On the second day of the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Jett Seymour stole the show with a 15th place and secured the Stifel Bibbo Award moving from bib 39 to 15th place. 

“I felt good about my second run. I had a few mistakes but that’s ski racing and I’m happy with the day,” said Seymour. 

It was another picture perfect day in the Lake Tahoe region with sunny skies, loud crowds and perfect snow for the world’s best ski racers. The U.S. team had six men on the docket ready to take their crack at the Red Dog slope. Seymour was up first for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, sending it down the hill without looking back to land himself a spot for the second run - the sole U.S. competitor to do so. 

The domestic crowd showed up for Seymour on the second run. The cheers were so loud that racers could hear clearly from the start. Seymour was cool under pressure on the tricky second run set and knifed his way into the finish. He ended up moving eight spots from his original first run to land in 15th position for his best finish of the year. 

“It does not get any better than this,” said Seymour. “Standing in the start, I can hear the crowd from the top. It elevates the nerves and energy and I just had to take that and use it to fuel my skiing.”

Seymour's result also secured him the Stifel Bibbo Award - a cash prize on top of his season-best finish.

Ben Ritchie, Jimmy Krupka and River Radamus did not finish the first run but are okay. Luke Winters and Isaiah Nelson did not qualify for a second run. 

The winner of the race was Austrian Manuel Feller, the current overall slalom standings leader. French Olympic gold medalist Clement Noel took second place with German Linus Strasser in third. 

The slalom and giant slalom crew will now continue the U.S. tour to Aspen for the Stifel Aspen Winternational races March 1-3. 

RESULTS
Men's slalom

In front of family, friends, teammates and thunderingly loud fans on home soil, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete River Radamus took his first career podium in the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup giant slalom at Palisades Tahoe, California. He finished third. 

"It's been a long time coming," said Radamus. "I've wanted to feel what this moment feels like for so long and I've just been working and working."

It was a picture perfect day to host a World Cup without a cloud in the sky and temperatures in the mid-40s. The U.S. fans swarmed in by the thousands to cheer on the best male ski racers in the world as they skied down the historic Red Dog trail. Swiss skier Marco Odermatt dominated the race from the beginning and Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway was not far off the mark in second. But Radamus made it interesting, running first for the Americans and skiing into third place. It was his best result in a first run in his career. 

But the pressure was on for Radamus in second run. While Radamus is a world champion in the team event, he had never before had an individual World Cup podium. Known for battling the curse of the wooden spoon award for years—the prize given to someone who gets fourth place—the pressure was on. But he remained calm and collected, arcing the course to ski onto his first career podium. He roared in the finish, pumping his fists and throwing his poles in celebration. 

"Doing it on home soil in front of friends and family and an amazing hometown crowd is so perfect," said Radamus. "I was in a better position than I ever had been after first run and I just kept telling myself you can't go easy." 

Ahead of Radamus, Odermatt won the race—his 10th World Cup giant slalom in a row—to clinch the overall Crystal Globe. Kristoffersen was second. 

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Tommy Ford also threw it in the top 20, skiing consistently to keep racking up giant slalom points in 20th place. Ford was the last U.S. man to podium in a tech World Cup, when he was second in Santa Caterina, Italy in 2020. Patrick Kenney, wearing bib 51, blazed into the 24th position to secure his first World Cup points.

"I wasn't too clean the whole way down but I just kept putting the skis down the fall line I recovered my way down but it was a win of a day already to score my first points," said Kenney. 

George Steffey and Isaiah Nelson did not qualify for second run. Brian McLaughlin crashed first run, but skied down.

Lukas Feurstein took home the Stifel Bibbo Award, an award given to an alpine athlete who wears the highest bib number and finishes the highest in the final rankings. He started bib 56 and finished 10th.

Next up, the men race a slalom race on Sunday to wrap up the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup.  

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH (all times in ET)
February 25 
1:00 p.m. - run 1, men's slalom - LIVE: CNBC, Peacock, Outside 
2:00 p.m. - (delayed coverage) men’s giant slalom - NBC 
3:00 p.m. - (same day delay) run 1, men’s slalom - CNBC 
4:00 p.m. - run 2, men's slalom - LIVE: CNBC, Peacock, Outside

*The article has been updated due to an inaccuracy where it was reported that Tommy Ford was the last American to podium in a tech World Cup in 2019 - Ford podiumed in 2020 in Santa Caterina where he was second in the giant slalom. 

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team is back in action on home soil for the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup at Saturday, February 24 and Sunday, February 25 for a giant slalom and slalom. 

This is the first time the men’s tech racers will race on home soil this season after a long few months in Europe. The races will be available to watch live and on demand.

All domestic races will be LIVE on Outside Watch (for free) and on demand (behind a paywall with an Outside+ subscription). CNBC will also feature these races live with Peacock simulcasting the race. Peacock will not have the race on demand. NBC will air the men's giant slalom on delay. See full schedule below.

HOW TO WATCH (all times in ET)
February 24
1:00 p.m. - run 1, men's giant slalom - LIVE: CNBC, Peacock, Outside
4:00 p.m. - run 2, men's giant slalom - LIVE: CNBC, Peacock, Outside

February 25
1:00 p.m. - run 1, men's slalom - LIVE: CNBC, Peacock, Outside
2:00 p.m. - (delayed coverage) men’s giant slalom - NBC
3:00 p.m. - (same day delay) run 1, men’s slalom - CNBC
4:00 p.m. - run 2, men's slalom - LIVE: CNBC, Peacock, Outside

The Stifel Aspen Winternational men's Audi FIS World Cup is a go! On Wednesday, Feb. 21st, the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) officially gave the green light to the local organizing committee during the scheduled snow control meetings, giving the go-ahead for Aspen Mountain to host the men’s technical World Cup. This is the second year in a row a World Cup returns to the mountain after speed races came through last year. 

The Stifel Aspen Winternational will host two giant slaloms and a slalom scheduled for March 1-3. 

A full schedule of events can be found here. 

In the final super-G of the regular World Cup season, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team men punched three into the top 15 with a career best result by Kyle Negomir in 12th, Ryan Cochran-Siegle 11th and Sam Morse in 14th. 

“I always heard that the Americans loved this place, but seeing it in person was on another level,” said Negomir. 

The conditions were not quite as sunny as the day prior with visibility problems moving the start lower, making for a short and sweet super-G. The speed men, riding a wave of confidence from the unreal team result day on Saturday, knew they could make another splash in the super-G. Ryan Cochran-Siegle skied solidly to squeeze the top 10 for the majority of the race, but ultimately ended in 11th. 

The highlight result of the day went to Negomir for his career best result, topping his career best from the downhill just the day before, skiing into the top 15 in 12th. 

“After a tough last month it was very nice to come into the finish and not be in last place for a change,” said Negomir. 

Sam “Moose” Morse also had an exciting weekend, landing in 14th position. Morse had his best result of the season the day before in 10th and this 14th place marked his best super-G result ever. 

“Seeing everyone ski with so much confidence and enjoy this hill really helped me to feel comfortable here,” said Negomir. 

Jared Goldberg also cracked the top 30 in 23rd place. Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes River Radamus, Bryce Bennett, Tristan Lane and Jack Smith also raced, finishing in 37th, 40th, 50th and 51st, respectively. The winner of the race was Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr, second place went to Canadian Jeffrey Read and third place was a tie with Italian Dominik Paris and Swiss skier Marco Odermatt. 

The speed team has had a strong season overall finding more success in the super-G discipline and more consistency in downhill. The team will end the regular speed season with two men in the top 10 overall downhill rankings and two men in the top 25 super-G rank. The speed team is also in fifth for the downhill Nations Cup standings. 

The next and final World Cup speed races for the men will be at World Cup Finals in Saalbach, Austria in March. 

RESULTS
Men's downhill

The women's downhill races are complete in Crans-Montana, Switzerland and Jackie Wiles finished 13th in both, two career-best results at the venue since she first took on the track in 2014. 

Wiles has consistently bettered herself at each World Cup event in the 2023-24 season after taking the previous year off due to injury. In her first race in Val d'Isere, Wiles finished 25th, wearing bib 39. Now Wiles is back where she belongs, in the mix with the best speed athletes on the women's circuit, starting the first 10 bibs, a vast improvement from where she began in the season. 

"Like my coach Alex (Hoedelmoser) told me, it only takes one race to get you back in there," she laughed.

Of course, after finishing in third during the second training of the week in Crans-Montana, Wiles had hoped for better results in her favorite discipline. However, the warm weather and variable soft snow made for an awkward race weekend. Topped with a couple of mistakes, Wiles could not punch it back onto the podium. Despite a tinge of disappointment, two top 15s are solid results that further solidify her chance at making the World Cup finals in Saalbach, and overall, she continues to build confidence in her strength and capabilities after years marred by injury after injury. 

Her teammate, Lauren Macuga, also has had quite the confidence-building season. Macuga scored her first-career World Cup points in Saint Mortiz in December and has continued to build further into the points, her best result being 10th in the Zauchensee super-G. 

This weekend in Crans, Macuga finished 20th in Friday's downhill and 23rd on Saturday. She'll look to post another top-25 result on Sunday in the weekend's final race, the super-G.

The downhill series also marked a monumental weekend for 19-year-old Allison Mollin, as she earned the first World Cup start of her career, competing in both Saturday and Sunday's events.

"I almost started crying at the start gate; I was so excited," Mollin exclaimed after her first run in the finish. "Then I realized that this wasn't a dream, and I actually had to focus and race, so it wouldn't be helpful if I couldn't see."

Sunday, Feb. 18, the women's racing in Crans-Montana wraps with a final super-G, beginning at 4:30 a.m. ET. Fans can watch live on skiandsnowboard.live.

RESULTS
Women's downhill - 2/16
Women's downhill - 2/17

SUPER-G STARTERS (name/bib)
Lauren Macuga (28)
Bella Wright (32)
Jackie Wiles (40)
Tricia Mangan (44)

On the final downhill in the regular World Cup season, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team men’s speed crew dominated the race with a top-tier team result led by Bryce Bennett’s fourth place finish, just off the podium. Teammates Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Sam Morse were close behind in seventh and 10th place, Morse’s top result of the season. 

“Super stoked with how the day went for myself and the whole team,” said Morse. “The track was in such good shape they did a really good job getting all the snow off from the day.” 

The conditions were good on Saturday after snow had been adequately pushed from the training run the day prior. The sun was shining and the speed men knew what to do. First Cochran-Siegle raced down into fourth place position, running right before Bennett. Bennett, currently riding one of his best downhill seasons to date, knifed the course, in the green the majority of the way, falling short of a podium by 0.10 seconds. He settled for fourth place, his third best result of the season. 

“I’m happy with today’s skiing, where my focus was during my run and getting the end result,” said Cochran-Siegle. “There’s always some time to be had or turns you wish you’d skied a little better that can be the difference between a good solid day like today and an amazing day, but that’s ski racing.”

The excitement for the men’s team did not stop and their confidence was shown through the rest of the skiers. Morse came down into seventh place eventually moving into 10th for the day. 

“Starting my first race in the top 30 you feel the pressure to stay there, so to have it all come together meant a lot,” said Morse. 

Jared Goldberg sped down for a top 20 result in 17th. Kyle Negomir landed his best World Cup result to date in 19th, tied with fellow American Wiley Maple. That marked six U.S. men in the top 20 for the last downhill of the regular season. The winner of the race was Swiss skier Niels Hintermann, second place went to Austrian Vincent Kreichmayr and third place to Canadian Cameron Alexander. 

“Really proud to be a part of this team after such an incredible performance from every one of us," said Cochran-Siegle. "I'm looking forward to racing tomorrow on such a fun track."

The next and final downhill will be the World Cup finals in Saalbach, Austria in March. The top 25 athletes by ranking in each discipline will compete. 

The men have another chance at the track for a super-G on Sunday. The race will be streamed and on demand on skiandsnowboard.live at 6 a.m. ET. 

RESULTS
Men's downhill

And just like that, the 2024 A Racer’s Edge National Championships is a wrap! It will for sure be one to remember! This year’s nationals was hosted in the Central Division at Granite Peak Ski Area in Wausau, Wisconsin February 5-10. While initial event planning included heated tents to hedge against what can be below zero winter temperatures, we ended up with uncharacteristic above freezing temps and sun that were reminiscent of our typical late-March nationals weather. The Midwest Masters, Granite Peak Ski Team, Granite Peak Ski Area, Hilton Garden Inn and the town of Wausau pulled out all the stops. Granite Peak may have less vertical than the places we typically travel to for Nationals, but with the Exhibition race trail running nearly top to bottom, it was a great venue for the event along with the debut of the Parallel GS as the 4th event for the 2024 National Championships.

Video Recap    Racer Photos     More Photos     Full Event Results

From the moment we checked into our hotels through to the hugs and goodbyes, the hospitality and experience were next level. The week started with SG training on Exhibition and SL and Parallel GS training on Sundance. Following training was a welcome party with an amazing buffet of food that highlighted Wisconsin classic snacks and flavors.

As seems to be the trend this season, Mother Nature threw us a curveball rendering the intended SL and Parallel GS venue unsuitable for racing on the first day of competition. After the SL inspection, it was clear that Sundance would not be safe for racing until the temperatures dropped much lower. Undeterred, the organizing committee quickly developed a plan B to run all racing on Exhibition until the final day where temperatures were expected to be colder.  The main trail Exhibition, is north facing and tree lined limiting the direct daily sun on the hill and allowing it to stay in prime shape for competition. The A/B group got started as scheduled with two 2-run SG races, while C/D got to relaxing, brunch, and free-skiing. The first SG race was the 2024 A Racer’s Edge National Championship SG and the second was a bonus and part of the 2024 A Racer’s Edge National Speed Series. Both races are scored for the National Speed Series. Due to the shorter vertical drop, the SG at Granite Peak is a combined time of two runs. At 40 plus seconds a run with a 7 minute lap time on the chairlift, it was an absolute blast to get 4 runs down the SG track. As soon as the SG wrapped up, the race crew quickly setup the trail for C/D SL and off we went slapping plastic. Before transitioning to awards the organizers and team captains hashed out a plan for the following days to best utilize the Exhibition race trail until colder temperatures arrived. We then transitioned to awards at the Grand Historic Lodge restaurant at the base of the resort. The party vibe was at an all-time high as racers recapped their runs, made new friends, caught up with long-time ones, congratulated fellow competitors, and set the stage to throw down for three more days of national competition.

Rolling on with plan B, Thursday brought C/D SG in the morning with A/B SL in the afternoon. Despite the initial forecast for cloudy with rain, we were delighted with a sunny day. Not to be outdone by the welcome party, the Thursday awards party wowed us with a beautiful top floor view at the Velveteen Plum looking out toward the mountain lit up for night skiing. Rain never came until later Thursday evening with a quick shower for a little bit of natural injection for GS the next day.

Friday was GS day for all groups which would round out the events that were part of the Combined Overall Award (SG, GS, SL combined). The little bit of natural injection the night before left us with prime racing conditions for GS. Awards for GS were at the Great Dane. Though the temperatures were back to winter, the 2nd race slope would still not setup enough in time for Saturday's races. It was decided on Friday to run the parallel race for all groups on Exhibition. 

2024 Overall Combined Masters National Champions

Eager to earn more points for the Division's Cup, racers geared up on Saturday for the inaugural Masters Championship Parallel GS. Racers went head-to-head within age groups A, B, C, and D which are divided as follows: age Group D Men's Classes 9-14 (ages 65+), Group C All Women, Group B Men's Classes 6-8 (ages 50-64), Group A Men's Classes 1-5 (ages 1-5). Competition was fierce in the qualifying rounds. Elimination brackets of 4 each were created for Groups C and D while Groups A/B raced in a combined bracket starting with 8 racers. With a few delays working out the kinks of the inaugural event and the extended timeline racing all groups in one day, the race wrapped up at 5pm taking full advantage of the longer hours of a resort with night skiing. Though the race was done, the party was then just getting started. Spirits were high and libations were plenty for the awards ceremony. 

With a field of about 110 racers we had racers in all age classes from 1-13 for women and 1-12 for men. It was the first time in 12 years we’ve had 23 age classes represented at the National Championships! It was a first for Nationals in the Central Division and a first hosting a parallel GS as part of the event. With both getting rave reviews, it probably won't be the last for either! We're working on plans for the 2025 Nationals and will make that announcement as soon as possible!

Thanks to all the sponsors!

Special thanks to Mark Abendroth for donating the Cherry, Walnut, and Oak wood for the overall awards that were in the shape of the state of Wisconsin!

The Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup is a go! On Thursday, Feb. 15, the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) officially gave the green light to the local organizing committee during the scheduled snow control meetings, giving the go-ahead for Palisades Tahoe to host the men’s technical World Cup for the second year in a row.

The Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup will host a giant slalom and slalom scheduled for February 24-25. As with every stop on the Audi FIS Ski World Cup, each mountain must pass “snow control” ahead of the races to ensure course quality for the racers. Palisades Tahoe has received 179” inches of snowfall this season and groomers and racecourse planners have been working on the course since February 1st.

“It’s a great honor to be the host resort for the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup as we continue to bring international competition back to our legendary slopes,” said Dee Byrne, COO and President of Palisades Tahoe. “From the 1960 Winter Games to the 1969 Men’s World Cup, the 2017 Women’s World Cup, and most recently the 2023 Men’s World Cup we’re looking forward to bringing an international competition back to our resort for the second year in a row. I would like to give a huge shoutout to our hardworking and dedicated Palisades Tahoe staff, North Tahoe community, and volunteers from around the world, because we couldn’t put this event on without them.”

A full schedule of events can be found here. here.

Paula Moltzan ensured the Stifel U.S. Ski Team ended the weekend with a bang in Soldeu, Andorra, taking third in the slalom on Sunday, Feb. 11. 

Moltzan started the day off strong, crushing her first run and setting a precedent for the time to beat. She knew it when she came to the finish, exclaiming, "Now that's how I ski slalom." 

Backed by a wave of motivation coming off of Saturday's giant slalom, where she finished 11th, and a solid understanding of the slope, having trained in Soldeu the week before, Moltzan was able to put it down confidently on the steep, final pitch, a section where most struggled. She was only surpassed by the day's winner, Sweden's Anna Swenn-Larsson, by a mere 0.14 seconds heading into the second run. 

By the end of the race, Moltzan held onto her podium position, finishing third overall behind Swenn-Larsson and Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic. It was her best result this season and second career slalom podium.

"Thus far, it's been a season of really high highs and really low lows, so to finally take a step up on the podium feels really good, and a step in the right direction," said Moltzan. 

"I know we're missing a lot of top competitors, but that doesn't discount anybody's skiing," she added. "Everyone gave it their all in challenging conditions, and it shows."

AJ Hurt also qualified for a second run, sitting in 13th after the first 1.57 seconds off Swenn Larsson's time. So, in classic AJ Hurt fashion, she held nothing back as she pushed out of the gate a second time, holding on to the green light one second faster than the girls that had skied before her through the third split. Sadly, her aggression pushed her line too low, and she could not hang on to the finish and straddled.

Lila Lapanja also started the race, but did not finish her first run. 

Overall, the women had a solid weekend in Soldeu, Andorra, despite missing Mikaela Shiffrin, who is still tending to a knee injury incurred in Cortina. The women's tour now looks ahead to a speed series in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where the speed crew will compete in two downhills and one super G. 

RESULTS 
Women's slalom