Shiffrin leads giant slalom after first run as ski racing season starts in Austria

SOLDEN, Austria (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin led after the first run of the women's giant slalom on Saturday as the Alpine ski racing season started in Sölden, Austria.

The American star was fastest down the course on the Rettenbach glacier with a time of 1 minute, 7.27 seconds. Sweden's Sara Hector was next, followed by Camille Rast of Switzerland.

Shiffrin's sixth World Cup overall title last season equaled the women's record set in the 1970s by Austrian great Annemarie Moser-Pröll.

But the Olympic slalom champion has called this campaign an "exploration season" in which she will reduce her slalom races and focus more on giant slalom and super-G.

The 31-year-old hasn't won a giant slalom race in nearly three years, going back to December 2023, while her last super-G victory was in 2022.

Shiffrin used to race and win in all disciplines, but she had reduced her schedule in recent years after she endured terrifying crashes in a downhill in Cortina in early 2024 and a GS in Killington 10 months later. Her 22 career victories in giant slalom remain the women's record, as are her 73 wins in slalom and 110 wins overall.