A poor introduction to Slovenian skiing, the first win for an American

American skier Paula Moltzan opened the Alpine World Cup season with her first career victory on Saturday, winning the women’s giant slalom in Sölden, Austria, by a margin of one hundredth of a second. The 32-year-old from Minnesota beat Lara Colturi, who competes for Albania despite being born in Italy, to claim the top spot on the legendary Rettenbach glacier slope. Germany’s Emma Aicher took third place, finishing 0.52 seconds behind the winner. The result marked a historic moment for equipment manufacturers, as Moltzan became the first female athlete to win a World Cup race using Van Deer skis, the brand founded by retired Austrian star Marcel Hirscher. Moltzan recorded a total time of 2 minutes and 14.82 seconds. Her closest competitor, Colturi, crossed the line just behind her, while Aicher trailed by 0.52 seconds. Sweden’s Sara Hector placed fourth with a deficit of 0.63 seconds, followed by Italy’s Asja Zenere in fifth at 0.72 seconds. The race featured dramatic shifts in leadership due to changing weather conditions. American Mikaela Shiffrin, the reigning overall World Cup champion, held the lead after the first run but faded in the second. She finished seventh, 0.83 seconds behind Moltzan, citing poor visibility and difficult conditions during her final descent. The competition began with a delay of approximately 30 minutes due to fresh snowfall. Despite the postponement, the course remained largely intact for the second run, according to participants. Shiffrin set the fastest time in the opening run, leading Sweden’s Sara Hector by 0.14 seconds. Switzerland’s Camille Rast completed the initial top three, trailing the leader by 0.37 seconds. However, the landscape shifted significantly in the afternoon session. Falling snow, flat light, and grey skies created challenging conditions for later starters. Moltzan, who started from fifth position after the first run, capitalized on these circumstances to secure the best time in the second segment and ultimately the overall victory. For Moltzan, the win ended a long wait for a top-tier triumph. Prior to this race, she had stood on the World Cup podium ten times, including a second-place finish in Sölden last year. This marks her 111st podium appearance in the series. In interviews following the race, Moltzan described the feeling as surreal and compared it to a fairy tale. She credited her team’s extensive summer work in developing the new Van Deer skis, noting that the switch away from her previous manufacturer was risky but ultimately rewarding. Her husband, Ryan Mooney, assists with ski preparation and occasionally takes on coaching duties, contributing to her recent success. Shiffrin, who is aiming for a record-extending 111th World Cup win, acknowledged that the second run was exceptionally difficult. She stated that visibility deteriorated rapidly on the course, making it hard to execute her intended lines. Although she expressed disappointment at missing the win, she congratulated her teammate on the achievement. Shiffrin indicated that she would skip some slalom events this season to focus more heavily on giant slalom and super-G disciplines. Slovenia’s sole representative in the field, Neja Dvornik, returned to World Cup competition after an 11-month absence caused by an ankle injury. The 25-year-old started strongly in the first run, placing 19th with a time 1.87 seconds behind Shiffrin. However, her performance declined sharply in the final run. Dvornik lost a ski pole during the descent, which she said made it nearly impossible to maintain the necessary speed on the steep terrain. She finished in 30th place, 3.83 seconds behind the winner. Speaking to TV Slovenia, Dvornik admitted she believed it could have been her best day in Sölden but struggled to find rhythm in the second attempt. She noted that while the second run was disappointing, she aimed to extract positive lessons from both attempts before focusing primarily on slalom racing in upcoming events. Other notable results included a fall by Austria’s Julia Scheib, the previous year’s Sölden winner and small crystal globe holder in giant slalom. Scheib crashed in the first run and did not continue. Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova also made her return to competition after a knee injury sustained in January 2024, finishing 23rd. Italian champion Federica Brignone was absent from the start list as she continues recovering from surgery performed in August. The World Cup schedule continues on Sunday in Sölden with the men’s giant slalom. Two Slovenian athletes, Žan Kranjec and Miha Oserban, are scheduled to compete in that event. For the women, attention turns toward the slalom discipline, although Dvornik confirmed she would still participate in the three consecutive giant slalom races planned for late November and early December. The narrow nature of Moltzan’s victory over Colturi highlighted the intense competitiveness of the current season opener, with several high-profile skiers struggling against the variable mountain conditions.