Shiffrin rival Vlhova leads World Cup slalom after 1st run

LIENZ, Austria (AP) — Defending overall champion Petra Vlhova has built a slim lead in the opening run of a women’s World Cup slalom. The Slovakian skier led Michelle Gisin of Switzerland by eight-hundredths of a second and slalom world champion Katharina Liensberger of Austria came .27 behind in third. The rest of the field finished more than a half-second off the lead. Gisin and Liensberger are the only skiers other than Vlhova or Mikaela Shiffrin who have won a World Cup slalom since January 2017. Shiffrin was sitting out the event following a positive COVID-19 test.