Defending Overall World Cup champion Petra Vlhova Wins First of the two slaloms to be held in Levi.
Vlhova commanded both runs with confidence. She set the fastest time in the first run, and on a course with superb conditions, the Slovakian also posted the fastest time in the second run and extended her advantage over Shiffrin to 0.31 seconds.
It's the fourth time Vhlova wins on the Levi Black slope in Finland after her double victory last season. Vlhová has claimed now 13 World Cup wins in the slalom, ranking her in ninth place on the women's list.
“I'm starting to love Finland. I don’t know why but here in this kind of snow I love to ski here, it’s something special for me. I knew I must push hard in the second run and I did it and I’m really happy because it wasn’t easy", Vlhova said.
Mikaela Shiffrin finished in second place (+0.31). "Vlhova was simply unbeatable that day (...) Of course, starting with a podium is good. The distance between us is not great, but it is clear that Petra was the better and more consistent today. It was fun today and it was a good start to the slalom season", said Shiffrin.
30-year-old German Lena Duerr finished in third place (+0.84). She moved up from sixth to third and celebrated her first podium in the World Cup in Slalom (she won the City Event in Moscow in 2013). It is Germany's first World Cup podium spot in a women's slalom since 29 December 2013, when Maria Höfl-Riesch finished third in Lienz.
The 24-year-old Slovakian rising star Andreja Slokar finished in fourth place (+1.12) after winning the Parallel last weekend.
Anna Swenn Larsson finished in 5th place (+1.13). The Swedish skier returned from an injury to compete in her first World Cup race in 21 months.
World Champion and winner of last season Slalom title and Katharina Liensberger finished in 6th place, +1.28 behind Vlhova.
Vlhova victory keeps the list of winners here in Levi in two names, Vlhova and Shiffrin, since 2014, when Tina Maze claimed victory.
The season has officially started, and the rivalry between the two Slalom queens goes hand in hand.
