Mikaela Shiffrin:

Saalbach mission becomes a race against time

Mikaela Shiffrin is working on her comeback.

(Bild: GEPA pictures, Photohop)

For ski star Mikaela Shiffrin, it will be the expected race against time until the start of the World Championships on February 4 in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. The US-American has not yet returned to pole training after her disastrous fall at the end of November, as Shiffrin's spokeswoman told the APA. There is no comeback timetable because the situation is being reassessed on a daily basis.

"The World Championships is the goal", said Atomic race director Christian Höflehner on the sidelines of the Flachau World Cup. Shiffrin is doing various exercises on the piste again. "But she's not training for the race yet." The five-time overall World Cup winner crashed in her home race, the giant slalom at the end of November in Killington, on her way to her 100th World Cup victory. She suffered a stab wound in her stomach and muscle damage in the pelvic area, probably caused by her ski pole. As her recovery did not initially go as hoped, the 29-year-old had to undergo another operation in mid-December.

"It was and is difficult to calculate with this injury because you have little experience. Of course, we hope that it will work out for the World Championships," said Höflehner. Shiffrin's permanent rival Petra Vlhova, who suffered a serious knee injury in her home race in Jasna a year ago, will start race training at the end of January according to Slovakian media. Following complications with her cartilage, she has recently been working hard to rebuild muscle substance around her knee.

Petra Vlhova

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

US dream team at World Championship premiere?
She only watched the night slalom in Flachau, which Shiffrin has already won five times, on TV on Tuesday. With the Kronplatz giant slalom (January 21) and slalom in Courchevel (January 30), there are still two chances for Shiffrin to make a World Cup comeback in technical races before the big event. It is becoming increasingly unlikely that this will happen. There is still a month to go before her showpiece disciplines of giant slalom (February 13) and slalom (February 15) take place in Saalbach.

Before that, the premiere of the new team combination format - consisting of a downhill and slalom - will take place on February 11. This constellation makes it possible that Lindsey Vonn and Shiffrin could vie for precious metal as a joint team of two. Shiffrin has already won 14 World Championship medals, including seven golds.