Mikaela Shiffrin places 25th in World Cup giant slalom return

Mikaela Shiffrin placed 25th in her first World Cup giant slalom race since her Nov. 30 crash at the Killington World Cup. Paula Moltzan, who was in third after the first run, led the U.S. contingent in Sestriere, Italy on Friday, placing sixth, while overall crystal globe leader Federica Brignone claimed her sixth win of the season.

“Big step today was that … I pushed out of the gate. That’s a big step from not racing at all,” Shiffrin told the Associated Press. “But sometimes, when you’re used to being in the position to fight for top-10s, top-5s, podiums, it doesn’t feel like such a big step as it actually is.”

Shiffrin was on track to win her 100th-career World Cup race when she suffered a puncture wound to her oblique muscle crashing out of the second run in Killington. The injury required surgery in December and kept her out of action for 60 days. She returned for a slalom in Courchevel, France on Jan. 30 and also competed in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships earlier this month, but pulled out of the GS because she was dealing with “PTSD-esque” fears.

“I do not yet feel entirely myself… but I do feel enough of myself to be here… and for now, that is enough,” Shiffrin posted on Instagram prior to Friday’s race. The Edwards skier sat in 18th after the first run, 2.89 seconds off the top time sat by New Zealander Alice Robinson. She finished 4.65 seconds back from Brignone at the end.

Moltzan — who took bronze in the event in Saalbach — appeared poised for another podium until a wide left turn at the bottom of the course forced her to slam on the brakes.

“I’m really happy with today,” Moltzan said. “I feel like I maybe had a little bit of pressure coming off a world champs medal in GS. I feel happy to still perform under some pressure and sixth is not bad by any means and the skiing is there and without the mistakes it will be even better.”

Fellow Ski and Snowboard Club Vail alumna Liv Moritz was 51st in the first run, 6.41 seconds off the lead and 2.61 seconds off of earning a second start. Moritz — who will represent the U.S. at the FIS Junior World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy Feb. 27 through March 6 — is a sophomore at the University of Denver. She made her World Cup debut in Kronplatz on Jan. 21. Nina O’Brien was eighth, A.J. Hurt came through in 12th and Katie Hensien finished 21st to round out the U.S. contingent.

Alice Robinson and Thea Louise Stjernesund were second and third overall as Brignone fought off a post-world championship illness to take her 33rd-career win.

“I knew I was not 100 percent, but for the two runs, I was 100 percent,” said the Italian, who was housebound for the last six days and only arrived in Sestriere on Thursday. “The first run I didn’t ski so good on the first flat. The second run I tried to keep the rhythm more high before this flat part and just to arc every single turn.”

Brignone — who also claimed the GS world title earlier this month in Saalbach, Austria — is in third in the discipline season standings. The 34-year-old also leads the downhill standings and is second in the super-G. Shiffrin is ninth in the slalom, 17th in the overall and 27th in the GS standings.

“For the rest of the season, my goal is sort of fighting for some points, so I can try to stay in the top 30 in GS, which is a very different position from the last many years when I was fighting for podiums,” Shiffrin stated. “That’s not where I am right now, and that’s OK.”

The World Cup weekend continues with a giant slalom on Saturday and a slalom on Sunday.