The fastest of the two rounds of the first slalom of the season, Petra Vlhova edged Mikaela Shiffrin by 31 / 100th and Germany's Lena Dürr by 84 / 100th.

It is between tight poles, their favorite discipline, that the duel between Petra Vlhova and Mikaela Shiffrin (both 26 years old) takes on its full meaning: they have won 33 of the last 36 World Cup races for more than four years.

Winner of the general classification last season for the first time in her career, Petra Vlhova was most comfortable in Levi where, small advantage, she has been training for several weeks.

This is his fourth victory at the Finnish resort, as far as Shiffrin, the 13th of his career in a World Cup slalom, the 21st overall.

Mikaela Shiffrin, triple winner of the big globe (from 2017 to 2019), fought in Finland with less certainty.

After her victory in the opening giant of Sölden (Austria) at the end of October, back problems deprived her of several days of training after returning home to Colorado.

However, his second place confirms his return to great form after two more difficult seasons and allows him to regain the lead in the general classification.

She is twelve points ahead of the revelation of the start of winter, the Slovenian Andreja Slokar, winner of the parallel in Lech (Austria) a week ago (Vlhova and Shiffrin were absent) and brilliant fourth on Saturday, her best result in slalom.

Shiffrin will have the opportunity on Sunday to take revenge on Vlhova in Levi's second slalom.

At the end of the second round, contested at night by good weather, the German Lena Dürr surprised by taking third place.

At 30, this is only his second World Cup podium almost nine years after the first, a victory at the City event (parallel slalom) in Moscow in January 2013.

The Austrian Katharina Liensberger had interfered last season in the duel Vlhova / Shiffrin to win the Worlds of Cortina d'Ampezzo and the small globe of the slalom.

But she only took a disappointing sixth place on Saturday at 1 sec 28.

The only French qualified for the second round, Nastasia Noens took 26th place at 3 sec 53.

© 2021 AFP