Mikaela Shiffrin has 98 wins, more than any ski racer in the history of the sport, and she is chasing her 100th world cup win as the 2024-25 season begins.
The first two races kicked off on Oct. 26-27 for both men and women.
The season opener giant slalom race took place in Sölden Ski Resort in Sölden, Austria. The second race of the women’s season was a slalom race in Kittilä, Finland at the Oy Levi ski resort on Nov. 16. As a tradition in the Levi slalom race, the winner is always gifted a reindeer as a prize.
Ski racers compete on a steep icy slope and turn around plastic gates to beat the times of other racers.
Similar to tennis, every weekend has an event featuring the best of the best skiers. The Alpine Ski World Cup is akin to the major leagues of baseball or tennis. The races occur throughout the world with one race occuring once a year at Killington Ski Resort in Vermont.
Coming into both the women’s races, these are the athletes to look out for: Shiffrin, Federica Brignone of Italy, Alice Robinson of New Zealand, Lena Duerr of Germany, Michelle Gisin of Switzerland, Anna Swenn-Larsson of Sweden, Katharina Liensberger of Austria and Zrinka Ljutić of Croatia.
The morning of the first race, Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland sat out of the race because she was not feeling 100% and did not want to risk injuring herself.
Petra Vlhova of Slovakia, normally a strong competitor, was supposed to miss the first two races of the season after a crash left her with a knee injury in January. In a typical slalom race, Vlhova being out is a massive advantage for Shiffrin because these two have a historic rivalry.
These first two races of the season presented many records and personal bests. This kicked off a strong start to the season.
At the start of the first run of the giant slalom, Shiffrin came out in front by 0.22 seconds. Behind her was Robinson, an athlete who became a strong competitor when she earned the title of youngest skier to win a world cup race at Sölden in 2019. Brignone took third place in the first run, behind by 0.40 seconds.
What got the fans revved up was the four different athletes representing the U.S. landing in the top 30 for the first run. Shiffrin in first, Paula Moltzan in seventh, Katie Hensien in 17th and Nina O’Brien in 21st.
Hensien came down in the second run and dominated the course giving her the overall fastest second run. Following this, athlete Julia Scheib of Austria came down to take first over Hensien and shocked the viewers.
With this, the results of the first race present Scheib’s first podium in a world cup race, where she finished in third. Robinson came in second with her 11th world cup podium, while Brignone’s 28th world cup win earned her the record for oldest female skier to win a world cup race. Not only this, but four U.S. athletes landed in the top 15 overall, with O’Brien and Hensien both earning personal bests.
Coming into Levi and the first slalom race of the season, fans geared up to watch Shiffrin tackle her best discipline. But it was without the intense competition between both Shiffrin and Vhlova.
The pitch of this course remained icy and with difficult conditions for the athletes. The weather continued switching back and forth between rain and heavy snowfall, but it did not slow the world’s best in Levi.
Shiffrin came down the first run, crushing the typical icy conditions and pulling into first 0.60 seconds ahead. Followed by Duerr in second and Ljutic in third, Moltzan battled the tough conditions and landed herself in fifth for the first run. Hensien and O’Brien raced the first run but did not finish.
At the start of the second run, the course remained straightforward with some difficult spots on the pitch. This was the key part of the course –– a mistake here could cost the whole run. Moltzan learned this quickly as she made a few errors on this pitch, setting her in eighth for the day. This was, as it turns out, her best-ever result in Levi.
Liensberger set down a beautiful run with flawless technique, putting her at the top of the standings. Duerr fell just behind her by 0.27 seconds. Unfortunately, Ljutic did not hold it together on the difficult course and landed in sixth for the day.
Then, Shiffrin entered the start gate.
The course was difficult, the ice forcing athletes to bring their best –– and that is exactly what Shiffrin did. As always, she laid down a stunning run with little mistakes and aggression through every turn.
Shiffrin earned her 98th world cup win and eighth reindeer, Rori, short for Aurora Borealis.
