Vlhová back in the World Cup after 1,008 days, finishing 23rd in Sölden

Petra Vlhová raced in the Alpine Ski World Cup again on Saturday, 1,008 days after the crash in Jasná that seriously injured her knee in January 2024. In the season-opening giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier in Sölden she finished 23rd, 2.08 seconds behind the winner, and scored her first eight points of the season.¹²

A strong start, a careful finish

Starting with bib 18, the 31-year-old was 11th after the morning run, 1.31 seconds behind leader Mikaela Shiffrin. In the afternoon it began to snow more heavily and racers reported poor visibility. Vlhová skied more cautiously and lost time after an untidy entry in the second sector.²³

“Today I prayed for the sun. It was out in the first run, but in the second it clouded over,” she told STVR. “It's important that we have the first race behind us, and I'm very happy about that.”⁴

The race was the first World Cup win of Paula Moltzan's career. The American beat Albania's Lara Colturi by one hundredth of a second, with Germany's Emma Aicher third.³

Giant slalom is not Vlhová's main event. Slalom, in which she won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022, is still to come.³