Shiffrin leads 1st run of World Cup giant slalom; Vlhova out

COURCHEVEL, France (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin led the first run of a World Cup giant slalom on Monday, and overall standings leader Petra Vlhova skied out for the first time this season.

Shiffrin navigated a slick set of turns in the final four gates to be 0.07 seconds faster than Marta Bassino, who is seeking a third straight win in giant slalom.

Federica Brignone, the defending overall champion, placed third with 0.14 to make up on Olympic champion Shiffrin in the afternoon run at upscale Courchevel.

No other racer was within a half-second of the leading trio.

Vlhova, the world champion in giant slalom, was among three high-ranked racers in the first group of starters who went out near the end of their runs in the sun-splashed French Alps.

Shiffrin is chasing a first win this season after Vlhova and Bassino swept the five World Cup events so far.

The race was postponed from Sunday to prepare a safer snow surface. Bassino won in steady falling snow on Saturday, when Shiffrin was 1.70 back in fourth place.

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