Shiffrin rival Vlhova out for season after crash

JASNA, Slovakia -- Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova, who is Mikaela Shiffrin's long-term rival in slalom, was ruled out for the rest of the World Cup season after suffering a knee injury Saturday during the first run of a women's World Cup giant slalom close to her hometown.

Vlhova tore ligaments in her right knee, her team said, when she crashed and slid into the safety netting.

"I'm positive I can handle the situation," Vlhova said in a statement released by her team. "I will fight for the earliest possible comeback."

Racing in front of 10,000 spectators in Jasna, a resort about 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from her hometown of Liptovsky Mikulas in the Tatra mountains, Vlhova lost balance in a left turn 14 seconds into her run.

The Olympic slalom champion adjusted her position and initially avoided a fall, but then leaned backward and went down sideways before sliding into the safety fencing.

Vlhova, who was the 2019 world giant slalom champion and beat Shiffrin to the 2021 overall title, received treatment alongside the course for several minutes before being taking off the hill on a sled. She waved to the spectators when she arrived in the finish area.

Olympic GS champion Sara Hector dominated the race, and the Swedish skier won both runs to finish 1.51 seconds ahead Shiffrin.

With their rivalry going on for years, Vlhova once more was Shiffrin's closest challenger in the slalom standings this season. Combined they have won all seven races so far, with the American star triumphing four times, most recently at a night race in Austria on Tuesday.

Shiffrin has gathered 25 points more than Vlhova and 168 more than third-placed Lena Duerr. The German skier has four slaloms left this season to close the gap on the American.

Vlhova is also runner-up to Shiffrin in the overall standings, trailing the American skier by 307 points. But having reduced her schedule to only slalom and GS this season, Vlhova didn't consider herself a contender for the overall title.

When she won the big crystal globe three years ago, Vlhova completed a grueling schedule with starts in all 31 World Cup events, while Shiffrin raced only in a limited number of events that season.

The race weekend in Slovakia also includes a slalom on Sunday.