Ranked seventh in the second slalom of the Spindleruv Mlyn Alpine Skiing World Cup, Laurence St-Germain (+1.62 s) signed her best result of the season on Sunday in the Czech Republic. At the same time, the 28-year-old athlete obtained his second best ever ranking in this discipline at the World Cup after his sixth place in Levi, Finland, in 2020.
“It was a really good day, especially my second run! recognized St-Germain. My goal this season is to have two consistent runs to get a good result and until now I haven’t been able to do that in my races. It feels really good!”
The constant of the Quebecer is also present in the results, she who recorded the tenth best time in the two races of the day.
“What made the difference in the second run was that I really started on the tempo from the start of the race and I didn’t wait to be in the middle of the wall to attack more” , she added.
At the end of the initial descent, American Mikaela Shiffrin was in an excellent position to equal Ingemar Stenmark’s record for most World Cup victories (86), when she held a cushion of 0.67 seconds over German Lena Duerr.
Shiffrin, winner the day before, was however much slower on her second lap where she recorded the 14th time to finally finish second overall in the two runs and lag 0.06s behind Duerr. Zrinka Ljutic (+0.49s) of Croatia was third.
The Quebecer clarified that she did not think the American faltered in the second run.
“Today is Lena [Duerr] who skied really well. I don’t think you can say Shiffrin lost the race. It really is Lena who deserves the victory. She was already skiing well, but this weekend, she raised her level.
Among the other Canadians Amelia Smart (+2.57 s) finished 20th and Ali Nullmeyer 38th.
This seventh place is timely for the skier from Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges who will begin her last stretch before the World Championships to be held in Courchevel and Méribel, France, from February 6. The women’s slalom will be on the schedule for Saturday, February 18.
“In the last two days, I know what I miss to be closer to the best technically. It’s obvious to see where they bought time on me, so I know what I’ll have to work on until the World Championships. And that really motivates me to perform well there.”
The Quebecer and her teammates will do a training block in Tarvisio (Italy) and then take a break from the snow for a few days in Tuscany where physical and mental preparation sessions will be on the menu before heading for the French Alps.
