Vlhova wins Slalom in Aare, returns to FIS WC top

After dominating the women's alpine skiing season in the early stages and losing the leading position in the second half, Slovak skier Petra Vlhova produced the fastest time in the Swedish resort of Aare on Friday and won the FIS World Cup Slalom race, the first of two scheduled events, reported Xinhua.

Her twentieth World Cup victory puts her close to defending the small globe and also back on top of the overall standings. Austrian Katharina Liensberger finished second two-tenths of a second behind, Vlhova's traditional rival Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA came in third, trailing by 0.64 seconds.

Coming off a Giant Slalom victory on Sunday on home turf, the 25-year-old Petra Vlhova was the first to swoop down the track in Aare where she celebrated her first World Cup victory in 2015.

The rather soft surface did not keep her from applying her aggressive style and she came in 0.41 seconds faster than Shiffrin; the reigning World Champion Liensberger was losing by 0.57 seconds after crossing the finish line.

"The snow was too soft was for me today, I prefer a harder foundation. There is another slalom race planned for tomorrow, I have to keep my focus. I am also getting pretty tired as we have been in a constant stir since October," said Vlhova after crossing the finish line of her fourth slalom win of the season after two victories in Levi, Finland, and one in Zagreb, Croatia.

"The season is nearing its finish, every point counts. I have somewhat changed my mental set-up before the races in Jasna and so far, it is paying off. I am trying not to think about the overall standings too much to not put myself under pressure," added Vlhova who has a solid chance of winning her first big globe.

Her rival for the overall victory, the Swiss speed queen Lara Gut-Behrami did not participate in Aare as she is focusing on the next week's finale in her home country in the resort of Lenzerheide.

SLALOM RESULTS IN AARE

Petra Vlhova (Slovakia) 1:45.16 min

Katharina Liensberger (Austria) + 0.20 s

Mikaela Shiffrin (United Stated) + 0.64 s

OVERALL WORLD CUP STANDINGS

Petra Vlhova (Slovakia) - 1320 points

Lara Gut-Behrami (Switzerland) - 1256 points

Michelle Gisin (Switzerland) - 1005 points