Vlhova leads night race, closes in on World Cup slalom title
SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) — Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova has closed in on the women’s World Cup slalom season title by posting the fastest first-run time in a night race. Vlhova led Lena Dürr of Germany by 0.27 seconds. Canada’s Ali Nullmeyer and Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener both finished 0.35 behind in third. Mikaela Shiffrin was in fifth place. The American is the only skier left with a slim chance to overtake Vlhova on top of the season standings. Vlhova has won five of this season’s six slaloms and leads Shiffrin by 240 points. Just two more World Cup slaloms are scheduled after the Beijing Olympics.