Mikaela Shiffrin storms to victory in Crans Montana slalom

Shiffrin suffered a partially torn medial collateral ligament in her right knee during a race in Sweden in December, and at one point was not expected to return to action before the end of the season.

But she came back in style on Monday, destroying the field in Switzerland as she made a triumphant return.

Shiffrin's flawless first leg gave her an advantage of a quarter of a second over an otherwise tightly-packed field, and she increased her advantage in the second leg as closest rivals Frida Hansdotter and Veronika Velez-Zuzulova failed to string together decent runs.

Shiffrin trails both those two skiers in the World Cup slalom standings by some distance, and with only three events left in the slalom season she will need a meltdown from Hansdotter if she is to win a fourth consecutive slalom World Cup title.