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Austria's Scheib wins Soelden giant slalom, Shiffrin fourth / Photo: Johann GRODER - APA/AFP
Austria's Scheib wins Soelden giant slalom, Shiffrin fourth
Austria's Julia Scheib bagged a first-ever World Cup victory by winning the season-opening women's giant slalom in Soelden on Saturday, with US star Mikaela Shiffrin finishing fourth.
Scheib had led after the first run on the Rettenbach glacier and held her nerve for a combined winning time of 2min 16.51sec, finishing 0.58sec ahead of American Paula Moltzan in second.
Swiss veteran Lara Gut-Behrami rounded out the podium, 1.11sec off the pace.
Shiffrin, who sustained an abdominal puncture wound last November that saw her miss most of the season, missed out on a podium place by 0.31sec.
American Nina O'Brien, 15th fastest in the first leg, laid down the fastest run in the second to hold the lead as eight skiers failed to dislodge her.
Norway's Thea Louise Stjernesund eventually managed to do that as racing moved into the business end of action.
Shiffrin, with a record 101 World Cup victories to her name, saw her narrow advantage quickly dissipate before regaining her poise to snatch the lead, with just five racers to come.
Gut-Behrami, 34, in the final season of a storied career, was next down, bettering Shiffrin by 0.16sec.
Albania's Italy-born Lara Colturi and Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic failed to bother the leader.
That left Moltzan and Scheib.
The American did not disappoint, again laying down the second fastest run to race into the lead.
Scheib, however, maintained her cool and made the most of her first-leg advantage to take her maiden World Cup victory.
B.Nagel--BlnAP
