Semmering, Austria – Colorado’s Mikaela Shiffrin battled a rugged Audi FIS Alpine World Cup in Semmering on Friday to finish a career best eighth in giant slalom and leap into 10th in the overall World Cup standings.
Austrian Anna Fenninger posted the wire-to-wire win with a massive 1.1-second margin over Slovenian overall leader Tina Maze and third-place finisher Tessa Worley, of France. Race conditions were rugged as wind, fog and wet snow pounded the slope throughout the final run.
“That felt better. I had some energy that run,” said Shiffrin, who had been sick in the days leading up to Friday’s race, which vaulted her to 10th in the World Cup overall standings. “I mean, my energy level has been okay, or maybe I’m just telling myself it’s okay—mind over matter. Last night I actually had the best night of sleep that I’ve had in a long time, so hopefully tonight I get a good night of sleep and come out tomorrow and have some fun.”
Fenninger was unstoppable on Friday, winning both the first and second runs in front of a home crowd.
“Winning today gives me the confidence that I can do it again and hopefully very soon,” said Fenninger, who admitted that she was nervous after leading the first run for the first time in her World Cup career.
Julia Mancuso, of Squaw Valley, Calif., finished 25th as wind and fog made the already bumpy course exponentially more challenging. Teammate Lindsey Vonn continued her hiatus from the World Cup to recuperate from health issues.
Canada’s Marie-Michèle Gagnon, of Lac-Etchemin, Quebec, battled to 14th for the best Canadian result after failing to finish her previous three races. Her teammate, Marie-Pier Préfontaine, of Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, narrowly missed out on qualifying for the second run.
“She was right there,” Canadian coach Hughes Ansermoz said of Préfontaine. “She was good on the first split but in the next split she was behind and she couldn’t find any more speed at the bottom.”
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
Semmering, Austria – Dec. 28, 2012
Women’s Giant Slalom
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 4 | FENNINGER Anna | 1989 | AUT | 1:06.42 | 1:06.67 | 2:13.09 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 3 | MAZE Tina | 1983 | SLO | 1:07.32 | 1:06.87 | 2:14.19 | 7.36 |
| 3 | 2 | WORLEY Tessa | 1989 | FRA | 1:06.98 | 1:07.29 | 2:14.27 | 7.89 |
| 4 | 10 | HOEFL-RIESCH Maria | 1984 | GER | 1:07.56 | 1:07.20 | 2:14.76 | 11.17 |
| 5 | 1 | REBENSBURG Viktoria | 1989 | GER | 1:07.67 | 1:07.33 | 2:15.00 | 12.77 |
| 6 | 9 | LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica | 1984 | SWE | 1:07.64 | 1:07.84 | 2:15.48 | 15.98 |
| 7 | 6 | ZETTEL Kathrin | 1986 | AUT | 1:08.28 | 1:07.21 | 2:15.49 | 16.05 |
| 8 | 27 | SHIFFRIN Mikaela | 1995 | USA | 1:08.56 | 1:07.21 | 2:15.77 | 17.92 |
| 9 | 5 | GOERGL Elisabeth | 1981 | AUT | 1:08.38 | 1:07.71 | 2:16.09 | 20.06 |
| 10 | 28 | PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria | 1986 | SWE | 1:08.81 | 1:07.36 | 2:16.17 | 20.60 |