Mikaela Shiffrin will fight for a historic 100th World Cup win on Sunday after topping the times in the first run of the Sestriere slalom, with world champion Camille Rast crashing out.
The two-time Olympic champion has a slender lead after clocking 53.79 seconds and could yet claim a landmark victory following a difficult weekend in northern Italy.
The 29-year-old American is just 0.09sec ahead of Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic with Katharina Liensberger lurking 0.34sec back in third.
Shiffrin cut a despondent figure after flopping in the two giant slaloms held this weekend — both won by home hero Federica Brignone — failing even to make the top 30 on Saturday.
Her current tally of 99 is already a record for World Cup wins, 13 more than the most successful man, Ingemar Stenmark, and 17 more than the second woman, compatriot Lindsey Vonn.
However, she is working her way back from an abdominal puncture wound suffered at Killington in November, when she was well poised to claim her 100th win, that required surgery.
Shiffrin’s hopes of victory on Sunday were boosted by Rast hitting the deck right at the end of her run, which was the day’s first.
Rast, who will not be contesting the second run which starts at 1215 local time (1115 GMT), leaves her lead at the top of the discipline standings up for grabs.
Ljutic will take over top spot in the slalom table should she claim a podium finish.
