Low-ranked Petra Vlhova of Slovakia pulled off a surprise by leading the opening run of a World Cup slalom in Are, Sweden, on Sunday with the dominant Mikaela Shiffrin out injured.
The 20-year-old Vlhova won the slalom at the 2014 world junior championships but has never finished better than seventh on the World Cup circuit.
Starting with the No. 19 bib, Vlhova took a decent lead of 0.28 seconds ahead of Nina Loeseth of Norway.
Austrian veteran Michaela Kirchgasser was third, 0.57 back.
Shiffrin, the Olympic and two-time world champion, flew home to the United States for exams on her right knee after crashing while warming up for Saturday’s giant slalom race. The American won the last five slalom races stretching back to last season.
Overall World Cup leader Lindsey Vonn also sat out, as she no longer races slalom. Vonn won Saturday’s giant slalom for her fourth consecutive victory.
Vlhova is only 23rd on the slalom starting list standings. Her best World Cup finish was seventh in Aspen, Colorado, last month.
Vlhova was only six hundredths ahead of Loeseth at the two split checks but she surged ahead on the final gates of the Olympia course.
When she saw her position, Vlhova shook her head in wonder at the result.
Overall contender Lara Gut of Switzerland did not qualify for the second run in 35th.
With little sun at the resort located near the Arctic Circle, artificial lights were turned on to enable skiers to see the course.
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