For the last six years, the victor at the Night Slalom in Flachau, Austria, was one of two ski racers: Mikaela Shiffrin or Petra Vlhova. With both skiers currently not competing due to injuries, the title was up for grabs. While local favorite Katharina Liensberger went into the second run as the favorite, it was ultimately arch-nemesis Switzerland that walked away victorious.
Not only did Switzerland’s Camille Rast claim the victory, but second place went again to her teammate Wendy Holdener, while third place went to Sweden’s Sara Hector. Austria’s Liensberger was demoted to fourth place, 0.51 seconds behind Rast. It marks Rast’s second career victory after winning the Slalom in Killington, Vermont, and the second time, as well, that Rast and Holdener shared the podium.
FIS Slalom races are conducted in two runs with the combined time counting. Run 1 is a qualifying run, with the top 30 skiers qualifying for Run 2. Austrian ski racer Katharina Liensberger had qualified in first place, a stunning 0.75 seconds ahead of Wendy Holdener. Sara Hector was almost a second behind the Austrian, while Germany’s Lena Dürr was in close fourth place, 0.07 seconds behind Hector.
Camille Rast had qualified in eighth place, 1.50 seconds behind Liensberger, while USA’s Paula Moltzan sat in ninth, just 0.15 seconds behind Rast. Her teammates AJ Hurt and Nina O’Brien had qualified in 20th and 21st place, respectively. Meanwhile, Alpine Canada had two skiers qualify for Run 2, Laurence St-Germain in 10th place and Amelie Smart in 29th. Many skiers struggled with the course, especially as the night went on, with a total of 18 skiers recording a DNF or DSQ on Run 1.
Run 2 is conducted in reverse order, meaning the fastest from Run 1 goes last. This ensures not only a nail-biting race but also fair conditions, as the fastest from Run 1 are typically those with earlier starting numbers.
Cornelia Oehlund, as the seventh starter, put down a fantastic second run that saw the 19-year-old Swede catapult herself into the lead. The next 12 skiers failed to unseat her from the leader’s seat, but then her neighbor to the west, Norway’s Mina Fuerst Holtman, snatched the lead by 0.26 seconds. It was ultimately an impressive 12th place for the young Swede and ninth for the Norwegian.
With only the fastest 10 skiers left to go, it was sure to be an exciting second run. Canada’s St-Germain failed to unseat Holtman, but USA’s Paula Moltzan put down a fantastic run, claiming the lead by 0.37 seconds. Unfortunately, Moltzan’s time in the leader’s seat was very short, as eighth-last skier Rast shot into the lead, 0.73 seconds ahead of the American. Ultimately, it was an impressive sixth place for Moltzan. Nina O’Brien finished in 20th, while AJ Hurt unfortunately spun out on Run 2 but was uninjured.
Rast’s incredible combined time was a time no one else managed to beat and in the end victory went for the second time in her career to 25-year-old Rast, who until this season had never even been on the podium. Wendy Holdener finished second, and Sara Hector third, while Liensberger was bumped off the podium into fourth place.
With this victory, Rast claims the lead in the FIS Overall women’s rankings, leading with 533 points ahead of Sara Hector with 507 points. She also leads the Slalom standings with 405 points ahead of her teammate Holdener with 345 points.
The women’s World Cup races continue on the weekend with a Downhill and Super-G race at Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy on January 18 and 19, while the tech women have a break until next Tuesday, January 21, when they will race a Giant Slalom race at the famous Kronplatz in Italy.
Skier Yogi Globe Trotter
Share your story:
