BRATISLAVA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- American alpine skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin produced a great second run in Slovakia's resort of Jasna on Saturday to beat local favorite Petra Vlhova in the women's FIS World Cup Slalom race by 0.34 seconds. Swiss skier Wendy Holdener finished third.

Slalom standings leader Vlhova produced a solid first run and gained a 0.27-second lead on Shiffrin, who also won in Slovakia five years ago. In the second run, the two switched positions as Shiffrin produced an almost perfect performance and achieved the 45th slalom victory of her career.

Despite finishing second, 25-year old Vlhova managed to retain her leading position in the World Cup Slalom rankings with three more slalom races to go in the 2020/21 season. She also cut the deficit on overall standings leader Lara Gut-Behrami to 107 points.

"It is a great feeling to reach the podium on my home track here in Jasna. I gave it my all but Mikaela was better. She told me she knew how I felt, that I wanted to win at home real bad. I made a couple of small mistakes in the second run and it cost me the victory. I gave it a 120 percent but it was not enough," admitted Vlhova after the race.

The World Cup event in Jasna continues on Sunday with the Giant Slalom race. The end of the alpine skiing season promises a thrilling battle for the overall winner to be crowned in two weeks' time.

SLALOM RESULTS IN JASNA

Mikaela Shiffrin (United States) 1:44.28

Petra Vlhova (Slovakia) + 0.34 s

Wendy Holdener (Switzerland) +0.52 s

OVERALL FIS WORLD CUP STANDINGS

Lara Gut-Behrami (Switzerland) - 1227 points

Petra Vlhova (Slovakia) - 1120 points

Michelle Gisin (Switzerland) - 937 points

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