(Reuters) – Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami maintained her perfect start to the women’s giant slalom season with a triumph on Saturday at Killington, Vermont, while home favourite Mikaela Shiffrin earned a record-extending 140th World Cup podium.
Gut-Behrami, who won the season-opener in Soelden last month, was third fastest after the first run and went on to prevail by 62 hundredths of a second over New Zealand’s Alice Robinson with a total time of one minute 53.05 seconds.
Shiffrin finished third, 81 hundredths of a second behind Gut-Behrami who became the first Swiss woman to win consecutive World Cup giant slalom races since Sonja Nef accomplished the feat in 2001.
“I’m just feeling confident now with my GS skiing so everything feels easier,” said Gut-Behrami. “I’m enjoying what I’m doing so that helps.”
Gut-Behrami, who is sitting out Sunday’s slalom, will look to extend her perfect start to the giant slalom season next weekend at Tremblant in Canada.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Clare Fallon)