Paula Moltzan Saalbach 2025 World Championships: GEPA photos
North American girls from the Stifel U.S. Ski Group and Alpine Canada Alpin made vital strides in World Cup large slalom this season. From veteran podiums to breakout performances, the 2024-25 marketing campaign strongly proved that each groups are constructing towards Olympic success in 2026.
Stifel U.S. Ski Group Almost Tops Nation Standings
The Stifel U.S. Ski Group delivered a breakthrough marketing campaign for the 2024-2025 World Cup large slalom season. Regardless of lacking their common lead scorer Mikaela Shiffrin for a lot of the season, the American girls completed second within the Nations Cup GS standings, simply 60 factors behind Italy and 32 factors forward of Switzerland.
In a season with solely 9 large slaloms—down from 10 the season earlier than—Paula Moltzan, Nina O’Brien, AJ Damage, and Katie Hensien helped carry the staff, all qualifying for the World Cup Finals in Solar Valley. Shiffrin, who missed time after a crash early within the season, contributed 51 factors and ranked fifth amongst U.S. girls.
Moltzan Delivers U.S. Podiums and Leads GS Rankings
Paula Moltzan led the North American girls within the self-discipline standings, ending seventh with 286 factors. She delivered the one two North American girls’s GS podiums this season, ending third in Kronplatz and once more on the 2025 Saalbach World Championships.
The previous NCAA All-American from the College of Vermont continues to climb the elite large slalom ranks. She jumped from eleventh within the GS standings in 2024 to seventh this season and has positioned herself as a critical medal contender for Cortina 2026.
O’Brien Returns to Type After Misplaced Season
Nina O’Brien returned with exceptional consistency after lacking the complete 2024 season as a consequence of damage. She certified for the second run in all 9 World Cup GS races and scored factors in eight of them. Her solely non-scoring race got here in Sestriere, the place she didn’t end the second run.
O’Brien cracked the highest 15 seven occasions, together with three high 10s, and completed the season ranked eleventh with 220 factors. Her regular kind and resilience recommend she’s able to ship on the highest stage within the Olympic season.
AJ Damage Exhibits Consistency in Each Begin
One other comeback story got here from AJ Damage, who missed the early races with a again damage however completed sturdy. She began in seven races and scored in all of them, incomes 152 factors and 14th within the standings.
Damage posted 5 top-15 finishes, together with seventh in Sestriere, reinforcing her potential to battle for an Olympic podium. Final season, she earned her first World Cup GS podium and will likely be one to look at in Cortina.
Hensien Makes Her Case for Olympic Choice
Katie Hensien instantly impressed this season after her return from damage. The College of Denver All-American had beforehand scored World Cup GS factors simply as soon as however began this season with a bang—ending fourth in her first race again.
She scored in six of the 9 GS occasions, totaled 97 factors, and ended the season ranked twenty second, incomes a spot at her first World Cup Finals. Her top-15 end in Killington (thirteenth) elevated her credibility as an rising U.S. large slalom power.
Bocock and Macuga Add Depth
Elisabeth Bocock, 19, continued growing with a robust second World Cup season. She received bronze on the 2025 World Junior Championships and certified for the second run in 4 of the seven World Cup large slalom races she entered. She completed the season with 34 factors, together with a career-best 14th in Åre, Sweden.
Lauren Macuga, primarily an elite pace skier, earned the appropriate to start out large slalom on the Finals by surpassing the five hundred general World Cup level complete. She capitalized on the chance, ending fifteenth in Solar Valley and scoring 16 factors.
Grenier Returns to Lead Alpine Canada Alpin
Valérie Grenier, a two-time World Cup GS winner, returned from damage this season to as soon as once more lead the Alpine Canada Alpin girls’s staff. She missed the opener however raced the ultimate eight GS occasions, scoring in six and ending twelfth general with 174 factors.
Her 4 top-10 finishes, together with a season-best fourth in Semmering, show she is a official podium menace. If she stays wholesome, Grenier will likely be a high Olympic contender for Canada in 2026.
Richardson Continues to Climb
Britt Richardson, the 2024 Junior World GS champion, made a major step ahead in her fourth World Cup season. The 21-year-old scored a career-best 102 factors and completed twenty first within the large slalom standings—her profession highest rank.
She recorded three top-15 finishes, together with a career-best seventh in Kronplatz, and earned a begin on the Finals. On the price she’s bettering, Richardson might change into a major power for Canada in the course of the Olympic season.
Grey Provides Factors, Completes Canadian Trio
Cassidy Grey was the third Canadian girl to attain large slalom factors this season, including 11 to the nationwide complete. Her solely outcome got here with a Twentieth-place end in Semmering. Although it wasn’t her strongest season, Grey stays a strong presence for the Canadian squad.
The ladies’s World Cup large slalom calendar in 2025 featured one fewer race than in 2024, giving athletes fewer alternatives to attain factors.
Extra People within the Factors
One clear signal of progress for the Stifel U.S. Ski Group got here within the variety of athletes scoring large slalom World Cup factors. In 2024, solely 4 American girls—Shiffrin, Moltzan, Damage, and O’Brien—scored in GS. This season, seven U.S. girls reached the factors record: Moltzan, O’Brien, Damage, Hensien, Shiffrin, Bocock, and Macuga. That added depth might show essential heading into an Olympic season the place staff energy and consistency usually outline medal potential.
2024 vs. 2025: A Season of Resurgence
In comparison with 2024, a number of main shifts befell within the 2025 season. In 2024, Mikaela Shiffrin led the U.S. girls with 429 factors and completed fifth, whereas Valérie Grenier scored 327 factors and ranked sixth. This season, Moltzan (286) and O’Brien (220) stepped up in Shiffrin’s absence, and Richardson and Hensien climbed into the highest 25.
Shiffrin didn’t attain her common heights after damage, however her teammates crammed the hole. And a wholesome Shiffrin, probably the most profitable World Cup skier in historical past, stays a menace to win in any alpine self-discipline. With Grenier wholesome and the younger Canadians surging, North America’s girls’s GS outlook is as sturdy as ever heading into the Olympic 12 months.
