The Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team looks to continue its early-season success as they kick off the 15th edition of the FIS Tour de Ski Friday in what may be the most important event of the season outside of the Feb. 23-March 7 FIS World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Americans have found success at previous editions of the Tour de Ski, including Jessie Diggins’s third-place overall result in 2018. However, this year Rosie Brennan comes into the 10-day, eight-stage event as the overall World Cup leader - only the second American to ever wear the overall FIS cross country yellow leader’s bib - following two victories in Davos, Switzerland earlier this month. And with the World Championships falling later in the season than usual this year, Rosie, and her teammates are ready to get back to racing, gain some experience, and reach for podium results.

“I just want to be able to be in a position where I can put up a good fight every day and see what comes of that,” said Rosie, who will be among 11 U.S. athletes, including four - Gus Schumacher, Scott Patterson, Hailey Swirbul and Catiline Patterson - who are competing in their first Tour de Ski when it kicks off with Friday’s freestyle sprint. 

“My goal is to give it a really good, honest shot at an overall podium,” Jessie said. “We have had some really good times in the past, and we have had some really tricky times, but if everything goes well, and everything lines up, you can have really amazing races. But, I’m just going to take it one day at a time.”

With eight days of racing from Jan. 1-10 in Val Müstair, Switzerland, Tolblach and Val di Fiemme, Italy, there are plenty of opportunities for success. However, there are also plenty of opportunities for mistakes as well. During the 2019 Tour de Ski, icing skis knocked Jessie out of the overall lead in the fourth stage 10k classic. She finished the 2019 Tour ninth overall. 

“Every [stage] is just as important as the other,” Rosie added. “It’s hard to come back from any sort of mistake, or bad wax, or tough condition day.”

That is precisely what Scott, Hailey, Caitline, and Gus hope to learn from their first Tour de Ski start. “My goal is to get as far as I can, drink in the experience, and try to stay somewhat alive,” Gus said, adding that he hopes to make it to the final stage hill climb up the alpine slopes Val Di Fiemme that averages 12% gradient, with stretches up to 30%, over the last 3.5k. 

“I’m looking forward to gaining experience because I hope to one day be able to do really well in [the Tour],” said Hailey, who picked up her first career World Cup podium this month, finishing third in the 10k freestyle in Davos. “Because it is my first Tour, I really don’t know what to expect, so I’m just going in with an open mind.”

While top results are always the goal heading into the Tour de Ski, coming out of a 10-day event with a fitness boost is always a great benefit, so long as each athlete successfully manages the rest and recovery phase post-tour. With that in mind, Sophie Caldwell Hamilton plans to race the first three stages in Val Müstair and then opt out in order to prepare for the remainder of the season.

“I debated for a while whether or not the Tour de Ski made sense to do given [the upcoming World Championships],” Rosie said. “I don’t know if there is a right answer. [In the past] I have had the Tour go well and not affect the rest of my season, and I’ve also had the Tour be really hard to recover from and put a dent in the rest of my season. I feel confident about my shape this year, so I think I have the ability to handle it and I’m hoping that it sets me up well for World Champs, especially given a little later start to the World Champs this season.”

Following the Tour de Ski, the FIS Cross Country World Cup schedule will have an off weekend before resuming Jan. 23-24 in Lahti, Finland.

U.S. Starters for the 15th FIS Tour de Ski 

• Kevin Bolger
• Rosie Brennan
• Sophie Caldwell Hamilton
• Jessie Diggins
• Simi Hamilton
• Julia Kern
• Katharine Ogden
• Caitlin Patterson
• Scott Patterson
• Hailey Swirbul
• Gus Schumacher

Tour de Ski Schedule
Friday, Jan. 1, Val Müstair, SUI
Men and Women’s freestyle sprint

Saturday, Jan. 2, Val Müstair, SUI
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Sunday, Jan. 3, Val Müstair, SUI
Women’s 10k freestyle pursuit
Men’s 15k freestyle pursuit

Tuesday, Jan. 5, Tolblach, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle

Wednesday, Jan. 6, Tolblach, ITA
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit

Friday, Jan. 8, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Saturday, Jan. 9, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Men and women’s classic sprint

Sunday, Jan. 10, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb

HOW TO WATCH

Friday, Jan. 1
5:45 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men and Women's Sprint - LIVE, Val Müstair, SUI, Streaming Peacock

Saturday, Jan. 2
6:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Women's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val Müstair SUI, Streaming Peacock
8:45 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Mass Start - LIVE, Val Müstair, SUI, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
5:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Pursuit - LIVE, Val Müstair, SUI, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Women's 10k Pursuit - LIVE, Val Müstair, SUI, Streaming Peacock

The remaining Broadcast/Streaming Schedule will be available here!

It was a banner day to finish out 2020 with Mikaela Shiffrin taking third place in the FIS Alpine World Cup slalom in Semmering, Austria, and Nina O’Brien finishing in ninth—her first top-10 result in her career. 

Under the lights, Michelle Gisin of Switzerland had a heroic second run to win her first-ever World Cup race and become the first woman besides Mikaela or Petra Vlhova in 28 races to win a World Cup slalom. The last time someone else had won a slalom was Frida Hansdotter in Flachau in January 2017. Since then, Mikaela had won 19 slaloms and Petra had won nine. Katharina Liensberger of Austria finished second in Semmering.

Mikaela led the first run by just .02 seconds but had an on-the-edge second run, which lost her some time. But even with a few bobbles, she was able to score a podium finish and adjust her approach for future races when she’s leading after first run. “I forgot a bit how it feels to stand at the start and think, ‘I’m the last person to ski down this course tonight—whoopee!’” said Mikaela. “It’s a good thing. Even if I didn’t win the race, it’s a good thing to be in this position today and have to relearn how that feels. I was really pushing on the second run and I didn’t handle that very well. I made some mistakes, but then again, I could have been out of the course. I was fighting to stay in the course and trying to be tough with my skiing. I feel like that’s a really big step even though it’s not a win.”

In her last 46 slalom races, Mikaela has finished on the podium 43 times. But she acknowledges that the women are skiing faster and faster and that she still has to work on her mindset every day to stay competitive. “When I was 16 or 17, it happened and I was like, ‘Oh that works! I’ll just think like that now,’” said Mikaela. “I got in this groove and started winning. Now everything is just a little bit different. I have to find a different way to think. I can’t really move forward until I don’t try to go back.”

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Nina O’Brien had a career-best day, taking her first top-10 result on the World Cup circuit in ninth place. Nina—whose previous best slalom result was 23rd—even enjoyed a few minutes in the leader's chair, beating racer after racer. She finished out the day with a huge hug from her masked teammates, who were ecstatic to see Nina climb to the top 10. Fun fact: The last time two American women were in the top 10 was in a slalom in Crans-Montana, Switzerland in 2016 when Mikaela won and Resi Stiegler was eighth.

"I’m a little bit shocked...I can’t believe I ended up ninth!" Nina said following the race. "But I’m so happy to close out the year with a top 10 and personal best! I’ve put so much work into my slalom and it all came together tonight. It’s been crazy inspiring watching my teammates throw down these past weeks. I’m just psyched to be a part of this team and keep the momentum rolling." So far this season, the Team has amassed nine podiums across five different athletes, as well as career-best results and first World Cup points for several athletes—making it the strongest start to a season for this generation of U.S. Ski Teamers.

University of Denver skier Katie Hensien qualified for her first World Cup second run but had to hike. She finished 27th. Five-time Olympian and U.S. Ski Team alumnus Casey Puckett, who is Katie's coach, promised her that he'd let her cut his hair if she got a second run. Stay tuned for coverage of that event on social media. 

Keely Cashman, Resi Stiegler, Lila Lapanja, and Paula Moltzan—who was skiing fast and solid, but hiked first run—did not qualify for a second run.

Semmering was the last women’s race before the year finally rolls over from 2020 to 2021 and Mikaela remarked that while things won’t necessarily change overnight, she’s optimistic for the future. “My wishes are simple: I hope that things can come back closer to normal and the people I love are happy and healthy,” she said. “I hope that people have a really special New Year's celebration and find some hope that maybe the new year can bring some better luck or better times or some healing if you had a difficult time.”

Next up, the tech women have a short break before heading to Zagreb on January 3 to vie for the Snow Queen Trophy in a night slalom.

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

HOW TO WATCH
Dec. 28, 2020 - Jan. 3, 2021
All Times EST

Wednesday, Dec. 29
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast Olympic Channel
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBC
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - Replay From Bormio, Italy, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBC
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBCSN

All streams will be available via desktop as well as mobile, tablet, and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports, Peacock TV, and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.

On Tuesday in Bormio, Italy, Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Ryan Cochran-Siegle ended a 14-year drought to become the first American male to win a FIS Ski Alpine World Cup super-G since Bode Miller in Dec. 2006. 

It’s been a steady build towards the top for Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the son of 1972 Olympic slalom champion Barbara Ann Cochran. He injured his left knee in a crash on the third gate of the downhill portion of the alpine combined at the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria. At that same World Champs, teammate and two-time Olympic champion Ted Ligety won the super-G. With multiple surgeries and thousands of hours spent in the gym, Ryan is one of the most intensely focused and coachable athletes on the U.S. Alpine Ski Team. In 2012, he won double gold at the World Junior Championships in Italy. 

Ryan’s nearly eight-tenths margin of victory is the largest winning margin in a men’s World Cup super-G since Carlo Janka of Switzerland in the Olympic test event in Korea in 2016. When asked about this margin, Ryan humbly and in his signature understated manner replied, “I skied well. I had a good approach and carried speed in a lot of sections...that middle section, I definitely skied with a good limit and just trusting that, trying to ski it smart. The speed I gained from there, I carried through the finish and had that gap.”

Ryan was quick to give credit to the U.S. Ski Team, the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain, Colo., and his serviceman and teammates for their support. “I’ve always been pretty technically sound, but gliding has always been a weakness of mine,” he reflected. “The past couple of years I’ve been skiing a little more speed with our speed team, both in Copper, and South America, which has progressively gotten me to the point where I can be solid on race day. I have to shout out the team and the serviceman Gregor, and everyone who has helped me get to this point because it is a team effort.” 

When asked about what it's like to be the first American male to win a World Cup super-G since Bode in 2006, Ryan said, “It’s a tricky event, there’s just so many things that have to fall into place for race day in order to make it happen, but it’s pretty spectacular.” The interviewer then mentioned that Ryan now has matched his mother, and he replied, "I think she had four World Cup wins...and a bunch of other medals, but yeah—it's pretty spectacular." 

Travis Ganong grabbed another top-15 result in super-G, while Bryce Bennett, Jared Goldberg, and Erik Arvidsson also started for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Tuesday’s super-G, and ended up 37th, 41st, and 45th, respectively. So far this season, the U.S. Alpine Ski Team has amassed eight podiums for five different athletes, making it the strongest start to the season the Team has had in a long time.

Up next is downhill on Wednesday. Ryan, Travis, Bryce, Jared, and Sam Morse will all start for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team with Ryan and Jared putting in some strong results in the downhill training runs. Both races will be streamed live on Peacock.

HOW TO WATCH
Dec. 28, 2020 - Jan. 3, 2021
All Times EST

Tuesday, Dec. 29
9:15 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Wednesday, Dec. 29
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast Olympic Channel
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBC
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - Replay From Bormio, Italy, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBC
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBCSN

All streams will be available via desktop as well as mobile, tablet, and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports, Peacock TV, and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.
 

This story was first published in the Autumn issue (40.1) of Cross Country Skier Magazine, the only English language publication celebrating the world of Nordic skiing. It’s critically important to ski racing, in all of its forms, that we support the journalism that supports the U.S. Team! Learn more and subscribe today at crosscountryskier.com/subscribe.

For the U.S. Ski Team, raising money has always been a challenge. And as any 501c3 organization knows, Covid-19 has turned fundraising on its head. For the Team, that’s meant no grand galas, no national championships and plenty of stress on corporate supporters. And, unlike its European competition, no traditional government support at all.

So when the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund stepped up to cover the entire budget for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in 2019 and through the 2022 Olympics, there was a collective sigh of relief in Park City and from Anchorage to Stratton, Tahoe to Steamboat Springs.

The Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund is partly administered by Shelby’s grandson Andrew Davis, who replaced his father on the USSA board of directors in 2012. The fund, established by the late Shelby Cullom Davis and administered by his children and grandchildren was, according to Andrew, the legacy his grandfather passed down instead of inheritances. And while funding was in place last season, it wasn’t until this year that “Davis” was added to U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in order to, Andrew says, encourage other potential donors to step up in the future.

“Andrew Davis and the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund have been tremendous supporters of U.S. Ski & Snowboard,” says Tiger Shaw, president and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “[Andrew’s] passion and support for the cross country team as they prepare for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games has provided the athletes the opportunity to focus on reaching their full athletic potential.”

The funding provides coaches and techs with assurance that they won’t have to make the tough decisions that may face some of their counterparts on the snowboard and alpine side of the team. In short that means coaching, travel, training and technical support are 100-percent covered by the U.S. Cross Country Team.

“It’s a tough environment for finding funding at the moment,” head cross country coach Chris Grover said on the Cross Country Skier Podcast in late spring. “[This support is] really huge and it’s taken so much stress out of the planning and budgeting conversations that we’ve had over the last few months, because we haven’t had to make the really hard choices that we’d have to make in a tougher budget environment.”

In addition to being on the USSA board, Andrew Davis is president of Davis Selected Advisors, a financial firm founded by his father and based in New York City. Davis, 57, is a lover of sport, and though he’s not an avid cross country skier himself, through his own athletic endeavors, he gets it. We caught up him this summer to better understand his motivation to throw funding behind the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. But first, we had to talk a little bike racing. –Adam Howard

I’m an avid cyclist. I hope in my next life to come back as a 155 pound Italian or, these days, Columbian, depending on how they’re doing in The Tour [de France]. You watch these guys who cycle professionally either in a classics race or at a tour or in a grand tour, you watch the way they suffer. I mean, they’re on a bike for three weeks, a hundred miles a day, 10,000 feet of climbing. I mean, just looking at the suffering they do is, for me, I just admire it. I just think that they are incredible athletes.

So, when I got to be a part of the Ski Team, the Nordic team [was] doing pretty well. I thought, my goodness, look how well these women are doing, for example. If they weren’t on the podium, they were near to it or they were top 10. And you look at the equipment they were saddled with. Whereas in cycling, they had these large buses where the teams go in and relax and rest. And [our team] was operating out of the van! They didn’t have a waxing truck like every other dominant team in the field. They had a van!

When I saw that, it was easy pickings. These guys are competing hard and well, and the playing field isn’t even level. And I just couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it. I said, imagine how [they] might do if they were provided with the ability to train and be able to wax their skis as every other team does, as the Norwegians do. And the Russians do. And all the other dominant players in the field. Imagine how they might do? So, I got revved up about that. And I was an early contributor to get them a real wax truck and was pleased to be part of that. And the results that they [achieved], I mean, you saw America’s first gold medal of the last Olympics.

Then the next question was, all right, let’s take a look at the training. How much time did these guys have to stand out with a tin cup in their hand trying to raise money so they can train? Because, as you well know, the government doesn’t kick in anything. It’s all privately funded, and this team, once again, has been doing well with that arm tied behind their back. So, I got to talking with Chris [Grover] and the rest of the USSA team and said, “So what does it cost to get these guys to not have to focus on fundraising but to focus on their Olympic-caliber talent?”

That was a number that I was willing to do for their own Olympic assault that’s coming up for the next Winter Games, to allow them to be fully funded. And I’ve got to tell you, as philanthropy goes, that felt like one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made. Because you have excellence, you have dedication, you have everything you want to see from an Olympic athlete, and yet they can’t find the funding to pursue [their dreams]. I wanted to allow them to pursue fully, 100-percent pursue versus OK, now, “I’ve got to go to this fundraiser and sit down here and, you know, beg for money.” All of which has got to be not only taking away training days but also taking away motivation. And that’s got to wear on your psyche. What I want them to do is focus on “I’ve got to get up that hill. That damn hill is steep, and I’ve got to get up [it] faster than that particular competitor. I’ve got to get up that hill.” I want their minds totally focused on that.

I’m proud to be a part of helping them pursue their excellence. I think it’ll be very exciting to see them compete at the next Olympics and to keep making progress toward becoming a true world power in Nordic ski racing. 

After a successful first run, the FIS World Cup giant slalom in Semmering, Austria was canceled due to strong winds. The race will not be rescheduled at Semmering.

The wind was calm for first run, but in between the two runs, the breeze picked up, blowing the gates into unsafe positions and called into question potential fairness, which stemmed two 15-minute postponements. But then the wind turned catastrophic, damaging the finish corral and equipment, leading to the race’s official cancelation. The results of the first run do not count.

Coming off her first FIS World Cup win in Courchevel after a long-awaited return to giant slalom, Mikaela Shiffrin sat in fourth position going into second run, just .14 seconds away from the podium. Petra Vlhova of Slovakia was in the lead with Marta Bassino of Italy in second and Michelle Gisin of Switzerland in third.

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Nina O’Brien also made the flip in 27th place. Paula Moltzan just missed the top 30, finishing 36th after starting 56th. Keely Cashman and AJ Hurt did not finish.

The slalom is set to take place as previously scheduled on Tuesday evening in Semmering, but keep an eye on our Twitter feed for updates.

RESULTS (canceled run two)
Women's giant slalom - first run

SLALOM STARTERS
Keely Cashman
Katie Hensien
Lila Lapanja
Paula Moltzan
Nina O'Brien
Mikaela Shiffrin
Resi Stiegler

HOW TO WATCH
Dec. 28, 2020 - Jan. 3, 2021
All Times EST

Tuesday, Dec. 29
9:15 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Wednesday, Dec. 29
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast Olympic Channel
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBC
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - Replay From Bormio, Italy, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBC
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBCSN

All streams will be available via desktop as well as mobile, tablet, and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports, Peacock TV, and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.

Due to dumping snow and unsafe conditions, the men’s FIS World Cup super-G in Bormio, Italy on Monday morning was postponed until Tuesday, December 29.

The announcement was expected, given that the originally scheduled downhill on Monday was preemptively switched with the super-G because of anticipated heavy snowfall. Both races on the Stelvio track will now be shifted by a day—the super-G will be on Tuesday and the downhill on Wednesday.

“No surprise!” said Marcus Waldner, the FIS Men’s World Cup Chief Race Director. “The forecast was very accurate. Already two days ago, we expected this snow. The front was coming in. The snowfall is quite heavy on the top.”

The snow is supposed to let up Monday afternoon with no precipitation forecasted for Tuesday. Erik Arvidsson, Bryce Bennett, Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Travis Ganong, Jared Goldberg, and Sam Morse will all start for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team with Ryan and Jared putting in some strong results in the downhill training runs. Both races will be streamed on Peacock.

STARTERS
Erik Arvidsson
Bryce Bennett
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Travis Ganong
Jared Goldberg
Sam Morse

RESULTS
Men’s downhill training 1
Men’s downhill training 2

HOW TO WATCH
Dec. 28, 2020 - Jan. 3, 2021
All Times EST

Tuesday, Dec. 29
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Streaming Peacock
9:15 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast Olympic Channel
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBC
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - Replay From Bormio, Italy, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBC
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBCSN

All streams will be available via desktop as well as mobile, tablet, and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports, Peacock TV, and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.

The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team downhillers call the Stelvio track in Bormio, Italy a “real-deal downhill”...it’s dark, it’s bumpy, and it’s fast. The American men are also fast...as Ryan Cochran-Siegle has dominated the training runs, winning them by six tenths and three tenths, respectively. On the women’s side, two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin will lead the tech crew at a venue where she’s had a lot of success in Semmering, Austria. 

After snagging his career-best super-G result (eighth) in Val Gardena, Italy last weekend, and backing that up with his career-first podium (second place) in downhill at the same venue, Ryan is coming to the weekend at Bormio with confidence...but he’s not focusing on his results—rather, he’s focusing on his skiing. Ryan has been quick to call a winning training run “fool’s gold” in the past and knows this strong and deep field of downhillers brings the heat on race day. 

“I think I got some confidence from Gardena, but also I’m just trying to focus on my skiing,” Ryan said after the second of two downhill training runs on Sunday, “I mean with training runs, people are just trying to figure out the race line, and I think I’ve been doing a good job in sections, but I still have some time to find. I’m trying to find some really good, fluid skiing throughout the whole course. It’s a fun course to ski, and there’s a certain level of intimidation and just trying to make it all the way down from start to finish, skiing as well as possible...skiing fluidly and connecting the dots.” 

In the second downhill training run, Ryan said there was a rattle that makes it challenging to ski really good, clean turns. He says, “You have to have a good plan top to bottom, and know where the risk is worth it and where you have to back off and just ski through to make it through with speed.” Ryan will go into the two-day series with no expectations. Due to the weather forecast, the downhill and super-G have been swapped, so the men will kick it off with super-G on Monday, followed by downhill on Tuesday. 

Travis Ganong was the last American to win a World Cup downhill, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on January 27, 2017. The last American skier to win a World Cup downhill race in Bormio was Bode Miller on December 29, 2007.

Jared Goldberg, who grabbed a career-best sixth place in Val Gardena Italy’s downhill, has also been strong in downhill training, with the fourth-fastest training run on Saturday, and the ninth-fastest on Sunday. Keep an eye on Bryce Bennett and Travis Ganong, who always bring the heat on race day, as well as Sam Morse and Erik Arvidsson. 

Mikaela, who recently won her 67th career victory in Courchevel, France, will lead a deep tech crew in Semmering, Austria, including Paula Moltzan, Nina O’Brien, Keely Cashman, AJ Hurt, Katie Hensien, Lila Lapanja, and Resi Stiegler. Mikaela has had significant career success in this post-holiday series, traditionally held between Lienz and Semmering, Austria. Let’s talk about stats at Semmering for a moment, shall we?! Yes, yes, we know Mikaela doesn’t focus on the stats, but that doesn’t mean we can’t, right?! This is about to get fun...buckle up. 

• Coming into Semmering, Mikaela Shiffrin had won 67 World Cup events, joint-third on the all-time list alongside Marcel Hirscher. Only Ingemar Stenmark (86) and Lindsey Vonn (82) have won more World Cup events. 
• Mikaela has won 43 World Cup slalom events, already an all-time record among men and women. Only Stenmark (46 in giant slalom) and Vonn (43 in downhill) have won at least 43 World Cup events in a specific discipline. 
• The last 28 women's World Cup slalom events were either won by Mikaela (19) or Petra Vlhová (9), since Frida Hansdotter won in Flachau on 10 January 2017. 
• In her last 45 slalom starts, Mikaela finished on the podium 42 times (34 wins).  Shiffrin won each of the last two World Cup slalom races held in Semmering, in December 2016 and in December 2018.
• Mikaela won the most recent giant slalom event in the World Cup, in Courchevel on 14 December. The last time she won back-to-back giant slalom events in the World Cup was four years ago, when she won both giant slalom events in Semmering, on 27 and 28 December 2016.
• Mikaela has claimed a podium finish in nine of her last 11 World Cup giant slalom appearances, with the only exceptions a 17th place in Courchevel last season and a fourth place in Courchevel on 12 December. 
• Mikaela has only participated in technical events this World Cup season. She finished second and fifth in the slalom events in Levi and fourth and first in the giant slalom events in Courchevel. 
• Mikaela has won 12 giant slalom events in the World Cup, second-most among active female skiers after Tessa Worley (13).
• Mikaela won four of the last five women's World Cup events held in Semmering, two slalom events, and two giant slalom events. The only exception was fifth place in the giant slalom on 28 December 2018, when Petra Vlhová won. 
• Mikaela’s four World Cup wins in Semmering are already more than any other skier at this venue. She has won 12 World Cup events in Austria, most among women. Only Hermann Maier and Stenmark have won more World Cup events in Austria (both 15).

When asked about her post-Christmas success in recent years, Mikaela reflected, “I do have quite a few theories about why I tend to have pretty strong races this time of year, in this block just after Christmas through New Year’s and the beginning of the year. A big piece of it is because we know that it’s going to be a big push, even going into the season, so my whole team puts a lot of emphasis on mental and physical preparation going into this period, to know that it’s going to be tiring...and sometimes just being mentally prepared for that makes a big difference...and I think that my coaches do the absolute best job of finding the best preparation so I’m going into this period of time with confidence in my skiing.” 

Speaking of preparation, Mikaela spent the last couple of weeks since Courchevel training in Reiteralm, Austria...which is also where she spent Christmas with her mother and her team. She was quick to add that though a lot of people feel “she’s back” after her win in Courchevel, people think she’s totally back and things are back to normal...she says “I don’t see it that way, and maybe ‘normal’ doesn’t exist...I didn’t come back in Courchevel, it’s always a process—my entire career has been a really long process, and it hasn’t changed just because I won a race again.” She says managing her energy throughout the weekend is something she has to re-learn. In this post-holiday race series of 15 World Cup events between Semmering and Lienz, Mikaela has podiumed 11 times (73% of them) and won seven times (46%)...including a back-to-back victory last year in Lienz, which her late father Jeff was there to witness.   

Follow all of the action on Peacock TV, the Olympic Channel, NBCSN, and NBC...it’s going to be a big week as we head into the new year and kick off the much-anticipated 2021. 

STARTERS

MEN
Erik Arvidsson
Bryce Bennett
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Travis Ganong
Jared Goldberg
Sam Morse

WOMEN
Keely Cashman
Katie Hensien
AJ Hurt
Lila Lapanja
Paula Moltzan
Nina O’Brien
Mikaela Shiffrin
Resi Stiegler

RESULTS
Men’s downhill training 1
Men’s downhill training 2

HOW TO WATCH
Dec. 28, 2020 - Jan. 3, 2021
All Times EST

Monday, Dec. 28
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, Run 1 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Super-G - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Super-G - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Streaming Peacock
7:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, Run 2 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Super-G - Same Day Delayed Broadcast, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBCSN

Tuesday, Dec. 29
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Streaming Peacock
9:15 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast Olympic Channel
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBC
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - Replay From Bormio, Italy, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBC
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBCSN

All streams will be available via desktop as well as mobile, tablet, and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports, Peacock TV, and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced on Dec. 23, 2020 that the 2021 Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix FIS Freeski and Snowboard World Cup at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Calif., originally scheduled for Feb. 3-6 has been postponed.

The International Ski Federation (FIS), U.S. Ski & Snowboard, and Mammoth Mountain are working closely together to reschedule the events and will follow up with more information as it becomes available.

“We have worked closely with Tiger Shaw and U.S. Ski & Snowboard and agree that we must continue to prioritize the health and wellbeing of our employees, athletes, guests, and community,” said Mark Brownlie, President and COO of Mammoth Resorts. “With that in mind, the decision was made to postpone the event to a later date. We look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship and commitment to athletics at Mammoth Mountain and will explore all opportunities to reschedule this season.”

Specific event information will be forthcoming as the local organizing committee works through its detailed protocols with local and state health officials. The U.S. Grand Prix is contingent on local and state health department approvals based on existing and future COVID-19 rules and regulations. FIS, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the local organizing committee, and Mammoth Mountain are taking a unified approach consistent with guidance from federal, state, and local health authorities. 

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About U.S. Ski & Snowboard

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, based in Park City, Utah. Tracing its roots directly back to 1905, the organization represents nearly 200 elite skiers and snowboarders in 2020, competing in seven teams; alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, nordic combined and ski jumping. In addition to the elite teams, U.S. Ski & Snowboard also provides leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders across the USA, encouraging and supporting them in achieving excellence. By empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team. For more information, visit www.usskiandsnowboard.org.

In a crash in Friday's FIS Ski World Cup downhill at Val d'Isere, France, two-time Olympian Alice McKennis Duran sustained a fractured right ankle, requiring surgical intervention, and will be out for 8-10 weeks. 

After skiing two strong downhill training runs (first and 11th), Alice was feeling good and strong heading into the weekend. It was a tough day for many of the top speed skiers, with crashes by Austria's Nicole Schmidhofer, Italy's Federica Brignone, and others. Unfortunately, Alice was among them. There are many things Alice would like to say, including some four-letter words, but we'll just leave it at the fact that 2020 has been a challenging year. 

In an Instagram post on Wednesday morning, Alice wrote, 

It’s crushing mentally and emotionally to be back in this place...to feel yet again that I was in the verge of doing great things, and to have it all slip through my fingers once again. It’s hard to make sense of it all. All the hard work and perseverance to be rendered almost meaningless in a flash. I’ve had surgery 9/12 years in my career on the World Cup and it’s my 5th season ending injury, both staggering numbers that make me cringe and feel so much anger and frustration. Why...?
.
I could go on at length about feeling sorry my self but that gets me nowhere-it could have been much,much worse. I am lucky to only have only sustained the injuries I did and I am grateful for that. I was able to ski down (although not all that well😝😬), something others were unable to do. There are many people out there that have overcome worse things in all walks of life, and continue to thrive. They are my inspiration! I believe I will have the opportunity to thrive again it will just take some time.
.
Thank you everyone who has showed me so much support and love, and to those who keep lifting me up when I fall (literally). Perspective is everything and these people are what makes it all feel bearable. Onwards. ❤️ #bettereveryday

Alice is no stranger to comebacks. Her latest injury sustained just after her climb back to the podium in Are, Sweden in 2018, had her sidelined for the 2018-19 season. During the 2017-18 season, the U.S. women’s downhill team was the most successful downhill team on th circuit. Alice returned to competition for the 2019-20 season with a goal to "...enjoy the process of getting better at ski racing, continue working hard, and give my best effort everyday!" She was steadily building towards 2020-21, and had been skiing strong in prep period camps.

Following the crash, Alice traveled back to the States and was evaluated by doctors in Vail, Colo. She underwent ankle surgery on Wednesday morning, which was successful, and now she is on the road to recovery.  

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Alice Mckennis Duran (@thealigator)

Soft snow and big ruts made for tough conditions at the annual Madonna di Campiglio FIS World Cup night slalom in Italy, with no U.S. skiers making a second run.

Under the lights and springlike snow, Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway powered through the ruts and bumps to attack from 12th place first run to take the overall win. His teammate Sebastian Foss-Solevaag was second and hometown boy Alex Vinatzer of Italy of third.

The soft conditions made it difficult for the U.S. men, who all started between bibs 45-55. Neither Luke Winters, Ben Ritchie nor Jett Seymour finished first run. Only three men that wore bibs with numbers higher than 30 made a second run.

While the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team men didn’t make the cut in Italy, their coach Ryan Wilson still has confidence in their progression and future on the World Cup circuit. “The guys have the speed and athletic ability,” he said. “We will be successful ultimately. These guys are young; they ski technically well. We have some work to do, but the guys will continue to be better technical skiers. They’re young and they have a bright future ahead of them.”

And Ryan is serious about the U.S. men being young. The team is the youngest on the circuit with all of the American men under 23 years old. So while the slalom team isn’t seeing the results quite yet, Ryan plans on it happening in the future through diligent work and training. “Quite frankly, they’re young and they don’t pull it out often in World Cup races yet,” he said. “But we’re getting more experience and we’re definitely still focused on being strong technical skiers with the goal of being ultimately consistent enough to be in the hunt in four to seven years.”

The men’s tech team now has a nice break to celebrate the Christmas holiday before heading to Zagreb, Croatia for another night slalom after the new year.

RESULTS
Men’s slalom