LEVI, Finland (AP) — Two-time overall champion Mikaela Shiffrin set the pace in the opening run of the first women's World Cup slalom of the season on Saturday.
Shiffrin led Olympic champion Frida Hansdotter of Sweden by 0.14 seconds and third-ranked Petra Vlhova of Slovakia had 0.59 seconds to make up in the second run.
Switzerland's Wendy Holdener, the runner-up to Shiffrin in the overall standings last season, was 0.7 seconds behind in fifth.
Strong winds in the upper part of the course forced organizers to postpone the race by 45 minutes and move the start gate lower down the mountain, reducing run times by 10 seconds.
Hansdotter, Vlhova, Holdener and several others led Shiffrin at the first split time, but nobody matched the American's speed in the steep middle section of the course.
