Mikaela Shiffrin left no doubt about her intentions after finishing joint-fourth in Sunday’s World Cup giant slalom, declaring she is “within range” and ready to convert near-misses into podiums with sharper execution and higher intensity.
The American superstar posted a two-run combined time of 2:14.17, tying with Switzerland’s Camille Rast for fourth place, just 0.38 seconds behind race winner Federica Brignone of Italy. New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, who led after the first run, took second, while Sweden’s Sara Hector rounded out the podium in third.
Shiffrin, who started the weekend in sixth place on Saturday’s opening GS, climbed two positions on Sunday despite still working through lingering mental hurdles from a violent crash in last season’s giant slalom campaign.
“I definitely made a couple of small mistakes today, but the feeling is there and the speed is there,” Shiffrin told reporters after the race. “I’m right in the mix. I just need to clean up those little errors and come in with even higher intensity. I know the podium is coming soon.”
The result continues a pattern of strong-but-not-quite performances in giant slalom this season for the most decorated alpine skier in history. Shiffrin has now recorded three top-six finishes in GS without stepping onto the podium, a discipline in which she has historically dominated but has approached more cautiously since her frightening fall in Cortina d’Ampezzo nearly a year ago.
Despite the absence of a trophy in Tremblant, Shiffrin’s pace in both runs – she was third-fastest in the decisive second run – offered clear evidence that her technical GS form is returning.
“I’m within range,” she emphasized. “That’s the positive takeaway. Now it’s about putting two clean runs together without those tiny mistakes.”
Shiffrin and the rest of the women’s World Cup circuit now head to St. Moritz, Switzerland, for speed events next weekend before returning to technical races later in December. If Sunday’s performance is any indication, the 97-time World Cup winner appears poised to reclaim her spot on the giant slalom podium sooner rather than later.
