World Cup GS Opener Preview: Shiffrin and Other Great Racers Ready for Sölden

2023 Sölden Podium: GEPA Footage

Sölden Ladies’s World Cup GS: Who’s Racing, When, and Tips on how to Watch

Season Opener: Sölden, Austria

The 2024-25 World Cup season will formally kick off with the Ladies’s Large Slalom in Sölden, Austria, on Saturday, October twenty sixth. This extremely anticipated race will set the tone for the season, with the world’s prime GS skiers competing on the enduring Rettenbach Glacier. Sölden has lengthy been a prestigious opener, and all eyes might be on the athletes as they launch into one other thrilling season.

Final Season’s Greatest: Prime 7 in GS

The ladies’s Large Slalom (GS) battle in the course of the 2023-24 World Cup season was fierce, and the competitors for the title got here right down to the wire. Swiss star Lara Intestine-Behrami clinched the GS globe by a mere 21 factors over Italy’s Federica Brignone. Intestine-Behrami additionally took residence the General title, dominating not solely in GS but additionally in Tremendous-G.

The Swiss powerhouse had a stellar season, and between Intestine-Behrami and males’s GS sensation Marco Odermatt, they helped Switzerland safe 7 of the ten season titles. This GS competitors was one of the vital thrilling competitions to look at final season, showcasing a number of the finest feminine expertise the game provides.

New Zealand’s veteran skier Alice Robinson, nonetheless simply 22 years outdated, returned to prime kind in GS, ending fourth total—an inspiring achievement.

In complete, 5 girls claimed World Cup GS wins final season:

Lara Intestine-Behrami (SUI): 4 victories

Federica Brignone (ITA): 4 victories

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA): 1 victory

Valerie Grenier (CAN): 1 victory

Sara Hector (SWE): 1 victory

All however Grenier will begin the 2024-25 season in Sölden.

Prime 15 Ladies’s GS World Cup Begin Listing

Sixty-two girls from 21 nations will begin the ladies’s World Cup GS in Sölden on Oct. 26, with Switzerland main the sector with ten certified athletes on the beginning checklist.

H. Pfitscher (SUI) will set the primary run, and D. Simoncelli (ITA) will set the second run.

Prime 15: North Individuals Shine

Among the many prime 15 GS skiers final season, Mikaela Shiffrin stood out for the Stifel U.S. Ski Staff. Regardless of a January damage, Shiffrin completed fifth within the World Cup Ladies’s GS standings. She competed in solely 7 of the 11 GS races, successful in Lienz, Austria, and incomes 4 different podium finishes. Her means to remain aggressive after her damage showcases her resilience and expertise, making her a formidable contender this season.

Canada’s Valerie Grenier additionally had a powerful season, ending sixth within the GS standings. She received the GS in Kranjska Gora for the second consecutive yr earlier than a January damage ended her season early. Sadly, Grenier will not be but able to return and can miss Sölden.

One other standout for the Stifel U.S. Ski Staff is Paula Moltzan, ranked eleventh on the World Cup Begin Listing (WCSL). Moltzan is a robust GS podium contender, showcasing consistency and talent.

Sadly, AJ Damage, who earned her first GS podium final season in Soldeu, Andorra, and is ranked fifteenth, has suffered an damage and won’t compete in Sölden.

Canadian’s: Rising Stars on the World Cup Begin Listing

Two different Canadian girls who scored 23-24 World Cup factors might be on the beginning checklist this season. 21-year-old Britt Richardson, ranked twenty seventh on the GS WCSL, will begin inside the highest 30, giving her an early season benefit. In the meantime, 23-year-old Cassidy Gray, who scored GS factors final season, will begin simply exterior the highest 30. Her FIS factors place her within the early 30s, which means she might be among the many first starters after the highest 30.

Outdoors the Prime 30: However Able to Compete

Stifel US Ski Staff’s Nina O’Brien returns to the World Cup after breaking her leg over a yr in the past in New Zealand. Regardless of reaching the World Cup finals in 2023, her FIS factors rank her thirty third, simply exterior the highest 30. Nonetheless, because of her place on the WCSL and accidents sidelining different athletes, she’s going to begin twenty eighth. After a robust restoration, O’Brien is able to ski quick and combat again to the highest.

Different North American girls might be beginning exterior the highest 30 in Sölden, however every has the potential to shock.

Katie Hensien, who missed final season on account of a knee damage, is returning to the World Cup circuit. She has beforehand scored World Cup GS factors however will begin utilizing FIS factors. She is at the moment ranked 69th.

Keely Cashman has already skied in 9 World Cup GS races, however has but to attain. With a FIS rank of 83rd, she might be seeking to make her mark in Sölden.

Canada’s Justine Lamontagne, aged 22, is a Montana State College pupil and a member of the Bobcat ski staff. She competed in 5 World Cups final season, together with two residence races in Tremblant, Quebec. This season, she might be seeking to qualify for her first, second run with a world rating of 155.

All of those North American girls have proven they’ll ski at an elite degree. With a mixture of expertise, dedication, and new expertise, they’ll carry confidence to Sölden as they kick off one other thrilling season.