Shiffrin wins GS on home snow in Squaw Valley
Aug 31, 2018·Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin added a new venue to her winning record on Friday as the American claimed victory in the Squaw Valley giant slalom at the Lake Tahoe resort. Leading after the first run, she was able to hold off Tessa Worley of France – who ultimately finished third – to keep the discipline title undetermined until the Finals in Aspen. Italian Federica Brignone produced a blistering second run to finish just 0.07 seconds behind Shiffrin on the podium.
"I’ve skied this hill before and I’m really lucky, a lot of the girls I’m competing against have not. But I just knew that no matter what hill I’m skiing on, I have to attack like crazy,” Shiffrin said. “All of these girls are going for wins, and I’m so happy with how that went today.”
Shiffrin's runs were not flawless, but she risked enough to stay just a short beat ahead of Brignone, who sat almost a second behind the American in fourth place after the first run.
"I’m really happy. The first run I had a big mistake, and I almost stopped and I was really pissed because a slope like this is great, and the snow was not easy for anybody. I was expecting more difficulty, so I didn’t give my 100 percent. So I was really pissed. So I said second run, ‘Go hard or go home.’ I was hoping to beat Mikaela for a second, but then I saw she was skiing really, really good. But in front of all of these people, it is amazing.”
Worley could have secured the GS title with a victory on the day but was ultimately pleased to stand on the podium in third after battling some nerves.
"It’s tough, for sure. The pressure is here and the girls are always fighting very hard and always skiing very fast,” Worley said. “I’m just trying to do run after run and race after race and for sure today is another solid race. I would have liked to do better – every time, for sure, winning is the goal, but third place is still great, podium is still great. One more race, and I’ll be fighting hard.”
The ladies contest a slalom at Squaw Valley on Saturday before departing for World Cup Finals in Aspen.
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