Mikaela Shiffrin has put down a marker on run one in Courchevel and the rest of the field lotion as though they are trying to digest the news of athletes having covid rather than racing full gas. Shiffrin is almost three quarters of a second ahead of the rest of the pack that is lead by Michelle Gisin with Sara Hector, another racer that lists Courchevel as a favourite resort, in third, just over a second behind. The top five is rounded out by Federica Brignone and Mina Fuerst Holtmann of Norway.
With the pre race news about Alice Robinson and Katharina Liensberger joining Lara Gut-Behrami on the quarantine list, Shiffrin produced a relaxed and composed run that showed how she is. Shiffrin won in Sölden and was off the pace in the wind affected race in Killington before it was cancelled but this was just a different class.
Shiffrin was able to go into the turn and carve through the turn and not have to drift into the turn and scrub speed off. This was her giving a master class to the rest of the field. While the Courchevel slope had been heavily injected, the link between each line that the rat track had been up did not look seamless and this may have affected many of the racers as they transitioned across the hill. Many racers looked to be struggling with holding the line.
Petra Vlhova, so on point in the Slalom this year, was made to look ordinary and she lies in 6th, 1.39 off the pace. Shiffrin has certainly not been affected by not taking part in a free ski down the race piste recently that other nations organised.
Marta Bassino, who came into the Courchevel races last year in such dominating form, crashed out for the second race in a row this season and will now have a battle to retain her GS Globe this season, especially if Shiffrin goes on to win the race.
No Alex Tilly racing this year as she is still recovering from the injury sustained just after Sölden.
Seven racers from outside the top thirty have made it into the second run with the best of them being Camille Last in 16th. The highest qualifier being Katharina Huber from bib 53.
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