Shiffrin seals World Cup victory no.98 with her eighth win in Levi

Liensberger also loves Levi, clocking up her fourth podium in Finland. She put down two accurate, clean and powerful runs, to also belie the conditions.

“It’s amazing to start the season like this, it’s really great to race here in Levi as always,” she said. “It’s the first race of the season and it was not easy. The track was a little bit bumpy, but I felt good. I just wanted to go fast, it’s amazing to be here. I’m really looking forward to the next races. It was super fun.

Shiffrin was full of praise. “Katarina just killed it. It’s so cool to see her back on the podium, skiing like that.”

Duerr, meanwhile, was also smooth and relaxed for most of her runs, but was slowed slightly by some mid-section wobbles.

“The race was super fun, as always,” she said. “The last years at Levi were super nice for me, and today I again got on the podium. I’m a little bit relieved. I’m looking forward to the next weeks, they will be stressful but fun.”

Shiffrin remains on target to possibly win her 100^th title on home snow in Killington. The women’s slalom season continues next Saturday, 23 November, in Gurgl, Austria.