and although the Slovakian bettered Shiffrin’s second effort of 1:01.69 on the second run, the American did enough to secure top spot.

The latest win for Shiffrin put her top of the overall standings after stage 13 with 675 points, with her closest competitors being Italy’s Sofia Goggia with 470 points and Vlhova with 420.

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“It’s always nerve-racking,” Shiffrin said after her second run. “You hope that you’re in the right shape, and you can bring the right intensity from the start, and I felt really good today.

“So it’s just pushing, the second one was a little bit wild sometimes, but I felt like skis were running and I really enjoy racing here.”

Marta Bassino, who remains top of the Giant Slalom standings after stage three, climbed two places in the overall standings to break into the top ten after a fine second run as the race reached its conclusion.

The Italian flew down the course with a time of 1:01.13, which momentarily gave her the lead with a cushion of 34 seconds, and her podium status was confirmed when France’s Tessa Worley could only manage a run worth 1:01.44, putting the French into second with only Vlhova and Shiffrin to ride.

Vlhova set the best time on the second run with an effort of 1:01.10, which was enough to sneak the 27-year-old into first place by 0.03 seconds to set up a showdown with Shiffrin.

Inevitably, the two-time Olympic gold medallist dug deep, and although she couldn’t better Vlhova’s second run, she bettered the Slovakian's overall effort by 0.13 seconds to claim her latest World Cup title.

Vlhova took second place on the podium, while Bassino took third.

Highlights from Semmering as Shiffrin wins her 78th World Cup in Austria

Worley finished fourth, 1.25 seconds clear of Federica Brignone in fifth, with Ragnhild Mowinckel and Lara Gut-Behrami in sixth and seventh respectively.

Sara Hector, Alice Robinson, and Paula Moltzan wrapped up the top ten.

Britain’s Alex Tilley fell victim to the particularly tricky course, with plenty of crashes during the first run, and 17 riders failing to cross the finish line.

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