Åre (Sweden) (AFP) - Three-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin secured her 109th World Cup victory after winning the slalom event in Are, Sweden on Sunday.

The 31-year-old American, who won slalom gold last month in the Milan-Cortina Games, has been almost unbeatable in the event this season, winning eight out of the nine World Cup races in the discipline.

It was Shiffrin’s seventh victory in Are, something she dubbed “really amazing”.

“I was pretty excited, but in the end it was challenging to ski. I pushed really hard and I was glad to get to the finish,” Shiffrin said.

“Are is one of the places I feel a little bit at home. The last two days were spectacular race days. I wanted to push in these conditions.”

Shiffrin put her slalom consistency down to “simplicity”.

“In slalom it’s felt pretty simple all season, my skiing has felt connected. I was as simple as possible and really attacking,” she said.

“I really want to fight through the final races and have a good energy and good spirit.”

Having already secured the crystal globe in her speciality for the ninth time, Shiffrin is also closing in on a sixth overall World Cup trophy.

Having racked up 1,282 points, she leads Germany’s Emma Aicher by 140 points.

Aicher finished second in Sunday’s slalom, 0.94sec behind, with Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener third at exactly one second.

Shiffrin was half a second ahead of Aicher after the first run and could even afford a slight mistake on her second run and still win comfortably.

Aicher’s second place, however, was her best ever slalom finish, leaving her feeling “pretty proud”.

“I’m happy with my overall skiing right now,” the German said.

“It doesn’t matter where it’s going to end. If you look at last season, I’d come pretty far, so I’m happy and proud of that.”

The World Cup season ends next week in Lillehammer, Norway, with four events, giving Aicher hope that she could yet overhaul Shiffrin.

But the American insisted she was up for the fight.

“For sure, it’s the kind of thing that motivates me when we are off the slope to keep going with the mood and attitude,” she said.

“It’s tight. You can only get a certain number of points, and Emma is skiing so strong as well. I feel like I put my life on the line, and it’s just 20 more points (than Aicher today).”

Aicher added: “I’m going to concentrate on my stuff, enjoy the skiing and see what happens.”