The 2025-26 FIS Alpine World Cup Kicks Off in Less Than 2 Months

With the 2026 Winter Olympic Games on the horizon, this year’s FIS World Cup should be on every snow fanatic’s radar. Late October will mark the beginning of the 2025-26 FIS Alpine World Cup season. Held in Sölden, Austria, the world’s best women and men will compete in the Giant Slalom, where top racers will reach speeds exceeding 50 miles per hour. After the season starts in Europe, skiers will head over to North America for two quick weeks of racing. Then back to Europe for the remainder of the season, leading into Milano-Cortina, Italy, the home of the 2026 Winter Games.

• Related: FIS Releases Preliminary 2025-26 Alpine World Cup Race Calendar

Pre-season training has already begun in the Southern Hemisphere. Most World Cup skiers are currently in South America or New Zealand, training and fine-tuning their skis for the upcoming season. While it may sound like a dream to be skiing all over the world year-round, the truth is that the life of a professional athlete comes with immense physical demands, pressure, and its share of ups and downs. There is hardly an off day for alpine ski racers, and athletes are repeating the same exercises, drills, routines, and diets day after day, which can become grueling. Following some of the athletes’ social media accounts can give a small insight into the hard work that goes into being an alpine ski racer—Lindsey Vonn shares her impressive gym work outs almost daily.

Lindsey Vonn is known as one of the most decorated female alpine skiers in the world. Coming out of retirement in October 2024 after multiple injuries and setbacks, Vonn has been training in New Zealand and Chile for the upcoming season and appears to be in top shape. Vonn has fine-tuned her skills for the Winter Games at Milano-Cortina and the World Cup season. Coached by Aksel Lund Svindal, a former Norwegian alpine ski racer with 2 World Cup titles and 1 Olympic Gold medal to his name, Vonn will be a force to be reckoned with this season. At age 40, Vonn is by far the oldest competitor in the field this year, however consistently skied into the top 20 during her comeback season in 2024-25. This alone is worth following and watching all the World Cup races this season. However, Vonn faces fierce competition for the Olympic selection and will have to battle her teammates for a selection spot, as each nation can only send a maximum of four athletes per event.

• Related: Lindsey Vonn Hires Norwegian Ski Legend Aksel Lund Svindal as Coach & Equipment Strategist 

One such contender for an Olympic starting spot is Mikaela Shiffrin, who has over 100 World Cup titles to her name. After a brief stint in New Zealand, Shiffrin is currently training in South America and prepping for the upcoming World Cup season. Shiffrin had a difficult 2024-25 season after suffering a serious injury at the Giant Slalom World Cup race in Killington, Vermont, where she punctured her abdomen with either a ski pole or gate. The injury saw Shiffrin miss several months of races and having a cautious comeback. She did claim her 101st World Cup title in the Slalom event at the World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho, but admitted to struggling with PTSD following her crash. She did not compete in Giant Slalom at the World Cup Finals and had struggled in previous events post-crash. As of today though, she’s all smiles in Chile and looks ready to take on this upcoming season.

• Related: Mikaela Shiffrin Closes Challenging Season with Dominant Slalom Win in Sun Valley, ID

Strong competition for the World Cup season as well as for Olympic selection is also expected on the men’s Side. Favorites going into the 2025-26 season are certainly defending overall season title winner Marco Odermatt from Switzerland as well as his teammates Loic Meillard and Franjo von Allmen. Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde will make a return later this season at Beaver Creek but his teammate Henrik Kristoffersen—a tech specialist—will certainly be at Sölden for the season opener and also defend his Slalom season title. As always, the European skiers have a small advantage with most of the races being held closer to home, however, Team USA will bring a strong field led by Bryce Bennet (Team Palisades Tahoe) and River Radamus (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail). 

Being an Olympic year and with the recent FIS approval of increased prize money, this season promises to be one to watch. With six Alpine World Cup events held in the U.S., this is an excellent opportunity for those in North America to witness some of the world’s top athletes skiing at the highest level. Copper Mountain, Colorado, will host men’s and women’s races on Thanksgiving Weekend, while nearby Beaver Creek will host the men’s Downhill on December 4.

This season, athletes will be pushing themselves more than ever to secure a spot on the podium of a World Cup race or, better yet, the Olympics.