Shiffrin leads WCup big slalom after Intestine-Behrami exits

LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland — Mikaela Shiffrin led a World Cup big slalom that ends the ladies’s ski season Sunday, after world champion Lara Intestine-Behrami made a curious exit.

Intestine-Behrami at first appeared to easily cease racing only a few seconds into her run, at some point after she was confirmed as runner-up within the general World Cup title race to Petra Vlhova.

The Swiss star left broadcasters mystified when she skied out after the third turning gate at Lenzerheide.

Intestine-Behrami, the general World Cup champion in 2016, started to face up straight approaching the gate, relaxed her arms and slowly skied again throughout the hill broad of the subsequent gate.

It was an odd finish to her spectacular profession revival in 2021. Since January, Intestine-Behrami gained six World Cup races — together with 4 straight in super-G — plus two gold medals and a bronze on the worlds final month in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

“Lara didn’t have sufficient power to present all of it and didn’t need to take the danger to get injured and that’s the explanation why she stopped,” Swiss group spokesman Jérôme Krieg stated in a press release.

There was fast hypothesis that Intestine-Behrami was making a protest towards organizers after feedback earlier within the week crucial of the race week scheduling guidelines.

The downhill and super-G occasions — the place Intestine-Behrami is stronger than Vlhova — had been canceled by troublesome climate situations on Wednesday and Thursday. They may not be moved to Friday when the little-regarded group parallel racing occasion went forward with out issues.

Krieg stated fatigue was “the one motive (for stopping). She’s completely happy about her season, that it’s over now and that she is wholesome.”

Intestine-Behrami didn’t cease to talk with media within the end space, and was on account of return to the course for trophy displays within the afternoon.

Shiffrin was nicely positioned to hunt a seventieth profession World Cup race win, taking a 0.10-second lead over Marta Bassino and Meta Hrovat.

Bassino already secured the season-long big slalom title.

After an emotionally exhausting Saturday, Vlhova positioned tenth with 1.83 to make up on Shiffrin within the second run within the afternoon.

Vlhova is the primary Slovakian man or girl to be general champion within the 54-year historical past of the World Cup. She was congratulated by phone by the state president of Slovakia, Zuzana Čaputová.

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