ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin will return to the Women’s World Cup in a Slalom on Tuesday, eight days after announcing she tested positive for recent times and was ruled out of two technical races in Austria last week.
Shiffrin tested negative Monday afternoon before the American’s name appeared on the official start list for the race released by the International Ski Federation.
“See you tomorrow, Zagreb,” Shiffrin wrote on Instagram.
Shiffrin, who has won the race four times, will wear the No. 7. The first race starts at 12:30 a.m. local time (1130 GMT); the second at 4:05 a.m. (1505 GMT), and this course is determined by Shiffrin’s coach, Mike Day.
However, Shiffrin’s American teammate Nina O’Brien is among a group of riders who will miss Tuesday’s race, as the recent times is increasingly affecting the women’s circuit with less than five weeks to go until the Beijing Olympics.
At least three Swiss skiers – Camille Rast, Aline Danioth and Mélanie Meillard – as well as two Austrians, a Norwegian and an Italian are among the group that qualified for Tuesday’s race.
One of the Austrian women, Franziska Gritsch, said in November that it was her “personal decision” not to get vaccinated against the recent times. She was not allowed to do so. 27-28 tech races in Killington, Vermont, for that reason.
Shiffrin missed a giant slalom and a Slalom last week in Lienz, but remains top of the overall World Cup standings with a 93-point lead over Sofia Goggia. The Italian speed specialist, who has not competed in a Slalom for five years, is not found in Croatia.
Petra Vlhova, Shiffrin’s main Slalom competitor, won the race in Austria last week and extended her lead over the American in the discipline standings to 120 points after four of nine races.
Vlhova, who will open the Slalom on Tuesday, has won the spotlight race in Zagreb for the past two years.
The race on the outskirts of the Croatian capital, which is usually one of the busiest races on the women’s calendar, is not allowed.