Industry News
Lindsey Vonn has updated her followers on her social media channels about her plans for her return to the World Cup in the upcoming 2024-25 season. Formerly-retired U.S. ski racer Vonn had announced her return to competitive skiing in November this year after several weeks and months of rumors. The 40-year-old athlete had been spotted training in New Zealand in September and subsequently in Europe in October, sending the rumor mill into overdrive. Some news-outlets even got so excited at the prospect of the legendary skier’s return to the World Cup that they misinterpreted a press release from Sölden, Austria, thinking she would start at the World Cup Giant Slalom event in October.
However, Vonn’s return to World Cup racing is a little more complicated than Marcel Hirscher’s return, as FIS rules required her FIS points to be below 80 for a return to World Cup speed events. Hirscher competes in Slalom and Giant Slalom, where skiers can start with below 140 points, so he was able to return to the World Cup with the use of the newly introduced wildcard without having to attend any FIS races. Prior to the races at Copper Mountain, Vonn had 104.81 points in Downhill and 93.02 points in Super-G. Therefore, Vonn had to earn FIS points at the FIS Fall Festival at Copper Mountain last weekend to boost her FIS ranking. Vonn confirmed in her video that following the two Downhill and two Super-G events at Copper’s Speed Center, she is now eligible to compete at World Cup level.
Vonn confirms in her video that she will not be competing as a World Cup starter at the Downhill and Super-G in Beaver Creek, Colorado, next weekend, December 14 and 15. Vonn explains that, “I would love to be able to compete there but I didn’t get my points in time, and, also, I am not really ready. So this will be the test to see if I am really ready.”
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Federation also confirmed that it had applied for a wildcard for Vonn for the races in Corviglia, St. Moritz, Switzerland, on December 21 and 22. However, whether she will definitely start has not been confirmed.
It will be exciting to see Vonn as forerunner at the World Cup in Beaver Creek. The forerunner’s race is timed, so it will offer a good comparison of how Vonn could perform against the world’s international ski racing elite.
