Shiffrin 3rd in World Cup giant slalom 1st run; Vlhova leads

COURCHEVEL, France (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin was third-fastest in the opening run of her first World Cup giant slalom in 11 months on Saturday, and Petra Vlhova led while chasing a fourth straight win.

Vlhova used the best race conditions as the first starter on a snowy, foggy day in the French Alps to post a time 0.49 seconds faster than Marta Bassino.

Shiffrin, with start bib No. 2, had 0.65 to make up on Vlhova in the second run.

The American star was the fastest racer on the top section. She lost a half-second at the bottom after going wide of her ideal line at a turn.

Later starters struggled to challenge the leaders racing through steady falling snow on a course shrouded in light fog.

Federica Brignone, the defending overall World Cup champion, was 1.64 back in eighth place.

Shiffrin last raced a World Cup giant slalom in January, just before the death of her father and the spreading coronavirus pandemic.

A back injury forced her to skip the season-opening giant slalom in October, won by Italy’s Bassino at Soelden, Austria.

Vlhova has won all three races since — two slaloms at Levi, Finland, where Shiffrin returned to competition, and a parallel racing event at Lech, Austria.

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