Alice Robinson of New Zealand reacts in the finish area of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora on Feb 15, 2020. (JURE MAKOVEC / AFP)

BRATISLAVA - Slovakia's top Alpine skier Petra Vlhova had her sights set on her 14th career FIS World Cup victory but New Zealand's rising star Alice Robinson put on a tremendous second run in the giant slalom event in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, to steal the spotlight on Saturday.

Robinson triumphed by a 0.34s margin, pushing Vlhova down to the second place, her first in the giant slalom discipline.

Robinson triumphed by a 0.34s margin, pushing Vlhova down to the second place, her first in the giant slalom discipline

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The third place was split between Meta Hrovat of Slovenia and the Swiss skier Wendy Holdener, both setting a rare identical time in both of their runs.

The still only 18-year-old Robinson managed to get on top of a World Cup podium for the second time in her career, having triumphed over Mikaela Shiffrin in the giant slalom season opener in Solden, Austria in October, boosting her chance for a maiden World Cup title as a result.

With World Cup leader Shiffrin indefinitely out for the season following her father's tragic death almost two weeks ago, Vlhova was leading the pack after the first run by 0.24s with Robinson trailing close by after the New Zealander made a mistake in the follow-through gate.

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The Swiss coach Alois Prenn built the track for the second run to be more rhythmical and open and Robinson swooshed down almost flawlessly, leaving Vlhova no chance to take the win, despite the Slovakian being supported by a large crowd of compatriots.

The previous GS in Sestriere was won in a shared fashion by Vlhova and Federica Brignone of Italy.

The Italian skier is still leading the GS standings despite finishing eighth on Saturday and she also cut the deficit to the absent Shiffrin in the overall WC standings to 113 points.