Austria's Katharina Liensberger won the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup slalom in Åre for the second consecutive year ©Getty Images

Austria's Katharina Liensberger won her first International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine Ski World Cup slalom for a year during an historic race in Åre after recovering from starting the second run in fifth place. 

The overall leader, the United States' Mikaela Shiffrin, and her closest rival, Slovakia's Petra Vlhová, both missed the podium on the Olympia course.

The American will take a 56-point lead over the defending champion Vlhová into the finals, due to start in Méribel in France on Wednesday (March 16), which features one race in each of the four disciplines.

Shiffrin, chasing her fourth overall title, came into the weekend with an advantage of 117 points, but already lost 40 of it yesterday when she finished third in a giant slalom won by Vlhová.

Today, Vlhová was second after the opening run but dropped to fourth, while Shiffrin lost five positions in the final run and finished ninth as Liensberger recorded her third in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, including this event last year. 

Ninth was Shiffrin's worst result in a World Cup slalom since October 2014, apart from three times when she failed to finish.

"I felt okay with some of my skiing but never really found a good timing," Shiffrin said.

This was the first FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race since January 2016 where the podium did not feature the United States' Mikaela Shiffrin or Slovakia's Petra Vlhová ©Getty Images
This was the first FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race since January 2016 where the podium did not feature the United States' Mikaela Shiffrin or Slovakia's Petra Vlhová ©Getty Images

It was the first FIS Alpine World Cup slalom in more than six years in which neither Shiffrin nor Vlhová was on the podium, a run of 53 races stretching back to January 12 in 2016 in Flachau.

Then Vlhová had finished sixth and Shiffrin missed the race due to injury.

This was Liensberger's first victory since ending last season with back-to-back slalom victories, which earned her the discipline title, just weeks after she also upset Vlhová and Shiffrin to take the gold medal at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo,

"I'm feeling so happy because I really did it," Liensberger said after finishing on the podium at an FIS Alpine Ski World Cup for the 14th time.

"It wasn't easy today, 

"I really had to give it all and push from the first gate until the finish."

Norway's Mina Fuerst Holtmann was 0.16 seconds behind the winner, while Switzerland's Michelle Gisin was another to take advantage of a strong second run, improving from sixth to third. 

Lena Durr had only led after the first run posted only the 22nd-fastest time in the final run to drop to fifth, ending hopes of her becoming the first German to win a women's World Cup slalom since Maria Höfl Riesch at Levi in November 2012. 

Durr had also led the slalom race at Beijing 2022 after the first run but missed an Olympic medal after dropping to fourth.