Mikaela Shiffrin is poised to complete her Santa-sleigh collection of nine Levi reindeer this weekend as the women’s Slalom World Cup returns to Finland. With Petra Vlhova still recuperating from her injury, the long-standing rivalry between the two best female Slalom skiers is suddenly left without its counterpart—like the Yankees without the Red Sox.
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In 14 of the last 15 years, either Petra Vlhova or Mikaela Shiffrin have won the Slalom race at Levi. Their rivalry for the coveted reindeer—the local prize for winning the race along with the usual prize money—has seen only one year in which it wasn’t the American or the Slovakian on the top of the podium. In 2014, Slovenian Tina Maze interrupted this winning series.
So with Vlhova still recuperating, who is left to contest Shiffrin?
Well, naturally there is last season’s Slalom title winner: Zrinka Ljutic from Croatia. Ljutic has been the rising star of the World Cup circuit at only 21 years of age. She claimed her first victory at Killington, Vermont, last year and went on to win a total of three World Cup victories and nine podiums, which awarded her the Crystal Globe in slalom as well as the Longines Rising Star award for the second consecutive year. Mikaela Shiffrin is the only other female athlete to have been awarded the Longines Rising Star more than once, having claimed the title in three consecutive years, 2013, 2014, and 2015. The award is presented annually to the best young female (under 21) and male (under 23) athletes in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, highlighting emerging talents in the sport.
Third-ranked for the season was Switzerland’s own breakout phenom Camille Rast, who matched Ljutic blow-for-blow during that stretch, collecting two wins and ultimately taking Slalom World Championship gold in Saalbach, Austria. Their duel—Ljutic vs. Rast—defined the heart of last season and offered a glimpse into what the next decade of women’s slalom might look like.
Then there are more seasoned skiers like Austria’s Katharina Liensberger and Germany’s Lena Dürr who could provide some shake up on the podium. Liensberger finished last season in second place in the Slalom standings, thanks to five straight top-five results and has already stood on the Levi podium four times. Meanwhile Dürr, who finished the 2024-25 season in fifth place, is one of the most consistent slalom skiers on the circuit and has finished on the Levi podium five times (four thirds and one second). She’s hungry to turn her 16 World Cup podiums into her first-ever long-awaited victory.
Another seasoned podium contender who has been consistently on the podium is from within Shiffrin’s own team: Paula Moltzan, a fierce technical skier capable of second-run heroics, cat-like acrobatics on skis, and flashing podium pace whenever conditions tighten.
Or could competition possibly come from one of the young guns that have yet to podium in Slalom? Germany’s Emma Aicher had a breakthrough season of her own in 2024-25, surprising even herself with wins in speed disciplines. Nevertheless, the all rounder remains a major Slalom threat with four top-10s already on the books. Another German to watch is Romy Ertl, who is making her World Cup debut this weekend at the tender age of 18. While Romy is new to the World Cup, the Ertl name is a staple: she is the daughter of two-time World Champion Martina Ertl, and could be an interesting wild card.
Speaking of wild cards, we have Lara Colturi, who is turning 19 on race day. The Albanian prodigy took her first World Cup podium last season and will absolutely be a factor. She did finish in 10th in Slalom last season but claimed her first Slalom podium in 2024-25 at Gurgl, Austria, and subsequently claimed two more podiums in Giant Slalom. This could be her breakout season with a victory. Like Ertl, she is also the daughter of a seasoned former World Cup racer, Daniela Ceccarelli, who won gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics in Super-G.
But to win in Levi, they all must do something few have managed: beat Mikaela Shiffrin in Slalom. The American superstar is the reigning Slalom champion with a total of 64 Slalom victories to her name and eight Slalom Crystal Globes. She is now just six victories short of doubling the win total of the next-best Slalom skier in history. And Levi? It might as well be her backyard. Shiffrin has eight wins and 13 podiums in the past 16 starts here, and the only skier to win in Levi since 2014 other than her is Petra Vlhova. So the other competitors have their work cut out for them to unseat the American from her throne in Santa’s homeland.
Watch all the action this weekend with the women’s race on Saturday, November 15. Run 1 will start at 10:00 a.m. local time and run 2 at 1:00 p.m. local time.
