Mikaela Shiffrin competes in a giant slalom in Sestriere for the first time since November, but is a long way behind in her comeback. The 29-year-old gets emotional after the race.
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- In her giant slalom comeback in Sestriere, Mikaela Shiffrin is nowhere near able to keep up with the best racers and is over four and a half seconds behind in both runs.
- In the finish area, Shiffrin gets emotional in the interview and says: "It's a bit overwhelming." Her own expectations are currently far removed from reality.
- Shiffrin will have her next opportunity on Saturday. The second giant slalom is then on the program in Sestriere, before a slalom follows on Sunday.
For the first time since her racing accident at the end of November, Mikaela Shiffrin will be back at the start of a giant slalom on Friday. Back then, she suffered a deep stab wound in her abdomen and had to undergo surgery. She recently admitted that she was still suffering mentally from the consequences and did not dare to take full risks.
The insecurity is not to be overlooked on her comeback in Sestriere. The US-American lost almost three seconds on the very first run and the former world champion ended up in 25th place, 4.65 seconds behind.
Points instead of a podium fight
"It's a bit overwhelming," says an emotional Shiffrin in the finish area in the SRF interview. It had been fun. "But I'm used to getting better results, being closer to the podium," says the 99-time World Cup winner.
Shiffrin herself says that her own expectations are currently far removed from reality. "The adjustments I have to make to close the gap feel huge at the moment," sums up the 29-year-old, who knows: "At the moment I'm fighting for points, not podiums. Not even close. Nevertheless, today was an important step."
The next step should follow on Saturday. Then the second giant slalom is on the program in Sestriere, before a slalom takes place on Sunday.
