The Marlies Schild dream return continues
She won the first run comfortably by most people’s standards and then when the pressure was on in the second, Marlies Schild put in a professional performance to take her fourth win on the bounce in Slalom and 33rd of her season. While Schild took the plaudits for her win, the real star of the show was 16 year old Mikaela Shiffrin who placed third behind Tina Maze. While many other more experienced racers tried to sit back to gain speed, the American teenager skied in the centre of her skis and powered across the juddery course gaining time all the way down for the fastest second run time of all. With her countrywoman, Sarah Schleper retiring from racing and stealing the show on the first run, this was a great way for Women’s World Cup racing to round off the 2011 year.
So on to the race. Schild is in the same sort of form that Janica Kostelic was in at her prime in Slalom. A half second lead on the first run looked to be a good position to ski conservatively for the second but while she admitted that she had some nerves for the second run, she knew that she had to ski a mix of safe and relaxed skiing yet concentrate. Tina Maze may have been in the finish looking forward to her potentially second World Cup Slalom win but the way that Schild skied the course gave Maze no chance. While the gap stayed constant at the first split at around half a second, across the flats in the middle and down the final pitch, Schild was in awesome form. Many racers had struggled with the thin and hard snow that was developing holes in the turning spot, Schild stayed relaxed and you did not see them as her legs just absorbed the holes.
It was Veronica Zuzulova who was the first of the racers to show her hand and post a competitive time. With fifteen racers to go on the second run, the Slovakian racer led from Canadian Marie Michelle Gagnon and Frida Hansdotter of Sweden. With every racer attacking hard, small errors on the top flat section cost dearly and ate in to the advantage that subsequent racers had over the Slovakian. Poutiainen, Kirchgasser and Borssen, three big names, all made crucial errors at important parts of the course and dropped down the leader board. Then came the young American.
Shiffrin was only in her eighth World Cup race and in her own words is just “lapping it up. There is lots to learn and lots to take in,” she admitted afterwards. Shiffrin killed the lower section of the course, down the vital last steep pitch into the finish. Calm, tight and yet aggressive: this is the future of American slalom racing. Even Zuzulova was in awe as the youngster crossed the line and stole the lead.
As the race was now on, the tension at the top was very visible. All of the main contenders were focused and had one thing in mind: to go fast and as fast as possible.
Wikstroem, a young Swede, Hosp and Feierabend all made errors and dropped back into the pack. Marie Pietilae-Holmner still held the lead at the second split yet a few sliding turns down the steep saw her lose time and the American still held on to the lead.
With Zettel, Vonn and Hoefl-Riesch all making small but vital mistakes, the disbelief on Shiffrin’s face was greater with every racer. When the young German Christina Geiger came down and was three hundredths behind the American, the American team swarmed around Shiffrin as she edged towards her first World Cup podium. This was assured when Italian Manuela Moelgg came down and dropped into fourth.
While the crowd started to think about the impossible happening, Tina Maze broke the dreams of the American team and took the lead by half a second. Maze barely had time to get into the leaders enclosure before Schild was down and accepting the congratulations of all as she took her 33rd World Cup win.
