26 teams were at the start today to fight for the glory of winning the inaugural Alpine Team Combined event at the 2025 World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria. Team USA had sent four teams to the start, as did France, Switzerland, and Austria. Italy had sent three teams and Germany two, while the remaining five nations—Slovenia, Norway, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Andorra—had sent just one team. Victory went to USA’s Team 1, which consisted of Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin, while Silver was won by Switzerland’s Team 1, Lara Gut-Behrami and Wendy Holdener, and Bronze was snatched by Austria’s Team 3 of Stephanie Venier and Katharina Truppe—just 0.11 seconds ahead of Team USA 2: Lauren Macuga and Paula Moltzan.
Downhill
The Downhill portion was held first, and first out of the gate was Switzerland’s Malorie Blanc, who set the pace for the course with 1:44.19 seconds. Blanc’s result was promptly smashed by Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann, who skied into the lead with a 1.89-second lead on the young Swiss ski racer. The experienced ski racer has been experimenting with different skis ahead of the race, and it looked like it paid off. Italy’s Elena Curtoni could not beat the German but managed to slide in just 0.12 seconds ahead of Blanc—and slide in the literal sense as the Italian skidded out in the finish area and smashed into the padded fence in front of the spectators.
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Next up was another German: young-gun Emma Aicher, who is yet to podium at a World Cup event. Aicher was faster than teammate Weidle-Winkelmann straight out of the gate and extended her lead to 0.59 seconds on the top section. Aicher, who is very tall in comparison, was crouched as low as she could and managed to hold on to the majority of her lead, finishing 0.38 seconds ahead of her teammate. Her time of 1:41.83 seemed impossible to beat, with skier after skier failing to get close. Highly decorated skiers, like Kajsa Lie from Norway, Cornelia Hütter from Austria, and Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland, all finished more than half a second behind the 21-year-old German. Team Austria 1 in bib 10, however, came dangerously close, with Mirjam Puchner finishing just 0.05 seconds behind Aicher.
The first U.S. skier was Breezy Johnson from Team USA 1 as the 13th starter. Johnson, who had claimed victory just days before. Johnson was half a second behind Aicher on the top section but managed to pick up speed on the mid-section, skiing across the finish line just 0.28 seconds behind Team Germany 1. Austria’s Team 3 was next in bib 14, and Stephanie Venier delivered a solid run, skiing across the finish 0.63 seconds behind Team Germany 1. Then, it was time for another U.S. team, Team USA 2, with Lauren Macuga as the speed skier. Macuga, who had claimed Bronze in the Super-G at Saalbach, was slightly behind on the top section but skied at full risk, picking up speed into the mid-section until she was just 0.01 seconds behind Aircher. Taking her speed into the bottom section, the young American finished the Downhill section with the fastest time of the day, skiing into the lead with a time of 1:41.60 minutes. USA’s Team 3 and 4 started 19th and 18th, respectively, and Team 3’s Lindsey Vonn finished in 21st, while Team 4’s Jacqui Wiles finished the Downhill race in 15th place.
”I did my best again today, that’s all I can ask from myself. I wish I could have given Mikaela a bit more, but hopefully, it’s enough for her to do something with, and if not, I’ll respect that, too. Fourth is definitely not bad but it’s hard with such stacked Slalom skiers up there, I mean, I feel like the whole top 14 have really strong Slalom skiers.”
— Breezy Johnson
Slalom
It’s not over until the fat lady sings, they say—and nothing was decided until the Slalom skier had completed their part. The starting order was determined by the Downhill ranking, with skiers starting in reverse order, meaning the fastest teams from the Downhill would go last. The teams were down to 25, as France’s McFarlane of Team France 4 could not compete due to an allergic reaction that required her to take medication that made competing illegal for her.
Vonn’s Team USA 3 skied into the lead, with AJ Hurt delivering a fantastic run, extending Vonn’s lead of 0.96 seconds on Andorra to 1.49 seconds. Team USA 3 was promptly unseated by Switzerland’s Team 3, with Melanie Meillard snatching the lead by 0.83 seconds. Next up was Italy’s Team 2, with Martina Peterlini skiing the Slalom part, who managed to unseat Switzerland by the narrowest margin of 0.01 seconds. Austria’s Team 4 failed to upset the order, but France’s Team 2 promptly returned the order by skiing into the lead Chevrier, claiming the lead by more than half a second. However, their lead did not last long, despite a DNF by Norway, as Team 4 from the USA was next. Katie Hensien delivered an outstanding performance, snatching the lead by 0.05 seconds. It was ultimately an impressive 10th place for Team 4 from the United States.
The format sure proved to be a nailbiter, and things certainly received a shake-up when Switzerland’s Team 1, which had come 12th in the Downhill, shot into the lead by 1.16 seconds. Lara Gut-Behrami had a 0.71-second lead on Jacqui Wiles from USA’s Team 4, and teammate Wendy Holdener extended the lead, shooting the Swiss team onto the podium with the fastest Slalom run of the day of 58.39 seconds. While a podium seemed unlikely with 11 teams still left to go, team after team failed to get close. Austria’s Team 3, which had finished in seventh in the Downhill, came close, with Katharina Truppe skiing her heart out, crossing the finish line just 0.14 seconds behind Gut-Behrami and Holdener in what was ultimately third place. With six teams still to go, an upset seemed likely, but team after team failed.
Then it was time for USA’s Team 1 with Mikaela Shiffrin continuing where Breezy Johnson had left off. Johnson had won a 0.78-second lead on Switzerland’s Team 1, but many before had failed, so there was a nervous energy in the finish area. Shiffrin gave back more than half the lead midway down the course but hung on to the last 0.39 seconds. Johnson ran to embrace her teammate in the finish area as the USA had the lead with the fastest three teams from the Downhill still left to go and a spot on the podium uncertain. However, neither Austria’s Katharina Liensberger nor Germany’s Lena Dürr, who made a mistake and slid below the gate and had to climb back up to not be disqualified, could upset the rankings. Last up was USA’s Paula Moltzan, whose team had 0.51 seconds on Team 1 from the USA. Moltzan fought on the now slushy course but lost time on the course throughout and crossed the finish line in disappointing fourth place.
It was an exciting race with some upsets and many glorious performances, as Breezy Johnson crowned herself double World Champion. It was an amazing day for Team USA and a great return to the podium for Mikaela Shiffrin.
