Mikaela Shiffrin came up short in her bid to claim a record-breaking 15th World Cup win in a calendar year, as Slovakia's Petra Vlhova won Friday's giant slalom at Semmering in Austria.
The 23-year-old Vlhova, who had only previously won in the slalom discipline, posted a combined time over the two runs of 2 minutes and 4.72 seconds after an excellent second run to beat German Viktoria Rebensburg by 0.45 second, becoming the first Slovakian winner of a women's World Cup giant slalom.
"What a great day," said Vlhova. "I felt good this morning and put in a good performance on both legs."
Petra Vlhova of Slovakia celebrates after winning the FIS Ski World Cup Women's Giant Slalom in Semmering, Austria, on December 28, 2018. /VCG Photo
The on-form Vlhova was delighted to have made Shiffrin taste her own medicine.
"I'm always second. Second, second and second. Then seeing her behind me I feel pride at taking the win," said the powerfully built Vlhova.
Two-time defending overall champion Shiffrin, who has already won seven races this season, led after the opening descent but made a costly error midway through her second effort and could only finish fifth.
The American, who is currently tied with Marcel Hirscher on 14 wins in 2018, will have another chance to claim her 15th victory of the calendar year in Sunday's slalom at the Austrian ski resort.
The result also allowed Vlhova to cut Shiffrin's mammoth overall World Cup lead by 57 points to 446.
The victory would also have sent Shiffrin to the top of the giant slalom standings, but instead, she slipped to third behind Italy's Federica Brignone and Frenchwoman Tessa Worley.
The 29-year-old Worley snatched a podium place on Friday with a strong second run, 0.15 second behind Rebensburg, who is still waiting for her first win of the campaign.