Vonn leads 1st GS run; Shiffrin out after warmup crash
Lindsey Vonn led the opening run of a World Cup giant slalom in Are, Sweden, on Saturday while American teammate Mikaela Shiffrin missed the race following a warmup crash.
Vonn was flawless down a course that was shorted due to strong winds, clocking 1 minute, 3.29 seconds for a 0.33-second lead over home favorite Frida Hansdotter of Sweden.
Vonn is aiming for her fourth straight win after sweeping three speed races in Lake Louise, Alberta, last weekend. She celebrated her first-run lead by raising her left pole and pumping her fist.
While she specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G, Vonn has also won three giant slaloms in her career - one of them coming in Are in 2012.
''I was watching some video from that win last night and I have a lot of confidence coming into this race from Lake Louise,'' Vonn said. ''So I just gave it everything I have and I tried to arc and I'm happy that I was fast.''
Eva-Maria Brem of Austria stood third, 0.35 back.
Shiffrin was taken to a local hospital for exams on her right knee, and her status for Sunday's slalom was uncertain.
''She basically flipped over into the net,'' Shiffrin's manager Kilian Albrecht told The Associated Press. ''She's in the hospital waiting for the MRI which will probably take a while.''
The 20-year-old Shiffrin won gold in the slalom at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and also won the slalom at the last two world championships.
The 31-year-old Vonn can add to her four-point lead over Shiffrin in the overall standings.
The first run was delayed by 15 minutes due to the wind and shortened by 11 gates. Visibility was also a factor, with the artificial lights turned on to aid skiers.
Sara Hector of Sweden, the first starter, pulled up midway through her run with an apparent knee injury and was taken down the course on a sled.
In all, 14 skiers failed to finish the first leg.
The conditions reminded Vonn of Minnesota, where she grew up before moving to Vail, Colorado, as an adolescent.
''When I was a kid I always trained under the lights after school,'' Vonn said. ''So I really like racing under the lights. It's really fun.''
Vonn trailed Hansdotter at the final interval but made up time over the last few gates.
The 2010 Olympic downhill champion and four-time overall World Cup winner, Vonn sat out the opening GS race this season while recovering from a broken left ankle then lost a ski and slid out in her season debut in Aspen, Colorado, last month.
She hasn't trained much giant slalom.
''It's basically just going off of confidence,'' Vonn said.
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Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf
