A nail-biting final day of the women’s World Cup Finals unfolded today, March 25, in Hafjell, Norway, with Canada’s Valerie Grenier taking the win ahead of Norway’s Mina Fürst Holtmann and Austria’s Julia Scheib.
Further back, Mikaela Shiffrin battled back from 17th after run 1 to 11th place—more than enough to secure her record-equalling sixth Overall Crystal Globe, matching Annemarie Moser-Pröll. But it did not come easy. Emma Aicher pushed the American all the way to the final run, making the season title, which she fought so hard for, even sweeter.
Run 1
The race was opened by Alice Robinson who skied a smooth run and set the pace at Hafjell with 1:09.28. Next up was Thea Louise Stjernesund skiing on home territory, who slotted in 0.18 seconds behind Robinson. For a moment it almost seemed like a competitive benchmark, but then came Sara Hector in bib 3, who delivered an incredible run that saw the Swede jump into the lead 1.53 seconds ahead of Robinson — there was the new mark to beat, and only one skier followed that call, Valerie Grenier, who pipped the Swede by a mere 0.02 seconds.
But back to the starting order and the top 7 skiers: Camille Rast in bib 4 was fast on the top but bled time the rest of the course, falling 0.75 seconds behind Hector. Julia Scheib—already holding the season GS crystal globe—had admitted pre-race she was enjoying skiing without pressure. Still, she applied pressure to Hector regardless, leading mid-course but ultimately finishing 0.65 seconds behind. Paula Moltzan in bib 6 delivered an aggressive run but could not generate Hector’s speed. Added to that, a mistake on the lower section after a roller she caught sideways sent her nearly four seconds behind — not the final the American had been hoping for. Her teammate Mikaela Shiffrin followed in bib 7. She was ahead on the top section but began bleeding time mid-course and struggled on the same roller as Moltzan, finishing 1.53 seconds back in 17th.
At that point, the door to the overall season crystal globe was suddenly wide open—and Emma Aicher charged through it. Skiing much further down the rankings in bib 16, Aicher delivered a smooth, controlled run to slot into third behind Hector and Grenier, putting herself firmly in contention for the overall title.
Meanwhile, Team USA’s Nina O’Brien in bib 13 led the Americans in eighth place, with AJ Hurt in bib 21 in 15th — a great showcase of Team USA breadth in women’s alpine skiing.
The surprise of the day, however, came from Valerie Grenier in bib 15. Green from the first split, she extended her lead through each sector and handled the tricky roller with confidence, skiing into the lead by just 0.02 seconds — her best position in years.
Run 2
Run 2 in GS is conducted in reverse order, with the slowest finisher starting first and the fastest starting last, making for pressure and maximum excitement to the very end. Wendy Holdener—who had lost a pole in run 1—opened run 2 and delivered a much cleaner performance. Moltzan put down the second-fastest run 2 of the day, showing her true pace, but could only move up to 25th after the big mistake on run 1.
Her teammate Shiffrin, starting 11th, likewise responded under pressure. As she later said in a post-race interview with FIS, “I was in 17th position after the first run… it was a lot of effort to push on the second.” And push she did — she delivered a composed, fluid run to climb back into 11th place—enough to secure the overall title. With 24 points for 11th place, the overall season globe was out of reach for Aicher, even with a win — however, this was not something anyone knew at this stage. Shiffrin admitted, “I was actually quite stressed.”
“I have really this crazy birth of emotions,” she said after confirming the title. “My team said that’s it and I was like, no it’s not… we were kind of arguing about it and I was like, are you really sure because I’m starting to cry and I don’t want to be actually celebrating unless it’s actually secure?”
Shiffrin held the leader’s seat briefly until Robinson surged ahead by 0.36 seconds with a formidable second run. The Kiwi held through six skiers before Rast took over, leading by 0.35 seconds. Then the top contenders dropped. Stephanie Brunner edged ahead of Rast by 0.07 seconds, before Scheib stormed into the lead by a massive 0.74 seconds.
Then came Holtmann. The Norwegian delivered the fastest run 2 of the day, feeding off the home crowd to take the lead by 0.14 seconds. “It’s fantastic,” Holtmann said after the race. “I am so happy to get this now after a tough season.” Ultimately it was second place for the Norwegian on home soil, but back to the excitement as there were still three skiers to go and a podium not certain yet.
Aicher was next—and for the young ski racer, everything was on the line. She had said ahead of the race she had nothing to lose and that’s how she skied: all or nothing. With a 0.21-second cushion from run 1, she attacked aggressively in a bid to win the race and the overall title. But a mistake in the mid-section cost her over a second. She crossed the line 1.61 seconds behind, ending her bid. The 22-year-old looked annoyed in the finish but the disappointment did not last long: “I mean, it’s the goal, I want to be at the top in all of them,” Aicher said. “It’s been so much fun racing.”
Next to falter was Hector, who could not match her first-run pace and finished behind both Holtmann and Scheib. All eyes turned to Grenier — would it be a Norwegian victory on Norwegian soil — the crowd was tense watching the Canadian, but Grenier skied with precision and confidence, regaining time after a slight loss up top and accelerating through the lower section. She crossed the line a massive 0.43 seconds ahead of Holtmann, sealing her first World Cup win in over two years and Canada’s first victory of the season.
In the end, the day wrapped up a fantastic season for so many skiers with a series of great storylines: Grenier’s long-awaited return to the top step, Holtmann’s breakthrough on home snow, Scheib capping a dominant GS season with the discipline globe, Aicher having the best season of her young career, and — above all — Shiffrin making history with a sixth overall season title.
“I have to say to Emma that her skiing has been just outstanding, and today, it was just so cool to watch her, especially on the first run. I really thought the outcome of this day is that she could do this. And that’s the coolest thing about ski racing, that anything is possible.”
— Mikaela Shiffrin
This ends the World Cup season on a high — so much to celebrate and digest over the next few months before these athletes throw themselves into summer training.
