LEVI, Finland (Reuters) -American Mikaela Shiffrin laid down a marker for the Olympic season ahead by obliterating her rivals to easily win the opening Alpine Ski World Cup slalom race on Saturday.

The 30-year-old was in a class of her own, going quickest on both her runs to win by 1.66 seconds for her ninth career win in Levi and a record-extending 102nd World Cup victory.

Albanian Lara Colturi was second on her 19th birthday while fellow youngster Emma Aicher of Germany was third for the first World Cup slalom podium of her career.

Shiffrin’s victory looked assured from the moment she put down what she described as a ‘near perfect’ opening run that gave her an advantage of more than one second.

She was spotless again on her second run through the gates to add a ninth reindeer to her

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