ORne of the most amazing resolutions of the year. Mikaela Shiffrin, who will soon become the best female skier of all time given her track record and track record, was headed for an almost certain gold medal. First-round victory, solidity against rivals and when gold had Colorado as the only answer…it all exploded. Shiffrin failed. Yes, it fails. And Laurence St. Germain of Canada was proclaimed world slalom champion in Courchevel-Méribel.

It was not planned. The Canadian is a regular on the circuit, but she never entered into the accounts of the triumph. In the last lesson, he didn’t finish in the top five in no race and left from number 18. But everything turned in his favor. First, he nailed the race from start to finish, including a final part in which he showed agility.

Later, the drama among the rivals. That of Wendy Holdener, who after a good first sector lost all precision and ended up going off track. And the unthinkable. Shiffrin, whose only counter is history, was not going to have his day when everything was rosy. He had won, by more than a tenth of income, the first set and the rivals did not seem to be afraid. Fatigue and pressure may have knocked on your door.

Because everything went wrong from the first corner. The weather started falling and he never showed the feeling of chaining the right doors. In the first sector, his advantage was reduced by four tenths. In the next two, time was maintained. But the resolution, given the end of St. Germain … was predictable. His 1:43.72 was more than half a second from gold.

A tough “stick” at best by far. He leaves the World Cup on French soil with a gold medal in giant and several errors that prevent him from “succeeding” an exceptional course. That of the combined with the hanging gold, that of the slalom… A total of three medals (gold and two silver) is even short when we talk about Shiffrin. But it will come back. He always does.