And we are back—the FIS Alpine World Cup season opener is here, and the day saw Austria’s first World Cup Giant Slalom victory in years. An impressive Paula Moltzan skied into second while veteran skier Lara Gut-Behrami finished in third.
The morning started with run 1 at 9 a.m.—after some recent snowfalls and wild weather, the weather gods were benevolent and turned on the sunshine on the Rettenbach Glacier. While it was still a bit windy on the top section and visibility went in and out, conditions were overall great. Paula Moltzan described the snow as “the easiest she had ever skied” on the team radio.
It was an incredible performance by Team USA. With eight starters in the gate, an impressive six qualified for run 2. Giant Slalom races are conducted as two runs, with the fastest 30 skiers from run 1 qualifying for run 2.
RUN 1
First out of the gate was Thea Louise Stjernesund from Norway, who went aggressively into the race but lost some time on the softer mid-section. She set the pace on the Rettenbach Glacier today for run 1 with a time of 1:09.67 minutes. Next starter was Albania’s Lara Colturi, who shot out of the gate with the best bib number of her career so far. Colturi was determined to make it count and skied faster on the top by two-tenth of a second. She extended her lead on Stjernesund into the mid-section and, with a low tuck, squeezed out more than a half-second lead on the Norwegian. Colturi’s lead, however, did not last long, as Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutić managed to best her by the tiniest margin of 0.02 seconds.
Then came Team USA’s Paula Moltzan in bib 4, who skied into the lead with an aggressive and wild run that saw her finish 0.04 seconds ahead of Ljutić. Sara Hector failed to unseat the three leading ladies, as did Lara Gut-Behrami and Alice Robinson.
With just 0.06 seconds separating the fastest three women of the first seven starters, the leader group seemed determined, but local favorite Julia Scheib, who had podiumed in Sölden last year, showed up the elite group of top 7 skiers by beating them with an incredible run that was faster by an entire 1.28 seconds. The home crowd went wild as the Austrian crossed the finish with such an incredible lead. The leader’s seat in the finish area was hers, and no subsequent skier came even close to contesting that.
Mikaela Shiffrin in bib 20 was starting with the highest bib number in 13 years, following her Killington crash from November last year. Shiffrin put down a fantastic run, showing her old racing form and finishing run 1 in sixth place despite her high bib number. The relief was written on the 30-year-old’s face as she gave a fist bump in the finish area. She is back! The PTSD is behind her.
Other standout performances from run 1 were by Katie Hensien, who in bib 25 skied into ninth place, relegating teammates Nina O’Brien to 15th and A J Hurt to 18th. Also qualifying from Team USA was Elisabeth Bocock, who finished run 1 in 24th place. Squeezing into the top 30 were also Clara Direz from France, who finished in 23rd with bib 36, while Finland’s Erika Pykäläinen demonstrated that you can still qualify with a bib 42, squeezing into 29th place just one spot ahead of Austria’s Katharina Liensberger.
RUN 2
Run 2 is conducted in reverse order. First up was 30th-placed Liensberger, who set the pace for run 2. With a time of 1:08.33 minutes, the Austrian showed that run 2 can, in fact, be faster than run 2. Pykäläinen was up next and skied into the lead, beating Liensberger’s combined time by 0.46 seconds, earning the Finnish skier her second-ever career World Cup points. She got to enjoy her time in the leader’s seat in the finish area for another four skiers, as the next few women failed to unseat her. It was USA’s Bocock who managed to snatch the lead from Pykäläinen, and the American clung to the lead for three subsequent skiers, resulting in a Top 20 result for Bocock—a personal best Giant Slalom finish for the 20-year-old.
Team USA’s AJ Hurt, as the 13th starter, snatched the lead from Asja Zenere and Maryna Gasienia-Daniel, who had been tied for first until then, shooting into the lead with a 0.62-second faster time. Hurt got to enjoy some time in the leader’s seat as well, but was unseated by her teammate O’Brien, who beat her by 0.39 seconds. She hung on to her leader position for six subsequent skiers, even defeating Robinson, Grenier, and teammate Hensien. But then it was time for Stjernesund, who had finished run 1 in equal seventh (with Sweden’s Hector). The Norwegian snatched the lead by 0.22 seconds, defending her combined time against the Swede.
Sixth last skier was Mikaela Shiffrin, who had shown on run 1 that the American ski racer is back in top racing form, and she showed the consistency and fluidity that we know the 30-year-old for, skiing into the lead by 0.11 seconds. Shiffrin was elated—even if there were five skiers left to go. Today’s race was more about finding her confidence and form again than a podium.
Fifth-last skier Gut-Behrami promptly took the lead by 0.31 seconds from Shiffrin, showing that just because she had announced her intention to retire after this season, this does not mean she is going to slow down a second before her retirement. Colturi, who had had the fourth fastest run 1, could not bring quite the same aggression to run 2. It was a clean and smooth run, but not fast enough for a podium today.
This left only three skiers to go—a podium was definitely not certain for Gut-Behrami as she watched Ljutiç anxiously weave down the Rettenbach glacier, but the Croatian lost time on the second half of the course and could not carry the speed across the finish line. The podium was certain for Switzerland—the only question was which position.
Second last skier, Paula Moltzan, shot out of the gate and showed that she was going for the win. She extended her lead into a whole second, but a slip on the mid-section cost her some valuable milliseconds. However, there was enough lead and speed to carry it across the finish line, and Moltzan shot past Gut-Behrami and Shiffrin into the lead by 0.53 seconds.
This only left the home favorite, Julia Scheib, to go, who showed that run 1 was not a fluke. While she gave back some of her 1.28-second lead on Moltzan, she managed to hang on to her lead and crossed the finish line 0.58 seconds ahead of the American. This marked the first Austrian victory in Sölden in 11 years and the very first World Cup victory for Scheib. The home crowd went crazy as the Austrians started the 2025-26 season with a home victory after a long drought.
It was also a massive day for Team USA, with six finishers in the top 20, five finishers in the top 15, and three in the top 6. Best of all: Shiffrin has shown that she has conquered her PTSD, and we look forward to what surely will be an exciting 2025-26 World Cup season.
