The Alpine Skiing World Cup is launching its 60th season on the Austrian Alps glacier in Sölden, but the traditional giant slaloms this weekend are already marked by notable absences. Both the women’s GS on Saturday and the men’s race on Sunday will feature different winners than last year, as prominent skiers Federica Brignone and Aleksander Steen Olsen are sidelined with injuries.
Injuries and their prevention remain a significant concern as the World Cup progresses toward the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February. In response, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has made protective gear mandatory, including the air bag that inflates before impact in a speed crash and cut-resistant underwear. This focus on safety comes after the tragic death of Italian skier Matteo Franzoso in a downhill training crash in Chile in September.
The Season Schedule and Star Absentees
The new season is packed with 38 men’s races and 37 women’s races, primarily scheduled across Europe. However, the men’s circuit includes two series in the US: Copper Mountain (Nov. 27-28) and Beaver Creek (Dec. 4-7). The women will also race in Copper Mountain (Nov. 29-30) and then in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.
Last season’s overall champion, Federica Brignone, who also won the GS and Downhill season titles for her second overall championship, will be a major absentee. She broke multiple bones in her left leg and tore her ACL in an April crash at the Italian championships. Her return date is uncertain, putting her participation in her home Olympics in question.
Other big-name skiers missing the opening races include Marta Bassino and Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhová on the women’s side, and long-term injured racers like Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Cyprien Sarrazin on the men’s side. Even Marcel Hirscher, who returned last season after a five-year absence to race for the Netherlands, is skipping the opener due to illness, having already had his comeback curtailed last December by a knee injury.
Shiffrin and Odermatt: The Favorites
The spotlight falls heavily on two superstars aiming for record-breaking seasons:
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA):
Shiffrin is entering the season feeling significantly stronger, despite enduring a tough previous year. She suffered a severe injury during the Killington GS in November when an object punctured her side, causing extensive damage to her oblique muscles. After returning two months later, she reduced her schedule but still achieved career race wins 100 and 101. She also had to manage lingering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to the crash.
In Saturday’s race, Shiffrin begins her quest to potentially set two major records:
* If she wins the slalom discipline title, she would become the first skier, male or female, to hold nine titles in a single discipline.
* Winning the big crystal globe (overall title) would match the women’s record of six overall World Cup titles, set by Austrian legend Annemarie Moser-Pröll in the 1970s. Swiss two-time champion Lara Gut-Behrami is expected to be her closest challenger.
Marco Odermatt (SUI):
The leader of a Swiss team that secured 17 race wins last season, Odermatt is a strong favorite for his fifth consecutive overall championship. This would make him only the third skier to achieve at least five overall titles, following Marcel Hirscher and Marc Girardelli, and the second after Hirscher to win five straight.
Odermatt convincingly won the overall, GS, Super-G, and Downhill globes last season despite not finishing both GS races. He noted the difficulty of balancing his ambitions: “When I want to become better in one discipline, I have to accept compromises elsewhere. It’s a balancing act you have do as an allrounder.”
Finally, Lindsey Vonn, who returned last year after a six-year break, is looking to add to her total of 82 career wins, now with Norwegian great Aksel Lund Svindal added to her coaching staff. Meanwhile, Alexis Pinturault, the 2021 overall champion, is back after two knee injuries but will focus exclusively on Giant Slaloms.