SESTRIERE, Italy — Mikaela Shiffrin’s cautious comeback continued in the giant slalom event on Saturday, as she faced an unexpected setback by failing to qualify for the second run for the first time since 2012. Placing outside the top 30, Shiffrin finished 2.50 seconds behind leader Alice Robinson, who set a speedy pace on the course.
In a disappointing performance, Shiffrin’s time saw her fall behind over 30 other competitors who advanced to the second round. This event marked her first giant slalom since suffering significant injuries to her oblique muscles and a deep puncture wound during a crash in Killington, Vermont, last November, when she was close to achieving her 100th career victory.
On the slopes, Shiffrin appeared to race with caution, displaying an expression of acceptance as she reviewed her time. The results revealed the 14 competitors who raced prior to her were all over a second faster, with many finishing within 1.05 seconds of the lead.
It has been over a decade since Shiffrin last completed a slalom or giant slalom first run outside of the top 30 times—specifically, October 2012 at the season-opening GS event in Soelden, Austria, where at 17 years old, a then-novice Shiffrin donning bib No. 41 recorded the 31st fastest time.
Due to her limited recent racing, Shiffrin’s bib number 15 this weekend was the highest she has worn in a World Cup giant slalom in more than eight years. Notably, she claimed victory wearing the same number during a race at Semmering, Austria, in December 2016.
Alice Robinson, who earned a silver medal at the recent world championships, showcased her skill through the lower section of the course, outpacing defending overall World Cup champion Lara Gut-Behrami by 0.06 seconds. Canadian Britt Richardson, the 2024 junior world champion in giant slalom, surprised spectators with a solid third-place finish, just 0.07 seconds behind Robinson, ultimately pushing world champion Federica Brignone to fourth.
Brignone had won Friday’s race, with Robinson in second place, which allowed her to extend her lead over Gut-Behrami in the overall standings. With this weekend’s results, New Zealand’s Robinson now leads the season-long giant slalom standings.
