Paula Moltzan Wins Her First Alpine Ski World Cup Race, Beating Shiffrin

Moltzan's First Victory

American Paula Moltzan won the women's giant slalom that opened the season at the World Cup stage in Sölden, Austria, edging out her celebrated compatriot Mikaela Shiffrin, AFP reports. The world bronze medalist, who posted the fifth-fastest time after the first run on the Rettenbach course, held onto her lead in the second run with a combined time of 2 minutes 14.82 seconds. For the 32-year-old athlete, who has stood on the podium 10 times over 13 World Cup seasons, this was the first stage victory of her career.

Shiffrin Misses Out on the Win

Shiffrin, who was chasing the record 111th World Cup victory, finished seventh, 0.83 seconds behind. After the first run she led, ahead of Sweden's Sara Hector by 0.14 seconds and Switzerland's Camille Rast by 0.37. However, in the second run, in thickening fog, the American went off line at one of the turns and failed to hold the advantage with which she started (0.59 seconds). Hector, the 2022 Olympic champion in giant slalom, also dropped off the podium due to a single mistake, while Rast was unable to fight for the medals.

The Battle in the Second Run

Second place went to the Italian-born Albanian Lara Colturi, who lost to Moltzan by just one hundredth of a second; rounding out the top three was Germany's Emma Aicher (+0.52). The reigning crystal globe holder in giant slalom, Austria's Julia Scheib, who was defending her title in Sölden, was the biggest loss of the first run, crashing in the upper section of the course. In the second run, Poland's Maryna Gasienica-Daniel, who started after placing 29th in the first run, posted the fastest time of the day — 1:06.16 — but the lead was then taken over by Italy's Asja Zenere, and then by Aicher. In conditions of variable cloudiness and biting cold, Norway's Mina Fürst Holtmann and Sweden's Estelle Alphand could not improve their combined results. The men's World Cup also opens on Sunday with a giant slalom in Sölden.

What the Result Means

The victory changes the picture for the US women's team: for the first time in 13 seasons, Moltzan beat Shiffrin at a stage, even though Shiffrin started as the leader and was aiming for a historic 111th win. For fans and competitors this season, it is an early signal that the battle for points in giant slalom will be wide open — the men's season starts in Sölden on Sunday. It remains unknown how the result will affect the athletes' further performances: this was only the first stage of the calendar.