0.01 seconds. Paula Moltzan won the women’s season-opening giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier on Saturday, one hundredth of a second ahead of Lara Colturi. Emma Aicher was third at 0.52. It is Moltzan’s first World Cup win, at 32, on her 11th podium. Six of the previous ten were second places.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paula MoltzanUSA | USA | — |
| 2 | Lara ColturiALB | ALB | +0.01 |
| 3 | Emma AicherGER | GER | +0.52 |
| 7 | Mikaela ShiffrinUSA | USA | +0.83 |
| 9 | Franziska GritschAUT | AUT | +1.12 |
Conditions
Overnight snow meant course work and a 30-minute delay to the start. In the second run it snowed again, and later starters had flat light and grey skies. Moltzan said visibility was limited and the run came down to trust. In flat light on Sölden’s steep pitch you can’t see the snow, so you have to ski from feel: pressure early, keep the hips over the feet, and trust the edge to hold.
Where it was won and lost
Shiffrin led the first run by 0.14 from Sara Hector, with Camille Rast third. Moltzan was fifth. In the second run Shiffrin was 27th fastest and finished seventh, 0.83 behind. She said she had lost her timing. She has not won a giant slalom since December 2023.
Moltzan’s second run took her from fifth to first. Colturi missed by one hundredth: roughly 20 to 25 centimetres at GS finish speed.
Notes
- Moltzan is the first woman to win on Van Deer skis, the brand founded by Marcel Hirscher.
- Julia Scheib, last year’s winner, crashed in the steep section of the first run while on course for the fastest intermediate time. She reported a knee problem; early checks were positive.
- Petra Vlhová finished 23rd in her first race since an injury in January 2024.
- Gritsch was the only Austrian in the second run.
- Federica Brignone was absent, recovering from surgery in August.
- 14,600 spectators.
Shiffrin remains on 110 World Cup wins. The women go next to Levi for slalom on 14 November.