Swedish skier Hector leads Shiffrin in eventful GS in Slovakia

Olympic champion Sara Hector put in two dominant runs to win the women's World Cup giant slalom at Jasna on Saturday as Slovak star Petra Vhlova was evacuated to hospital after crashing out on front of her home crowd.

Hector clocked 1min 10.18sec and 1:07.62 in her two legs, the fastest time in each, for a winning combined total of 2:17.80.

American Mikaela Shiffrin, in her quest for a record-extending 95th career World Cup win, had to be content with second place behind the Swedish racer, at 1.52sec.

New Zealander Alice Robinson rounded out the podium, 2.71sec off Hector's pace.

Most skiers experienced grip problems on a particularly icy track with Vhlova, 28, falling at the ninth gate of the first run and appearing to twist her right knee.

The Olympic slalom champion in Beijing in 2022 was evacuated, conscious, to hospital by the emergency services.

The International Ski Federation said the former overall World Cup champion's condition "was stabilised", and she was "undergoing medical examinations".

Vhlova is currently second in the overall World Cup standings, 307 points behind her great rival Shiffrin, who leads with 1,109pts.

Since her World Cup debut in December 2012, she has 31 victories, including 22 in the slalom.

Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami's sixth place was enough to see her go top of the giant slalom standings at the expense of Italy's Federica Brignone.

Brignone fell on the first run but escaped any injury, with the 33-year-old dropping to fourth in the overall World Cup standings and second in the giant slalom.