5 World Cup ski races Shiffrin lovers should watch this season
Alpine World Cup ski racing starts Saturday in Soelden, Austria with men’s and women’s giant slalom, and Colorado’s queen of ski racing Mikaela Shiffrin is eyeing this season’s races.
However, she recently said she wants to focus on two other ski-racing disciplines: downhill and super-g.
Shiffrin is known for her technical skiing in slalom and giant slalom and has eight first-place wins combined in super-g and downhill in her career. She’ll need a change of gears to compete in the speed events.
Shiffrin told FIS Alpine: “I’d like to say there’s more speed in my future, but I did look at the schedule this year and there’s not a lot more. There’s not a lot more racing that I can physically do, but there’s a little bit more.”
With no Olympics or World Championships to contend with during the 2023-24 season, here are five speed-race locations Shiffrin could potentially vie for a podium at.
1. St. Moritz, Switzerland – super-g and downhill, Dec. 6-10, 2023
Switzerland’s Lara Gut clears a gate during a women’s super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Shiffrin has five Top 5 finishes, with two first place wins in super-g, and has one Top 5 finish in downhill at St. Moritz in her career.
The “Engiadina” race course below the summit of Piz Nair at St. Moritz is entirely above tree line. The potential for flat light exists and the course isn’t particularly steep, plus Shiffrin has had success here in the past, especially in super-g.
Take: Experience can earn podiums and wins and Shiffrin has plenty of experience. A podium in one of these two disciplines is possible.
2. Val d’Isere, France – super-g and downhill, Dec. 14-17, 2023
FILE – United States’ Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during a women’s World Cup super-G skiing race in Val D’Isere, France, Dec. 19, 2021. Shiffrin is expected to enter all five individual Alpine events and be one of the main faces of the Olympics that officially open on Feb. 4. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati, File)
Shiffrin has one Top 5 finish in super-g, and has zero Top 5 finishes in downhill at Val d’Isere in her career.
The “La Face de Bellevarde” course under the summit of the Rocher de Bellevarde at 9,209 feet of elevation is steeper. With little to no flat sections, this course is fast and drops 3,140 vertical feet in less than two miles. The courses’ incline is an average of 32.1%, making it the world’s steepest course on average gradient.
Take: As compared to former ski-racer Lindsey Vonn, who has one first place win in super-g and four first place wins downhill, if Shiffrin wants to go fast in France, perhaps a phone call to Vonn for pointers could be of service. Shiffrin’s unofficial rival, Petra Vlhova, usually doesn’t race the speed races, but Shiffrin will also have to contend with Italian Sofia Goggia, who has four Top 5 finishes and two first places wins in downhill at Val d’Isere since 2016.
3. Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – super-g and downhill, Jan. 24-28, 2024
FILE – United States’ Mikaela Shiffrin competes during the slalom portion of the women’s combined race, at the alpine ski World Championships, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Feb. 15, 2021.
Shiffrin has two Top 5 finishes in super-g, and has two Top 5 finishes in downhill at Cortina d’Ampezzo in her career.
The “Tofane” women’s course is 8,398 feet in length and has some notorious tricky sections. The Schuss, with a maximum slope grade of 65%, is where skiers can jump and reach a maximum speed of 86 miles per hour, right between two huge rocks. The “Duca d’Aosta jump”, the “Delta turn” and the “Scarpadon” are three additional key challenging parts. In the final section, the slope grade decreases and the athletes have to keep up their speed in order to face the final traverse and jump.
Take: If Shiffrin wants a course that would let the skis open up, Cortina should be a fast one to do that.
4. Crans Montana, Switzerland – super-g and downhill, Feb. 14-18, 2024
Shiffrin has one Top 15 finish in super-g, and has no starts in downhill. However, she does have one first-place finish in Slalom and one first-place finish in Alpine Combined at Crans Montana.
The “Mont Lachaux piste” course is an exciting race and rather steep at 31% average decline, meaning racers can reach higher speeds. The downhill course drops only 2,195 vertical feet of elevation (super-g 1,884), has a flatter middle section, where speed will need to remain, and is a shorter course at only 6,700 feet long.
Take: It’ll be interesting to see how Shiffrin will do on this course if she races at it. She doesn’t have a ton of starts in the speed-race courses. However, with her wanting to join more speed-races going into the season, she might do well because Crans Montana is a few races into the season.
5. Kvitfjell, Norway – super-g and downhill, Feb. 29-March 3, 2024
United States’ Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski, World Cup women’s downhill race, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Shiffrin has one Top 5 finish in super-g, and has one Top 5 finish in downhill at Kvitfjell in her career, both coming in 2023.
The downhill course starts just below the summit at 3,366 feet of elevation, and quickly has skiers up to 40 miles per hour. The “Wintherhogget” section is a part of the course that is very difficult and demanding, with a decline of 64%, and which can have skiers reach 65 miles per hour. Toward the bottom, skiers have to deal with the “Clamp,” a narrow passage section based on the form of the landscape that compresses skiers, losing valuable speed.
Take: Although she finished fourth in super-g and fifth in downhill in 2023 respectively, this course might be Shiffrin’s sleeper course, one which she could sneak in a podium spot on.
Peacock TV streams FIS Alpine World Cup ski races online and through the service provider’s app.
Most races start at 2 a.m. MST with the second run starting at 5 a.m. For more information about individual races check FIS Alpine’s web site.
United States’ Mikaela Shiffrin competes in an alpine ski, women’s World Cup giant slalom race, in Soldeu, Andorra, Sunday, March 19, 2023.
From left, second placed United States’ Mikaela Shiffrin, winner Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel and third placed Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin celebrate in the finish line of an alpine ski, women’s World Cup Finals super-G, in Courchevel, France, Thursday, March 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
