The Laax Open wrapped up competition this morning with the second year of men’s and women’s freeski finals in Laax, Switzerland. The Stifel U.S. Freeski team continued to show dominance in the sport with seven athletes set to drop in the innovative and progressive slopestyle course. Jay Riccomini took home his first career podium on the women’s side, while Mac Forehand was second among the men.  

It was a wild start on the women’s side with France’s Tess Ledeux taking an uncharacteristic fall and Rell Harwood slipping off the first downrail, a feature proven to be costly for many riders throughout competition. Riccomini turned things around in his first World Cup finals appearance and found himself in podium position after run one, behind heavy hitters Mathilde Gremaud from Sweden and China’s Eileen Gu. Riccomini improved his score with a clean and highly executed second run that led to his first career World Cup podium, ending the day in third place.

The Stifel U.S. Freeski Team was stacked on the men’s side, with five out of 12 competitors representing the stars and stripes, but the pressure was on with no U.S. athletes in podium position after run one. Forehand found himself in 11th place as he dropped in for run two, but backed up his top spot in the FIS park & pipe World Cup standings, executing a stylish and technical line that moved him into second place with only teammate Alex Hall left to drop. Hall laced together an impressive final run and put the results in the judge’s hands, who ultimately scored him fourth overall. Teammates Colby Stevenson finished the day in sixth, Konnor Ralph tied his best World Cup result with seventh place and Cody LaPlante wrapped up his Laax Open campaign in 12th.

The Stifel U.S. Freeski Team sits in second overall in the Nation’s Cup standings as they turn their attention to the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth Mountain at the end of the month.

RESULTS
Men
Women

Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Mikaela Shiffrin earned her 82nd slalom win, 95th World Cup victory and 150th World Cup podium on Sunday, Jan. 21, in Jasna, Slovakia, further solidifying her dominance in the discipline standings and the race for the overall World Cup Crystal Globe.

However, something, or rather someone, was missing in the battle for the slalom win today and her absence did not go unnoticed by Shiffrin. Slovakia's own Petra Vlhova, who sustained an ACL injury in Saturday's giant slalom, was not there to push Shiffrin to her absolute limit. The absence felt even more significant in front of Vlhova's home crowd.

Yet the Slovakian fans continued to cheer loudly and proudly for Shiffrin and the rest of the women's field. This did not go unnoticed by the slalom champion, who acknowledged and thanked the crowd for sticking around to celebrate the sport and its competitors, even without their country's top athlete to root for.

"It's pretty amazing to race for this crowd; it gives me feelings like Killington, which is quite special," said Shiffrin.

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Paula Moltzan, AJ Hurt and Lila Lapanja all qualified for the second run with varying results. Moltzan finished the race 18th overall, while Lapanja finished 27th, scoring her first World Cup points in three years after a difficult second run. Hurt came into the last pitch with some serious speed but was unable to hang on to her edge and slid out of the course. Fortunately, she is okay.

The women's alpine circuit will now move on to a speed series in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, where the women will compete in two downhills and one super-G. After taking a brief hiatus from speed the week prior to recover from sickness, Shiffrin will be joining the speed women to compete in the series Friday through Sunday.

Races will be available to stream live on skiandsnowboard.live, starting on Friday, Jan 26. at 5:00 a.m. ET.

RESULTS
Women

It was another cold evening in Val St. Côme as the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athletes took on the first dual moguls event of 2024, with Jaelin Kauf and Olivia Giaccio on the podium in second and third, respectively. 

The U.S. women have been a force to be reckoned with throughout the first period of this season's competition schedule, with six sitting in the top 10 in the overall World Cup moguls standings. Currently, Jaelin Kauf sits second, Olivia Giaccio fourth, Hannah Soar fifth, Tess Johnson seventh, Liz Lemley eighth and Alli Macuga ninth.  

During the qualification rounds, the U.S. athletes avoided going head-to-head, which allowed them to advance eight into the finals. Kasey Hogg narrowly missed the quarterfinals as she dueled against third place overall moguls-ranked Rino Yanagimoto. Alli Macuga and Tess Johnson also dueled in the 1/8th finals, where Macuga used her speed out of the gate and massive bottom air to advance over her teammate. 

On the men’s side, Nick Page and Cole McDonald went huge in the second air in the 1/8th finals but were bested with speed by Japan’s Takuya Shimakawa and France’s Benjamin Cavet, respectively. Page finished 11th and McDonald 14th. Outside the finals was Dylan Marcellini in 24th, Dylan Walczyk in 27th and Landon Wendler in 29th. Nash Lucas also earned valuable experience in his first World Cup dual moguls start, finishing 43rd. 

It was a battle of the American women in the quarterfinals, with Jaelin Kauf, Alli Macuga, Hannah Soar and Olivia Giaccio going head-to-head for two spots in the semis. The women know how to turn it on in the bumps and push each other while immediately smiling and hugging in the finish. 

Olivia Giaccio bested Hannah Soar 18 to 17 in the quarterfinals in one of the tightest duals of the night. In the other heat, Kauf advanced over Alli Macuga. Kauf and Giaccio met in the semifinals, where Kauf moved on to the big finals and Giaccio to the small. Soar finished fifth, followed by Macuga in seventh, Kasey Hogg in 10th and Tess Johnson in 16th.  

Kauf and Jakara Anthony dueled once again in the big finals. Kauf, unfortunately, took a nasty fall in the big final and did not finish but ultimately finished on the podium in second place alongside Giaccio, who finished third. This is both Kauf and Giaccio's fifth podium of the season, showcasing their incredible strength and consistency. 

The team is heading to Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, for the first of two World Cups on home snow this season. They will compete at the United Airlines Waterville Freestyle Cup presented by ID One USA in moguls and dual moguls on Jan. 26-27. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

Mikaela Shiffrin started the weekend in Jasna, Slovakia with a solid second-place finish in the giant slalom behind Sweden's Sara Hector on Saturday, Jan. 20. A challenging first run knocked many of the tour's top giant slalom skiers off their game. Still, Shiffrin was able to hang on in the slick, turny course and make the best out of a day that took a turn for the worse for many, including her rival in the overall and slalom standings, Petra Vlhova.

The weekend was meant to celebrate one of the sport's fiercest rivalries, highlighting the ongoing battle between Shiffrin and Slovakia's hometown hero – Vlhova. However, Vlhova's first run ended in a crash and an unfortunate ACL injury, taking her out of competition for the remainder of the season. 

"Of course, it was a bittersweet day for many reasons," Shiffrin wrote in an Instagram post following the race. "The sport will not be the same without your energy, beautiful skiing and our battles, but I know you'll come back hungrier and stronger"

Shiffrin's 149th career World Cup podium bumped her up in the giant slalom standings, where she currently sits in third. She maintains her lead in the overall standings as well.

AJ Hurt had another career-best finish, skiing into seventh in the giant slalom, her first top-10 result in the discipline. Hurt's score on Saturday bumped her into the top 15 of the women's World Cup giant slalom standings and continues to boost her confidence for the remainder of the season as she looks to build on the new-found consistency she is having in her skiing on race day.

"The snow was very icy, and I was a little nervous because usually I'm not as strong on ice, but I feel like the confidence from the last few weeks has really helped. I knew if I just skied the way I've been training and the way I've done the last few races that I could put down a few good runs, so it feels good to do that," said Hurt.

Paula Moltzan clocked a top-20 finish in the giant slalom, finishing the day 16th overall. The Bocock sisters, Mary and Elisabeth, both did not make the second run but were able to get another World Cup start under their belt.

Sunday, Jan. 21, the women continue the weekend in Jasna with one last competition in the slalom. 

RESULTS
Women's slalom

STARTERS
Slalom (name/bib number)
Mikaela Shiffrin (5)
Paula Moltzan (9)
AJ Hurt (29)
Lila Lapanja (44)

HOW TO WATCH
Women's slalom, Jasna, Slovakia, Run 1 – 3:30 a.m. ET, skiandsnowboard.live
Women's slalom, Jasna, Slovakia, Run 2 - 6:15 a.m. ET, skiandsnowboard.live 

The Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team took on Europe’s most prestigious snowboard event for an exciting night of slopestyle and halfpipe finals in Laax, Switzerland.

Sunny skies and ideal weather conditions set the scene over the Crap Sogn Gion for the women’s and men’s slopestyle finals. The innovative eight-hit course included unique transition features including a side-hit jump, a variety of rails and a quarter pipe that posed a technical speed challenge for riders. The unique course and a stacked men’s and women's finals made for an entertaining morning of world-class snowboarding.

Reigning slopestyle Crystal Globe champion Julia Marino picked up right where she left off with an aggressive first run that put her in the top spot from the start. Austria’s Anna Gasser and Germany’s Annika Morgan both landed top-to-bottom runs that threatened the top spot on the podium, but Marino remained unphased in her second run and extended her lead by three points. The judges awarded Marino’s creative line with a score of 83.08, securing the Laax Open title for the second time in her career, and her fourth-straight slopestyle World Cup victory dating back to last season.

“It definitely feels good to come through with another win,” said Marino in a post-contest interview. “This is always such an incredible course, but it is really challenging, so to be able to link that run together meant a lot. I’m really happy with how we all rode."

On the men’s slopestyle side, Olympic champion Red Gerard was unable to string together his first run but showed composure under pressure and laid down a clutch run two to land in sixth place overall. Teammate Brock Crouch put together a stylish top-to-bottom run and finished the day in eighth place, adding another top 10 result to his resume.

On the halfpipe side of competition, Olympic champion Chloe Kim made her highly anticipated return to World Cup competition and ended her first contest back in fourth place, but all eyes were on the junior of the team, 16-year-old Bea Kim, who landed her first ever World Cup podium ending the day in second place. The Mammoth Mountain native showed no signs of pressure under the lights, lacing together a textbook second run to earn a spot on the podium. Overall halfpipe World Cup leader Maddie Mastro, Korea’s Gaon Choi and Japan’s Sena Tomita did not start.

On the men’s side, Chase Blackwell was the top finisher for the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard team, securing his best result of the season with an impressive fourth-place finish against a field full of heavy hitters. Chase Josey was unable to put down a full run in finals but continues to show an ever-growing impressive bag of tricks after landing a cab-dub-12 in yesterday’s semi-finals, a first in his career.

The Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team continues its World Cup campaign with the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth Mountain at the end of the month.

RESULTS

Slopestyle
Women
Men

Halfpipe 
Women
Men

On the second day of racing in Oberhof, Germany, the historic venue of the 1931 FIS World Ski Championships, Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan secured another round of top-10 results in sixth and 10th, respectively, in the challenging 20k classic mass start event.

In contrast to the gloomy conditions witnessed during Friday's sprint, the sun illuminated the Oberhof venue, providing a crisp and fast course for the athletes. The men started the day's races, with 66 competitors taking off onto a six-lap technical and demanding course.

The 20k race presented steep descents leading into technical corners, resulting in minor chaos in the men's race—American Scott Patterson broke a pole but managed to ski back into contention quickly after. Navigating the right track and executing a tactical race became crucial for athletes to keep in the race. Among the U.S. male competitors—Zak Ketterson, JC Schoonmaker, Gus Schumacher, Peter Wolter and Patterson—Ketterson led the team, finishing 40th, closely followed by Schumacher in 44th.

It was Schumacher's first race back since the Tour de Ski was cut short due to sickness. "I felt surprisingly good after sickness," he said. "My muscles feel sharp and my breathing is feeling strong, which I’m super encouraged by. Maybe not quite where I was before it, but that doesn’t feel far off."

In the women's race, the 20k classic differed significantly in terms of weather compared to the previous 20k classic in Davos, Switzerland, where Brennan and Diggins clinched second and third positions on the podium.

Today's race was characterized by pivotal moments, with different leaders emerging nearly every lap. Whether it was a trio of Swedish skiers, Kerttu Nikkanen of Finland, local skier Victoria Carl, or Diggins and Brennan themselves, predicting the leader through the laps was unpredictable. The race was marked by strategic approaches, made evident in the reluctance to lead at various course sections, where the lead pack would often come to a standstill, waiting for someone to take charge.

"Today was really interesting," said Diggins when asked about what her race strategy. "It just seemed like the kind of course that was pretty tricky for people to ski away. My strategy ended up going for the bonus points. But what I'm most proud of today was playing to my strengths, skiing calm, finding my way through when I needed to and hanging tough all the way through to the finish."

As the laps progressed and lap six approached, Diggins and Brennan were in contention for the podium, competing alongside the eventual winner, Frida Karlsson of Sweden, and second place finisher Germany's Katharina Hennig. Despite their efforts falling short of a podium finish, both American skiers secured positions in the top 10, adding critical points to their overall standings. Sophia Laukli continued her strong season with a 28th place finish, while Julia Kern closely followed in 33rd.

Looking ahead to tomorrow's 4x7.5k relay, Diggins maintains her lead in the overall World Cup standings, boasting a 279-point advantage over the second-placed Linn Svahn of Sweden. Rosie Brennan sits the third position, trailing Diggins by 388 points.

Don't miss the excitement of the 4.7x5k team relay tomorrow on skiandsnowboard.live, with the women's race starting at 4:50 a.m. ET and the men's race at 7:10 a.m. ET.

RESULTS
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH
4:50 a.m. ET - women's 4x7.5k relay, Oberhof, Germany - skiandsnowboard.live
7:10 a.m. ET - men's 4x7.5k relay, Oberhof, Germany - skiandsnowboard.live

On the picture perfect sunny Hahnenkammrennen day in Kitzbühel, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Sam Morse posted top 20 results in 16th and 17th, respectively. 

The atmosphere was electric at the famed downhill with more than 50,000 ski racing fans packing the sides of the hill to watch the world’s fastest race down the Streif. Coming off an excellent day where he was just .01 off the podium in Friday's downhill, Cochran-Siegle ran first for the U.S. squad and slid into the top spot. But his day for a podium on the Streif would have to wait because Swiss skier Marco Odermatt and French skier Cyprien Sarrazin are skiing speeds on another level. Odermatt first went into the lead by over a second. But he was one-upped by Sarrazin who annihilated the field, winning by 0.91 seconds for his second win of the weekend. Rounding out the podium was Italian force Dominik Paris. 

“It was tougher today for sure. I was trying to give it the best fight I could but needed to stand over the skier a little bit more and carry more energy,” said Cochran-Siegle. “This has been my best week in Kitzbühel by far, so I'm glad to get some good memories and embrace what the Streif is.” 

The downhill was full of excitement with many skiers punching it into the top 10 and top 15 from bibs further back in the field. Morse continued a strong weekend of skiing with another top 20 finish from outside the top 30. Bryce Bennett was 39th and Wiley Maples 42nd. Jared Goldberg did not finish but he is OK. 

The speed men will now prepare for a pair of super-G races in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Jan. 27-28, while the slalom men will race on Sunday in Kitzbühel. 

RESULTS
Men's downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
4:30 a.m. ET - men’s slalom, run 1, Kitzbühel, Austria - Peacock 
7:30 a.m. ET - men’s slalom, run 1, Kitzbühel, Austria - Peacock 

Josie Johnson finished second overall in the HS109 event at the Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea, taking home a silver medal for the United States.

In the first round, Johnson put together a 100.0 meter jump for 99.2 points, and followed up with a 107.0 meter jump for 108.0 points in the second (207.2 total points). Johnson competes for the U.S. Ski Jumping Team and hails from Park City, Utah, the host of the 2002 Olympic Games and a hopeful future host of the Olympics. 

“What Josie just did was incredible, and shows just how bright the future is for ski jumping in the United States,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard's Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Sport Director Anders Johnson. “Those were the best two jumps she’s had all season, and to do it in an Olympic event is simply amazing. I couldn’t be more proud of Josie and the entire team.”

Also competing for Team USA was Estella Hassrick of Madison, Wisconsin and the U.S. Ski Jumping Team, who finished 16th. On the men's side, Jason Colby was 17th and Sawyer Graves 32nd. 

RESULTS
Women's ski jumping
Men's ski jumping

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athletes kicked off the second period of their competition schedule under the lights in Val St. Côme, Canada. Jaelin Kauf led the way for the United States, landing in second place and earning her 29th World Cup podium. 

It was a cold, crisp evening with temperatures hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit, making it the coldest competition of the season so far. The bumps were soft, proving challenging for many athletes, leading to more DNFs than the average competition. 

The U.S. women have dominated the circuit this season, and today proved no different despite the conditions. All six Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team women’s moguls athletes qualified for the finals alongside two U.S. men. Just off the podium was Alli Macuga, tying her personal best moguls result in fourth, followed by Hannah Soar in fifth, Olivia Giaccio in sixth, Tess Johnson in seventh and Kasey Hogg in 11th. 

"Honestly, it took a little bit to figure it out again and put all the pieces together. It felt like I’d been out of competing for a while, but I felt like that last run I finally hit my stride again," said Kauf. "I think tomorrow I'm focusing on hitting that top air takeoff and let it go from there - trust that I have the pace and turns in the middle to win every run. I think it was a little bit of a weird event for everyone, but this girl's team especially really crushed it out there, even with not hitting everything how we wanted. Kasey started off the day stomping a cork 10 in qualifications, and Olivia followed suit in finals. It was super inspiring to see our girl's team continuing to push the field."

Cole McDonald and Nick Page qualified for finals for the men, finishing 10th and 11th, respectively. Just outside finals was Dylan Walczyk in 18th, Landon Wendler in 30th, Nash Lucas in 31st and Dylan Marcellini in 36th. Today was Lucas’ first World Cup start after earning the spot during the 2024 U.S. Freestyle Selections in December. 

The team has spent the last few weeks at home in Park City, Utah, having a successful training camp. This training and focus on tricks paid off, as during today’s event, Kasey Hogg became the first woman to throw a cork 10 in a qualification. Hogg followed in the footsteps of her teammate, Olivia Giaccio, who was the first woman to ever do a cork 10 in a competition.  

"I am so excited to be back in World Cup competitions. That atmosphere is always awesome, and skiing with the rest of the World Cup team is super fun," said Hogg. "It felt incredible to throw a cork 1080 in both my qualifying and finals run today! It has been a goal of mine to compete this trick, and I felt like the time was right. Only having done a 1080 in my full top to bottom run just the day before comp was a challenge, but I’m so glad I decided to compete it today. I’ve spent a lot of time practicing this trick on the trampoline, water ramps, and snow, and competing at the World Cup level was a dream come true. I am so eager for the rest of the season and improving even more as the season goes on!"

Tomorrow, the team takes on the dual moguls in Val St. Côme starting at 7:00 p.m. ET, live on skiandsnowboard.live.  

RESULTS
Women
Men

The Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team is back in Oberhof, Germany, for the first time since 2013 and the team is starting off on the right foot, with all but one athlete advancing through to the classic sprint heats. Ben Ogden led the day in sixth place, followed by Jessie Diggins in ninth and Kevin Bolger in 12th.

Coming off a hot Tour de Ski, where Diggins took home the overall crown, Sophia Laukli secured her first World Cup victory, Ben Ogden achieved his career-first podium and several athletes set personal bests, the momentum was strong going into the next trio of races. Before today's race, the entire team took a couple of days to recover and put in some hours of rest, but you could tell all the athletes from around the world were ready to click into their race skis once again.

On soft snow, under overcast skies and on a technical sprint course featuring tight turns and fast uphill kickers, all Americans named to the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team made it through to the sprint heats—a feat not easily accomplished and not seen in recent history. The start list included five women and four men, including World Cup overall leader Jessie Diggins, Rosie Brennan, Julia Kern, Sammy Smith, and Erin Blanco from Bridger Ski Foundation, who recorded her first-ever World Cup start. For the men, the sickness had been beaten, and Ben Ogden was back on the start line alongside JC Schoonmaker, Zak Ketterson and Kevin Bolger.

In the first round of sprint racing, the top 30 times would be the cutoff for who makes it to the sprint rounds. This time, eight of the nine athletes advanced, with Blanco just a few seconds from making the cut. Ogden secured the third spot in the qualifiers, giving him confidence going into the next lap around the sprint course, while Diggins and Brennan secured the fourth and fifth positions, just four seconds behind the fastest qualifying time set by Sweden's Jonna Sundling.

Moving into the heats, with six athletes per heat and only the top two securing a place in the semis, along with two lucky losers (the fastest third-place time from two athletes), only Diggins, Ogden and Bolger advanced through the next round of racing.

"It's really nice to be racing again," said Diggins post-race. "It was so cool to have eight of us into the heats, and it is some fun momentum to carry into the rest of this racing period."

Going into the quarterfinal heat, it was all about positioning and skiing a smart race to punch your ticket to the semis. Brennan, Diggins, Kern and Smith represented the U.S. women, with Diggins being the sole athlete to advance based on finishing within the top two in her round. Even without advancing, all the women secured an overall top-30 result on the day—a step in the right direction in adding crucial World Cup points to their overall standing.

In the end, the Swedish team swept the podium, with Linn Svahn taking home her 13th World Cup victory. Svahn is currently sitting second in the overall standings, with Diggins securely in first. Alongside Diggins' ninth place, Brennan finished 21st, Kern 27th, and Smith 28th.

For the men, as the moved into the men's finals, there was already a clear upset - Norway's Johannes Hoseflot Klaebo did not advance through to the finals. Klaebo had been on the podium in every single sprint race since 2018 and with today's result, it clearly shows the depth of the men's field and emphasizes that in cross country ski racing, anything can happen.

For the U.S., Ogden punched his ticket to the final and lined up on the line with four Norwegians and one Swedish athlete. Regardless of the place Ogden skied to in the end, he was splitting up the Scandinavian sweep in the process.

In the final, Ogden quickly got off the line, sitting comfortably behind the sea of red (Norway). Into the technical, nearly 180-degree turn, Ogden made a push to secure himself a safer position going into the uphill. With the classic 'Benny Shuffle,' he pushed the pace alongside Norway and Sweden into the finishing straight. Ogden crossed the line in sixth and was all smiles in the finish pen. Norway swept the podium, with Erik Valnes taking home the victory. Bolger just missed the top 10 in 12th, Ketterson 16th and Schoonmaker 24th.

"It feels good to put down a good race today and I'm glad how my body responded post-sickness and I'm psyched for the races to come," said Ogden. 

Tomorrow, the team is back to racing, with a 20k mass start looming. Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live, with men kicking off the line at 4:25 a.m. ET.

RESULTS
Men
Women