Mikaela Shiffrin leads first run of World Cup slalom. Title-chasing Ljutic and Rast off the pace

ARE, Sweden (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin took a clear lead Sunday in the first run of a World Cup slalom, with season-long title contenders Zrinka Ljutic and Camille Rast surprisingly far down the standings.

Shiffrin skied with the No. 1 bib through steady falling snow and posted a target 0.43 seconds faster than her nearest challenger, Lena Duerr. Sara Hector was third with 0.48 to make up in the afternoon run.

Shiffrin is chasing a record-extending 101st career World Cup race win and a record-setting 156th podium finish on the Swedish slope where she took gold in the 2019 world championships.

She also is an eight-time winner of the World Cup slalom title but has only an outside chance to win another crystal globe trophy. She missed four races after a serious crash in a giant slalom in November.

With Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhova skipping the entire season to recover from a knee injury, the door opened for a new World Cup title winner.

Ljutic started Sunday’s race with a 39-point lead in the standings over Camille Rast, but the two emerging stars placed 10th and 15th, respectively, trailing Shiffrin by more than a second.

Shiffrin, who came into the race trailing Ljutic by 163 points, could stay in the title hunt if she earns the maximum 100 race points Sunday ahead of the season-ending slalom March 27 at Sun Valley, Idaho.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing