Even beat Shiffrin: Race without haste to the best time

The hunt for a fifth consecutive victory is proving difficult for Mikaela Shiffrin. In the World Cup slalom in Semmering, the American started the final run with a relatively large deficit – partly because a Swiss skier delivered a calm and collected performance.

28 December 2025

From: never

Keeping pace with Mikaela Shiffrin in the slalom – in the first four races of the season, this seemed like a mammoth task. However, in the fifth race, the competition is closer than ever this season: For the first time, Shiffrin, who has won all previous slaloms by at least 1,23 seconds, is not in the lead at the halfway point. Instead, world champion Camille Rast snatched the fastest time in the first run at Semmering, followed by Lara Colturi (+0,09 seconds), Katharina Liensberger (+0,34), and Shiffrin (+0,54).

Like the skiers before her, Rast was thrown off her stride by a bump in the upper part of the course, but immediately got back on her skis. She then weaved smoothly through the slalom gates on the Zauberberg and, with an unflappable performance, took the lead. The 26-year-old has already stood on the podium in Gurgl (3rd) and Courchevel (2nd), and now she is aiming for her third World Cup victory.

Shiffrin is only human, too.

Shiffrin, on the other hand, had an unusually rough race: The overall World Cup leader skillfully avoided losing time on the bump in the early stages, but subsequently lacked the necessary pace. Ultimately, the 30-year-old was saddled with a deficit of over half a second. "Difficult to say," the eight-time world champion remarked in an interview with the... ORF back to her run. “I was probably a bit rounder than necessary. Camille chose the direct line at the right moments.”

Mikaela Shiffrin at the World Cup in Semmering. © APA / GEORG HOCHMUTH

Der erste Durchgang war auch geprägt von vielen Ausfällen, von den 79 Starterinnen schieden 40 aus. Vor allem die schnelle Kursführung stellte viele Athletinnen vor große Probleme. Am Start in Niederösterreich standen auch sieben Azzurre. Lara della Mea (13./+3,06) und Martina Peterlini (21./+4,14) hoffen in der Entscheidung ab 17.45 Uhr auf Punkte. Mit Giada d'Antonio feierte zudem ein 16-jähriges Talent aus Neapel, das in der FIS-Kategorie für Furore gesorgt hatte, mit Startnummer 70 sein Debüt. Der Youngster beendete den Durchgang jedoch wie auch ihre Teamkolleginnen Beatrice Sola, Emilia Mondinelli, Giorgia Collomb und Giulia Valleriani nicht.