Mikaela Shiffrin falters in World Cup record quest

US ski star Mikaela Shiffrin faltered in her quest to break the record for most World Cup wins in a season after missing out in the Czech Republic on Friday.

The 23-year-old, who has already wrapped up a third straight World Cup overall title, needs one more victory to beat the mark of 14 season wins she holds with Swiss great Vreni Schneider.

But a third place in a giant slalom in overcast Spindleruv Mlyn means her mission moves to Saturday’s slalom as she chases a 58th World Cup win in total.

Shiffrin was 1.33 seconds adrift after a lacklustre first run and despite a storming second effort she finished in third, 0.6 seconds behind Slovakia’s giant slalom world champion Petra Vlhova, who won her fifth race of the season.

“It’s a bit frustrating, because I only have myself to blame for my performance the first run,” Shiffrin told the US Ski and Snowboard Team website.

The American can wrap up her first giant slalom season crown at the World Cup finals in Andorra next week. She leads Vlhova, her main rival all season, by 97 points with 100 points available to the winner.

“Those three points are enough motivation for me,” she added. “It’s not something to protect, but it’s something to be really aware of, and again – like all season – take nothing for granted.

“Clearly Petra is skiing well, but my second run was something to be proud of, so we’ll see what happens.”