Can anyone beat Shiffrin in the Åre 2019 Giant Slalom?

Can anyone beat Shiffrin in the Åre 2019 Giant Slalom?

Winners of the Ladies Gian Slalom: Victoria Rebensburg, Petra Vlohova, Mikaela Shifrin

Giant slalom, one of the most elegant disciplines in alpine skiing, requires good technique and ability to handle high speeds. It is time for super G gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States to return to racing and take on the ladies' giant slalom course in Åre, which is in good shape.

–  The ladies' course is in great shape. It has such a great base and we have been out early this morning together with SkiStar to water the surface which is now smooth and nice. We are happy and confident that we will have a great race, said the Ladies' Race Director Toni Franz. 

The ladies will start off the final part of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Åre on Thursday, 14 February, on the slope of Gästrappet. Even though Shiffrin is certainly one of the main contenders for the gold, there are others who will put up a good fight. Tessa Worley is the reigning giant slalom world champion from St Moritz 2017. Petra Vhlova of Slovakia has been in stellar shape this season and won the last giant slalom event before the Championships. 

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Ragnhild Mowinckel from Norway, Viktoria Rebensburg from Germany, and Wendy Holdener, the Swiss who has already won two medals in Åre, are also strong contenders for the medals. For the Swedes, Åre is homefield. Sara Hector and Frida Hansdotter have both shown that they are in good shape and in Maribor they both had their best results of the season, with Hector finishing in fifth place and Hansdotter in sixth. It is clear they have the capacity to do well on Thursday. 

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–     It will be amazing to do this on homefield. I feel ready for it all and you never know what Åre may offer. What’s for sure is that it will be an awesome show, said Sara Hector.