PARK CITY, Utah (Nov. 22, 2023) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard in collaboration with FIS and Aspen Snowmass is excited to announce that the canceled men’s Audi FIS giant slalom World Cup race in Sölden will now be added to the Stifel Aspen Winternational, a FIS World Cup, on Friday March 1, 2024. This is in addition to the scheduled giant slalom and slalom in Aspen March 2-3. 

The men’s giant slalom World Cup in Sölden, Austria was canceled abruptly on Oct. 29 after strong winds made it clear that the race could not take place in a fair way. A total of 47 racers made it down the Sölden track in the first run before the race was put on hold and ultimately called off. 

“We are thrilled to bring the canceled giant slalom race to Aspen for an additional day of racing,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard “It is exciting to bring another opportunity of racing to our domestic crowd and see our men compete on home soil.”

Aspen Snowmass is seasoned in welcoming the world’s best alpine athletes to its venue with the Stifel America’s Downhill–a downhill and super-G–in the 2022-23 season and World Cup Finals in 2017. Aspen Snowmass has hosted more than 80 World Cup races over nine decades.

“Aspen’s passion for World Cup ski racing is decades old and runs deep,” said John Rigney, Senior Vice President at Aspen Skiing Company. “To secure an additional men’s GS race only adds to the excitement around the upcoming Stifel Aspen Winternational and helps make our season kickoff this week even more special for our community.”

Colorado fans will be able to cheer on local favorites in the giant slalom, namely Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete, world champion and Colorado local River Radamus, as well as world champion Tommy Ford. The race comes shortly after another domestic tech event, the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup held in Palisades Tahoe, California Feb. 24-25. 

Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete and winningest alpine skier of all time Mikaela Shiffrin won Sunday’s slalom in Levi, Finland. This marks Shiffrin's 89th World Cup win, along with her 54th slalom victory, 139th World Cup podium and seventh win in Levi - the most slalom wins at a single World Cup venue in history. 

“I am really happy with the victory,” said Shiffrin. “It proves that I have a good mindset to still fight so this means a lot.” 

The conditions were solid and consistent once again for all racers. Shiffrin ran bib two and immediately took the lead with clean and aggressive skiing, but Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova, and Saturday’s winner, blazed down to overtake the leaderboard chair with more than a half second advantage on run one. 

On the second run, a groove began to form towards the end of the flip, but Shiffrin skied smart and found herself in first. Vlhova was on track for another great day, gaining speed as she skied down the second run. She got caught towards the middle of her run and ultimately skied out.

"Petra really did a masterclass in slalom this weekend and in my mind she earned this victory but I did earn a podium so I am lucky and very happy with the victory," said Shiffrin.

Shiffrin took the victory, Croatia’s Leona Popovic second and Germany’s Lean Duerr in third to round out the podium. 

"It was a good weekend in the end with two wonderful races so I am very satisfied with it," said Shiffrin. 

Shiffrin Now Leads World Cup Slalom Wins at a Single Venue 

Shiffrin’s victory extended her World Cup win record to 89, and also gave her the most World Cup slalom wins at a single venue with seven wins (and seven reindeer) in Levi.

Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team teammate Paula Moltzan was having a good top section on her first run until she got held up in a hairpin and did not finish. AJ Hurt finished the first run in 53rd, Lila Lapanja in 58th and Dasha Romanov in 59th. They did not qualify for a second run. Zoe Zimmermann did not finish the first run. 

The tech women will now look to the Stifel Killington Cup on home soil for their next World Cup race, Nov. 25-26. 

The men’s speed team was scheduled to race Sunday in Zermatt-Cervinia, Switzerland but the race was unfortunately canceled due to weather. 

RESULTS
Women's slalom 

Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete and winningest skier of all time Mikaela Shiffrin took fourth place in the first World Cup slalom of the season in Levi, Finland. Teammate and 2023 world champion Paula Moltzan skied to 15th place. 

In the first run, the conditions were solid with hard snow making it an opportunity for any skier to come down into a good position. Ultimately Slovakia’s Petra Vhlova sped down into first with Germany’s Lena Duerr in second place and Shiffrin close behind in third. Moltzan landed in 12th after run one. 

Shiffrin had a crash last week in training where she sustained a bone bruise so stepping back into the start gate was already a step in the right direction.

"It was awesome to get this race in and feel like I could push without holding back," said Shiffrin.
 

In the second run the conditions were still strong making for an exciting race. Moltzan managed a few mistakes, skiing into 15th overall.

"Today was a good start to the slalom season for me," said Moltzan. "Happy with how I skied some sections of the course but I am hoping to find some more speed and put it all together tomorrow." 

Shiffrin skied well with a minor mistake on her second run and landed in fourth place. She moved back one spot from the first run. Shiffrin noted that she is excited to build upon what she learned on day one of the Levi slalom and is ready to push more on Sunday. 

"In some ways I felt like I was searching for the right line and pressure where sometimes I would hit and sometimes I would miss it," said Shiffrin. "I am trying to get my feet under me and get my timing better, be more active on the course, I was quite happy with the day overall," said Shiffrin. 

Vlhova won the race by an impressive 1.41 seconds, securing her sixth win on the track. Second place went to Germany’s Lena Duerr and third place went to Austrian Katharina Liensberger. 

Vlhova and Shiffrin are now tied with six World Cup wins at Levi throughout their careers. Only retired Swiss skier Vreni Schneider has won as many women's World Cup slalom events at a single venue.

Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete AJ Hurt was skiing very fast first run, punching it into the top 30 from bib 70. Unfortunately she was later disqualified for a straddle. Lila Lapanja finished the first run in 51st place and did not qualify for a second run. Zoe Zimmermann did not finish. 

It was an exciting day for Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Dasha Romanov making her World Cup debut in Levi. She finished the first run in 61st place and did not qualify for a second run. However she was thrilled for the opportunity to experience skiing on the biggest stage.  

“It was such an amazing experience to have my first World Cup start!” said Romanov. “The atmosphere is incredible and it was a really fun day. I definitely had a rough run and know that I have a lot more to show but it was nice to break the ice! Definitely going to remember this one.”

The women take on the Levi slalom track again on Sunday, Nov. 12.  

The men’s speed team will also hope to race downhill Sunday in Zermatt-Cervinia, Switzerland. Saturday’s race was canceled due to weather. 

RESULTS
Women's slalom 
 

HOW TO WATCH 

Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Women’s slalom, run 1, Levi, Finland, skiandsnowboard.live
7:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Women’s slalom, run 2,  Levi, Finland, skiandsnowboard.live
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Men’s downhill, Zermatt-Cervinia, Switzerland, skiandsnowboard.live

The 2024 A Racer’s Edge U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Masters National Championships will be held for the first time ever in the Central Division on February 5-10, 2024 at Granite Peak Ski Resort in Wausau, Wisconsin. The local resort and town are pulling out all the stops to make this an incredible and unforgettable event.

The 2024 National Championship includes a full week of racing with SG, GS, SL, and Parallel events. No qualifying requirements*–racers of all levels are welcome to compete in their age class. Discounted lift tickets and spectator-friendly finish areas will allow you to bring your full cheering squad. Social parties and awards nightly! Registration opens December 1st, 2023 at https://masters.adminskiracing.com.

* To be eligible to participate in National events, racers must hold a full U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Masters Membership which can be purchased at my.usskiandsnowboard.org.

National Championship Scoring

National Championship Age Class Combined

     The national age class Combined champions are awarded based on the lowest total race points accumulated by a competitor for the three events of SL, GS and SG at the national championships (triple-combined). Race points are calculated as the ratio of the competitor’s time to that of the winner in the competitor’s class, adjusted by a discipline-specific normalization factor set by the FIS which produces a time-based “closeness” ranking that can be compared across events.

     Because of the time-based scoring formula, competitors must finish all three events to be eligible for the combined. In the case of an event cancellation, the winners will be determined based on the events held.

Divisions Cup

     The Division’s Cup is awarded to the division with the best ratio of points scored per competitor starts for all races in the national championships. When the national championship DH or a 4th race is held as part of the national championships, it will be included in the Division’s Cup scoring.

     Divisions Cup points are awarded to the top 5 places in each age class (5 pts 1st, 4 pts 2nd, 3 pts 3rd, 2 pts 4th, 1 pt 5th). If a class has less than 5 competitors the points are scaled accordingly (e.g. a class with 3 competitors would award 3, 2, 1 points respectively).

     Division teams must consist of at least 10 competitors to be eligible.

National Masters Team

     The Nationals Masters Team is named each year from the national championships age class results, based on total points accumulated using the “Old World Cup” points scoring system. When the national championship DH or 4th race is held as part of the national championships, it will be included in the National Masters Team scoring.

     Scoring is based on highest total points accumulated in best 3 finishes from all applicable events. Competitors need not participate in or finish all events to be eligible. In the case of a tie, the tie is broken by best finish record using rank ordering of all finish positions (best finish result, then next best, until a finish position difference occurs). If there is still a tie, an additional tiebreaker adding race points from all applicable events in which all tied competitors finished is applied; lowest total wins.

     Competitors must have a current U.S. Ski & Snowboard alpine masters membership and be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for the National Masters team.

Looking for more National Competition?

Find information for all Masters Regional and National events at: usskiandsnowboard.org/masters/masters-events-schedules

National Championship Downhill

     The 2024 A Racer's Edge National Championship DH will be held January 22-23 at Mammoth Mountain, CA. Mandatory DH training runs will be held on January 22nd followed by 2 DH races on January 23rd. The first race will be the National Championship and both will count toward the National Speed Series.

National Speed Series

     The National Speed Series awards are based on total points accumulated across all races in the series using the “Old World Cup” points scoring system. Age class awards are given to the top three finishers in each age class of the season-long series. Competitors must have at least three starts to be eligible for series awards.

     The overall Speed Series champions trophies are awarded to the overall fastest racer in each of three groups, based on the total points in all races of the series:
   Group A/B (men age 18-64)
   Group D (men age 65+)
   Group C (all women)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Does one have to qualify for the Nationals or is this open to anyone?

There are no qualification requirements for Nationals. It is open to any adult racer!

Do I need a US Ski & Snowboard Membership to race at Nationals?

To compete at US Alpine Masters Nationals, you must have a Full Season Masters license. Short-term licenses are not allowed for this event. To renew your license or create a new account to purchase a license, go to: https://my.usskiandsnowboard.org/

I’ve never attended a Nationals Championship event, only a Regional Championship. Are the Nationals run similar to the Regionals, just a bigger event with more people attending, and from further away?

That’s a pretty good summary, however, there are several differences from our Regionals, which are a Divisional (Central Division) event. Yes, more people will attend from all over the country, but we also organize the competition into Age Groups: A (Men in Age Classes 1-5), B (Men in Age Classes 6-8), C (all Women), and D (Men in Age Classes 9+). So, there are essentially 4 races at Nationals. You race against others in your Age Group. Beyond that, there are Overall Awards for Age Classes. You must race in a certain number of events to be considered for the Overall. There is also the highly coveted Divisions Cup award. For each Discipline, there are also medals given out by Age Class and Gender. The competitive spirit and excitement of the races along with social opportunities are bigger than Regionals. 

I probably wouldn't be able to participate the whole week, am I allowed to just sign up for 2 or 3 days of races?

Yes, you can attend as many events as you wish but know that this may impact your ability to qualify for the Overall Award for your Age Class. 

Did I read correctly that it runs from Tuesday to Saturday (no racing on Sunday)?

Yes, there is no racing on Sunday. Our final banquet is Saturday night and we traditionally leave Sunday as a travel day. 

Would I use my Regionals/Division bib or would this be a new bib?

We have separate bibs for Nationals that will be assigned to you, and you will return it after your last event. No need to bring your Regionals/Division bib. 

Where do I register?

You can register at https://masters.adminskiracing.com.

The men’s first Audi FIS Ski World Cup race of the 2023-24 season, the annual giant slalom in Sölden, Austria, was canceled due to high winds after 47 racers. Before the final call was made, four Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team men sat in the top 30. 

“Due to the extreme wind for the rest of the day and for safety and fairness to all racers, the jury together with the OC (Organizing Committee) and the OSV (Austrian Ski Federation) have decided to cancel today's giant slalom race,” said FIS organizers.

The Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team men showed excellent skiing before the cancellation, with teammates and world champions River Radamus in seventh and Tommy Ford in 24th. Brian McLaughlin was also comfortably within the top 30 in 25th and George Steffey in 27th. Isaiah Nelson sat in 41st and Patrick Kenney was unable to take his first run due to the early cancellation. 

The top three racers before cancelation was Austrian Marco Schwarz, Swiss skier Marco Odermatt and Alexis Pinturault of France.

The World Cup giant slalom team will now prep for the next race held in Val d'Isère, France, Dec. 9.