Killington’s count of 100 still stands.

Mikaela Shiffrin earned her 98th career World Cup victory Saturday in Levi, Finland, moving one step closer to celebrating the century on the track she trained on as a teenager in just a few weeks. The 29-year-old produced the first and second-fastest passes on the Levi Black course en route to a dominant 0.79-second victory over Austrian Katharina Liensberger.

“It’s just a great start to the slalom season,” Shiffrin told FIS media. “I had two very strong runs, so I’m happy to fight in the second run in difficult conditions – still good, I would say – so yeah, just happy.”

German Lena Duerr completed the podium and Paula Moltzan was the second American in eighth position. Duerr had the best season of his career last year, scoring four podiums in his first six races, including a second and a third at Levi last year.

“The last years in Levi have been super nice for me,” said the German technology specialist. “And then today I could get on the podium again – it was fun and a bit of a relief – so it’s a good start to the season.”

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Shiffrin was flawless throughout the first run, setting the second fastest time in the first sector and the fastest in the other three. Unlike the World Cup opens in Söldenwhere she gave up most of her run an early lead – ultimately missing the podium altogether – the eight-time slalom crystal globe champion charged forward on the first throw on her second attempt, increasing her lead by 0.42 additional second.

Although the difficult conditions caused a few hiccups on the steepest part of the 180-meter slope, Shiffrin managed to win her eighth reindeer – the traditional prize awarded to Levi’s winner.

“Oh my God, the reindeer. I didn’t think about it during the race,” she told FIS TV in the finish area before adding that the choppy snow had destabilized her slightly.

“Not the perfect tempo, but enough good turns that it works really well,” she said. “In the end, a really solid run in conditions (which were) not so easy.”

Liensberger echoed Shiffrin’s sentiment.

“In the second run there were a few track gates that were a little bumpy,” said the 2021 slalom world champion. “But yeah, it felt good. I just wanted to go fast and it’s amazing to be here.

Shiffrin, who won seven of the ten slaloms she competed in last season, said it was important to get off to a strong start in her strongest discipline this season, especially with the routine ahead.

“Starting this weekend, I’m racing every weekend until the World Championships. So it’s going to be a very big effort now,” she said. “I had a bad mindset in Solden, so I hope I can master the GS, but it was really important to start on the right foot in the slalom.”

The Women’s World Cup heads to Gurgl, Austria, for a slalom on Nov. 23, putting Shiffrin in first position to eclipse 100 career victories in Killington, Vt., which includes a GS on Nov. 30 and a slalom on Dec. 1 .

“The hardest thing is that when we are here in slalom skiing in Gurgl, there are not many opportunities to train in GS,” Shiffrin said. “It’s also important to think about the timing of the GS, so I’m going to try to balance the two and see if I can be prepared for Gurgl, but also be prepared for the upcoming GS and then look forward to the super- G of Beaver Creek.”

Edwards skier River Radamus is scheduled to compete in the men’s World Cup slalom in Levi on Sunday. The first race takes place at 2:00 a.m. MST and the second will follow at 5:00 a.m. MST. Both are streamed live and on demand on SkiandSnowboard.live.