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

Stifel U.S. Ski Team's own AJ Hurt continues to wow this season, earning her first-ever giant slalom podium on Saturday, Feb. 10, in Soldeu, Andorra, where she finished third overall after starting the second run in the sixth position. She finished just 0.15 seconds behind the day's winner, Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami, and 0.14 off second-place finisher New Zealand's Alice Robinson.

Hurt, 23, is the first U.S. woman other than Mikaela Shiffrin to grace a giant slalom podium since Lindsey Vonn in 2015. It's also her personal best in the discipline and her second podium in one season. Coming off an injury that took her out of the game for 2022-23 makes her success so far in 2024 even more surreal. 

"I didn't really know what to expect coming into today because I've never been here before," said Hurt. "I was hurt all last season, so I'm excited to be back; I'm excited even to be ski racing at all. So I went as hard as I could, and I'm glad this is the outcome."

Today, Hurt's result in the giant slalom moved her into position to qualify for her first World Cup Finals, another milestone accomplishment in the 2023-24 season. Not to mention, she shared the podium with a lifelong ski buddy, Robinson, who she skied alongside at Palisades Tahoe when the two were cutting their teeth trying to get their first World Cup starts. 

In addition to Hurt's success, Paula Moltzan was able to squeeze into a stacked top 15, finishing 11th overall and hanging on to her top 15 position in the giant slalom overall standings. 

Mikaela Shiffrin did not ski. However, she is back on snow, and working on testing her knee, to see when she will be able to return to racing.

Up next, Hurt and Moltzan, as well as Lila Lapanja, will represent the U.S. in Sunday's slalom. First run kicks off at 4:30 a.m. ET on skiandsnowboard.live, with second run starting at 7:30 a.m. ET. 

RESULTS 
Women's giant slalom

STARTERS
Women's slalom (name/bib)
Paula Moltzan (3)
AJ Hurt (33)
Lila Lapajna (42)

On Saturday’s giant slalom in Bansko, Bulgaria, River Radamus led the way for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team men in 12th place. Teammates Tommy Ford and George Steffey also found the top 30 in 26th and 28th place, respectively. 

“Solid team effort all around. It awesome to see George score his first points of the season and three in the second run,” said Radamus. 

The conditions were good with sunshine and a hard surface underfoot, allowing the men’s skiers to lay it down on the track. Radamus skied aggressively on his first run to initially land in the eighth spot. 

“I am moderately satisfied with my 12th place but I know I have a lot more to give, especially second run, but I will reset for the next one,” said Radamus. “The conditions here are awesome and very similar to what we see in the U.S. - pretty dry and grippy - so it was a good warm up for Palisades.”

Steffey skied fast out of the top 30 seed to punch it into the 23rd position first run, poised to mark his season-best giant slalom finish. Ford skied cleanly to safely land in the top 30. 

“Second run it got a little slushy, so to be successful today you had to be adaptable and ski lots of different conditions well,” said Radamus.

"It was a fun race today and it’s always great to be in the second run. I think our team is skiing well right now and hopefully we can build on today going into the domestic races," said Steffey. 

On the second run, the men were firing to the finish. Radamus landed a few positions back from his first run status to 12th with Ford and Steffey safely in the top 30. 

The winner of the race was Swiss phenom Marco Odermatt who is currently leading the standings in the overall, giant slalom, super-G and downhill. Second place went to the young Norwegian Alexander Steen-Olsen and third place to the current slalom leader, Manuel Feller of Austria. 

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Brian McLaughlin and Isaiah Nelson also raced but did not qualify for a second run. 

The team was also pleasantly surprised to see alumnus Ted Ligety in Bansko running as the POV skier before the race began. He was able to say hi to the team and offer words of encouragement. 

“It was really cool to see Ted out there doing the POV for the race today as well," said Radamus, who is an unabashed Ligety fan. "It surprised us to see him here and it was cool to see an old friendly face. He gave me some words of inspiration."

The next giant slalom race will bring the U.S. skiers back home for the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup held Feb. 24-25. 

RESULTS
Men's giant slalom

“It sucks because we would have loved Chamonix,” said Stifel U.S. Ski Team speed skier Jared Goldberg from a beach in Viareggio, Italy. “But at least we got to come here to the beach, an Italian getaway,” Goldberg said jokingly. 

From the alps to the Italian coast, how did the Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s speed men find themselves here? A question Bryce Bennett, Jared Goldberg and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, three veterans of the team, pondered as they strolled down the beach in Tuscany in late January.

After the first super-G in Garmisch, Germany, word got out that the upcoming downhill races in Chamonix, France February 2-3 would be canceled due to lack of snow and not rescheduled. The news marked the fifth men’s speed race cancelation of the season for the downhill men. 

“I felt complete devastation,” said Bryce Bennett, currently ranked sixth in the downhill rankings. “Knowing some of our alumni like Marco Sullivan and Steven Nyman have had success there we felt pretty excited about it, so it was big bummer.”

So, what now? While most World Cup teams would head home after a race cancelation, the U.S. is a little different as traveling across the world on a day’s notice doesn’t always work out.

“I’ve been on the road since the beginning of December and I haven’t been home in a while,” said Bennett. “It’s tough because we are over here and we have to kill a week, so we came to the coast but it’s still not the same as being home.”

 A long haul in Europe isn’t new for the U.S. guys. 160 days is about how much time the ski team men will spend in Europe this season. As the weather evolves and change, forcing race cancelations, learning to adapt, pivot and enjoy Europe is something this team has grown accustomed to. So with this most recent cancelation, the men decided to refocus under the Tuscan sun on a beach.

“I think coming down here was a cool reset because usually we are in central Europe in the Alps and here it’s been sunny every day,” said Olympic silver-medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle as he takes in the view of the sunset.

Don’t be fooled by their Instagram stories of sunsets and beach time. It has not just been a holiday in the sun for the ski racers. The primary goal of coming to the Italian coast was to take a visit to sports medicine facility Formula Medicine. A place frequented by many Formula 1 drivers to help athletes perform at their best mental capacity, a strategy they call “Mental Economy Training.” This visit made possible by a grant from Alterra Community Foundation. 

“Getting introduced to Formula Medicine and learning how to key in on our mental state and learning how to perform our best has been productive and I hope everyone is able to take something away from it,” said Cochran-Siegle.

The whole team spent multiple days in the facility going through various tests. The goal of the tests are to enable elevated standards of performance with low consumption of brain energy, and better management of stress, emotions and psychological pressure.

“We are pivoting to something positive here,” said Goldberg. “This is something we can do to get out of ski boots in warm weather and can maybe help ourselves race better or do life better. It is a way to be progressing in a way we wouldn’t normally.”

In addition to their time spent at Formula Medicine, the team struck a chord of team camaraderie with moments of fun, despite being with one another seemingly all year long. The men played beach volleyball, walked along the beach during gorgeous sunsets and cooked food together.

This time together off the snow and away from mountains also gave the men an opportunity to truly reflect on the season. The men started off with a bang in Val Gardena, Italy when Bennett won his second World Cup and took third place just a day later on the same track. The speed men went on to score top 10 results in Wengen, a top five in Kitzbühel and a few more top 10s in Garmisch.

“Where our strengths have always been I think we are good but where we’ve lacked in the past we have overcome,” said Cochran-Siegle. “Especially on the technical side, we are better at working with things more in your face and as a group embracing that challenge.”

This group, however, is hungry for much more. A hunger they plan to carry with them into Kvitfjell, Norway for the final speed races before World Cup Finals in March. 

“Our team is as good as any other team; it's just a matter of putting it all together on race day,” said Cochran-Siegle. “I like Norway a lot, different snow, different vibe, it always feels like a nice springtime race,” added Goldberg.

 The downhillers have faced a wave of emotions while on the Italian coast: disappointment from the canceled races and hope of a new perspective on how best to approach the additional free time abroad. Through it all, the American sense of humor shines through.

“Here is a pro move, send your lady on a flight then come down to Tuscany with the boys,” laughed Bennett who days earlier dropped his wife off at the airport. “Nothing like wine tasting in Tuscany with the boys that you’ve been hanging out with for 170 days this year.”

On Saturday, February 3 in Portes du Soleil, France, Ryder Sarchett won the FIS Alpine Junior Worlds alpine men’s giant slalom race. The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and University of Colorado Boulder ski team athlete beat out the competitive field by a mere 0.06 hundredths of second to take the win.

"It was a really good day, perfect weather warm with amazing snow. I knew it could be a good day and I sent it," said Sarchett. "Gave it all I had." 

The sun was overhead and the conditions were strong in Portes du Soleil for the final Junior Worlds alpine event. The women raced a slalom and the men finished the day off with the giant slalom. 

Sarchett knifed down a stellar first run, already in podium contention in third place. But come second run, Sarchett did not hesitate on his skis and laid down an extremely fast run to take the win over international competitors Alban Cannaferina Elezi of France in second and Sweden’s Fabian Ax Swarts in third place. It was a dramatic finish with very slim margins, with Sarchett ahead of second place by 0.06.

Sarchett joins an impressive list of previous American Junior World Champions. He is the first giant slalom champion since world champion River Radamus took the title back in 2019. Other previous Junior World Champions include world champion Paula Moltzan, Olympic silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle and World Cup winner Steven Nyman to name a few.  

RESULTS
Men's giant slalom

On Thursday, February 1 at the FIS Alpine Junior World Championships in Portes du Soleil, France, the U.S. claimed third place in the evening mixed team parallel event. The U.S. team consisted of Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Liv Moritz, Elisabeth Bocock, Cooper Puckett and Camden Palmquist. The squad prevailed through four rounds to come out on the podium behind Norway and Sweden and ahead of North American neighbor Canada. 

“It was a super fun event and everyone skied so well,” said Camden Palmquist. "It was awesome to get a medal as a team because everyone had a a really important run that got us there," said Cooper Puckett. 

"I had never done a parallel before so this was an exciting first," added Elisabeth Bocock.

It was a busy night program with a big crowd watching on the sidelines. The surface was solid and the athletes did their best to ski away with the green light in each round.

“The snow held up better than I think any of us expected and was sweet until the end," said Palmquist.  

In the first round, the U.S. team won against Finland getting their groove established. Next the team beat out Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

"It was a really good fight, and cool to beat Switzerland in the second round who the U.S. lost to last year," said Bocock. 

In the semifinal, it was a tight race between the U.S. and Sweden with a tie-breaking time coming into play, moving the U.S. into the small final against Canada to battle for third place. But Canada could not keep up the pace against the U.S. team with two disqualifications and the U.S. took third by a commanding lead. 

"Beating Switzerland was huge and I loved being on this team and getting on the podium was so exciting," said Moritz. 

The Junior Worlds athletes now prepare for a men’s slalom and women’s giant slalom on Friday, February 1.

RESULTS
Team parallel 

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team men recently visited over 150 U.S. service members in Garmisch during the Garmisch, Germany super-G World Cup race series. The event hosted at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort set up tables, chairs and a large American flag bringing the U.S. spirit to the alps.

“We have been able to do this type of visit a few times over the years now and it's great to connect with fans and service members in Germany,” said Stifel U.S. Ski Team member Bryce Bennett. “I brought a helmet for us all to sign and gift to the lodge as well, it's nice to feel like you are home in Europe,” said Jared Goldberg. 

The ski team was able to chat with the kids and family of the servicemen on a personal level signing autographs and exchanging words, a memorable experience for the team and for the military members in attendance. 

Towards the end of the event the whole room started chanting "U-S-A!" hyping the racers up for the upcoming competitions. 

The speed men went on to find super-G success amongst their newfound military fans with three top 10 results across the weekend, Ryan Cochran-Siegle and River Radamus leading the team. 

The speed men look forward to coming back to Garmisch in the hopes of connecting with the military personnel again.