Moltzan upstages Shiffrin to win season-opening World Cup giant slalom

Paula Moltzan edged out seasoned American skier Mikaela Shiffrin to claim the season-opening women's World Cup giant slalom title in Soelden on Saturday. Bronze medallist Moltzan, who was fifth after the first leg, executed her second descent flawlessly, finishing with a combined time of 2 minutes, 14.82 seconds. This marked the 32-year-old American's first-ever victory on the elite alpine skiing circuit, her 10th podium finish in 13 World Cup seasons.

Italian-born Albanian Lara Colturi finished second, just 0.01 seconds behind Moltzan, with Germany's Emma Aicher rounding out the podium by 0.52 seconds. Shiffrin, aiming for a record-stretching 111th World Cup win, settled for seventh place, 0.83 seconds off Moltzan's pace. Shiffrin led Sweden's Sara Hector by 0.14 seconds after the first leg, with Switzerland's Camille Rast in third.

However, Austria's Julia Scheib, the previous season's GS champion and defending Soelden champion, crashed out during the first run. In the second run, Poland's Maryna Gasienca-Daniel took the lead with a blistering pace, followed by Asja Zenere of Italy, who managed to overtake Gasienca-Daniel on the second run. Germany's Emma Aicher, who was ninth quickest in the first descent, capitalized on the weakened competition to claim first place.

Foggy conditions during the race prevented Norway's Mina Fuerst Holtmann and Sweden's Estelle Alphand from improving their aggregate times. While Colturi maintained a 0.51-second advantage at the top, Moltzan seized the lead by a narrow margin in the second run. The top four after the first leg were Canada's Britt Richardson, Switzerland's Camille Rast, Sweden's Sara Hector, and Mikaela Shiffrin, with Shiffrin eventually finishing seventh due to a mistake on one turn. The men's World Cup is set to kick off on Sunday, also featuring a giant slalom race in Soelden.