Jasná (Slovakia) (AFP)

In her station, a few kilometers from her home, the Slovakian Petra Vlhova reacted superbly after some difficult races by winning the World Cup giant of Jasna and coming up close to the leader of General Lara Gut-Behrami.

In an uncertain race, Vlhova edged New Zealander Alice Robinson by 16/100 and American Mikaela Shiffrin by 37/100.

Fourth at 96/100, the Italian Marta Bassino offered herself the little giant's globe, the first of her career at 25, even before the final race in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) in two weeks.

Petra Vlhova had attacked the weekend at the foot of the wall.

After dominating the entire season, the Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami, extraordinary in the speed events, had passed the standings last weekend and created the gap with 187 points ahead.

Already second in the slalom on Saturday, Vlhova absolutely had to pull off a giant leap, a discipline where she was in difficulty lately, unlike Lara Gut-Behrami, crowned world champion in February in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Operation successful by winning its first giant since January 2020, pushed at home by noisy supporters, the first of the season which normally takes place behind closed doors.

When Mikaela Shiffrin, fastest in the first heat, finally crossed the line behind her, Vlhova collapsed under the weight of emotion.

- Shiffrin denounces the favoritime -

"You know it's not easy for me to talk, it's so amazing. Anyone who watches this sport knows that I was not in good shape as a giant, I worked a lot, I went looking energy deep within me to succeed here near my home ", she declared at the microphone of the FIS, moved as rarely.

Her 180 points this weekend, combined with Lara Gut-Behrami's disappointing 9th place on Sunday, put Vlhova back 36 points behind the Swiss in the standings with six races to go.

It is she who seems to have taken control while there are three slaloms left, which Lara Gut-Behrami, a giant, a super-G and a downhill does not compete (Vlhova takes all the starts).

Vlhova has everything to take the lead in the standings next weekend thanks to the two slaloms from Are (Sweden).

Behind her, the young New Zealander Alice Robinson (19) signed her big return to the podium, her first since February 2020, in the heart of a difficult season for her (no better than 9th before Sunday).

The day after her victory in the slalom, Mikaela Shiffrin confirmed with her 3rd place that she could once again be at the forefront of all technical races at least, in the wake of her excellent Worlds in Cortina d'Ampezzo (four medals in four departures).

However, she regretted that the organizers made her wait more than 3 minutes in the starting gate to repair a door, suspecting them of favoritism towards Vlhova.

“It took five minutes to fix a door where it should take 30 seconds,” she blasted. I just think she (Vlhova) is a good enough skier to win on her own. unprofessional act (...) I would have finished third anyway, and she would have won, but this situation and this unprofessional way of handling it changed my concentration.

The French Tessa Worley missed her race, finishing only 10th at 1 sec 75. Coralie Frasse-Sombet was 17th at 2 sec 95.

© 2021 AFP