Mikaela Shiffrin is gearing up to chase a historic 100 World Cup win as the slopes of Levi, Lapland, call her back. But this season hits a little differently—her rival, Petra Vlhová, is sidelined after a brutal knee injury earlier this year. Without Vlhová in the mix, the slopes feel quieter, and even Shiffrin admits she’ll miss the fire of their head-to-head battles. Levi, a course packed with Shiffrin’s career highlights since her 2012 debut, still holds its magic—but the rivalry-shaped void is hard to ignore.

Mikaela Shiffrin isn’t hiding how much she’ll miss her battles with Slovak phenom Petra Vlhová. “I’m going to miss those battles on the slope,” she admitted, feeling the change in the air. After Vlhová’s tough injury, Shiffrin even shared a heartfelt message on social media, wishing her rival a speedy recovery and admitting it’s just not the same without her.

In a recent Ski Racing report, Mikaela Shiffrin opened up about their fierce rivalry that has defined their careers for over a decade. The two have pushed each other to unimaginable heights, especially in Levi, where their battles for the top spot have become legendary. Reflecting on their long-standing competition, Shiffrin fondly describes it as “really pretty cool” to look back on all those years of shared intensity.

“We’ve both pushed so hard to take the top spot at this race,” Mikaela Shiffrin said, noting Vlhova’s performances at Levi were among the best she’s ever witnessed. “Some of her recent runs are really the best I’ve ever seen on this slope, and it motivates me to try harder, to be more precise with my skiing.” But this year hits differently. Miki continued, “We will be feeling her absence for sure.”

Mikaela Shiffrin isn’t letting Petra Vlhová’s absence dull her edge at Levi. “There’s a lot of really strong racers and a handful of women who have the potential to win this race,” she said about the fierce competition. The slopes might feel quieter, but the race? It’s as intense as always.

Back in January, something unusual happened—Mikaela Shiffrin wasn’t the one standing at the top of the slalom podium. It was Vlhová who held strong in the falling snow to claim the win. Shiffrin, trailing Petra Vlhová by 0.47 seconds after the first run, ran into a rare mistake when her left ski got caught on the wrong side of a gate just 24 seconds into her second run. It was a rare slip-up for Shiffrin, who hadn’t straddled a gate like that since January 2022 in Slovenia, just before the Beijing Olympics.

Even after skiing out, Shiffrin gave Vlhova a fist bump as she passed by, showing respect for her rival’s performance. While Shiffrin has opened up about their rivalry and how she is going to miss her rival, Vlhová too shares her POV on their fierce contention on the slopes.

Petra Vlhová on how rivalry with Mikaela Shiffrin fueled Alpine greatness!