Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Lauren Macuga won her first ever World Cup in the St. Anton super-G, marking her first podium and the first time any U.S. woman has won a super-G in St. Anton. Lindsey Vonn also continued her impressive comeback with a fourth-place finish -- just off the podium. 

“I can’t believe it, this is so exciting!” said Macuga. “I don’t think anything has settled in. I am waiting for it to hit me. This is something I have been dreaming about forever.” 

The weather was brisk and overcast for the second day of women’s speed. After a solid day of downhill the day before, the women were fired up and ready to execute on super-G day. It was an exciting day on the track with some close misses to the net and interchanging leaderboard moments, but no one held a candle to Macuga. 

From the start, Macuga had the course on lock, remaining in the green at each interval and continuing to build. The finish suddenly went silent as they saw Macuga coming down, ready to overtake the top step. She crossed the line over a half-second into the lead, giving her classic dance in the finish as the emotions started to settle in on what she had just done. 

“Normally you hear the roar of the crowd when crossing the finish line and it was kind of silent and I was like oh no maybe I did really bad, but I knew I was charging,” said Macuga. “Seeing the green light I was like no way. It did not feel real. It still does not feel real. I am looking at the scoreboard in disbelief.” 

Next it was Vonn. The light started to shift, creating a very dark and bumpy course. Regardless, Vonn charged in line for a podium-level performance. The whole crowd was on the edge of their seats as she crossed the line into fourth place for another incredible performance as she makes her World Cup comeback.

“It was a crazy run today. It was really bumpy, it was sunny, then it got dark,” said Vonn. “But it was a really good step forward. This is something I am really proud of and I am also really proud of Lauren. It is really nice to be a part of such a fun team. It's great to see another American on top of the podium.”  

It was not just a day for Macuga and Vonn, but the whole team. The other women could not be more proud of their teammate as they tackled Macuga to the ground once they found her in the finish. The women's speed team has found a new groove and plans to continue this feeling the rest of the season. 

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Jackie Wiles and Keely Cashman also landed in the points in 24th and 28th, respectively. Tricia Mangan and Halely Culter ended up in 33rd and 39th. Bella Wright and Breezy Johnson did not finish but are OK. 

The women will now take this momentum to a team favorite in Cortina, Italy for a downhill and super-G, Jan. 18-19. 

RESULTS
Women's super-G

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced the eight athletes representing the United States at the 2025 FISU Winter World University Games in moguls skiing, which will take place Jan. 13-23 in Torino, Italy.

The University Games are the largest international winter multi-sport event for student-athletes, showcasing their athletic abilities and educational achievements. The athletes will compete in moguls and dual moguls against the best University aged athletes in the world.

2025 FISU WINTER WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES TEAM

(Hometown; University; Club; Birthdate)

Women

• Zoe Dwinell (Park City, UT; University of Utah; Wasatch Freestyle; 12/29/2004)
• Skylar Slettene (Hunter, NY; University of Utah; Wasatch Freestyle; 2/10/2004)
• Sami Worthington (Park City, UT; University of Utah; Stifel U.S. Ski Team; 6/15/2004)
• August Davis (Tahoe, CA; Wasatch Freestyle; University of California Berkeley; 12/27/2003) 

Men

• Stephen Boone (Los Alamos, NM; University of Utah; Wasatch Freestyle; 1/4/2005)
• Jackson Crockett (Park City, UT; University of Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 10/23/2002)
• Trae DaMore (Burlington, MA; Westminster University; Wasatch Freestyle; 4/20/2006)
• Jacob Spalter (Killington, VT; University of Utah; Wasatch Freestyle; 12/23/2005)

STAFF

Trevor Reilly - Team U.S. Lead // Wasatch Freestyle
Sam Tarrant - Park City Ski & Snowboard

SCHEDULE

Jan. 14 // Moguls

• Qualification // 5:00 am ET
• Finals // 8:30 am ET

Jan. 15 // Dual Moguls 

• Heats // 5:00 am ET
• Finals // 9:00 am ET

Tune in to watch any of the events live on FISU TV.

The men’s Stifel U.S. Ski team slalom team continues its strong year with two in the points in the Adelboden slalom. Jett Seymour led the way in 17th with Ben Ritchie in 21st. 

The classic men’s tech race in Adelboden switched its disciplines to have slalom on Saturday and giant slalom Sunday due to snowy conditions. The weather on Saturday was still a bit difficult for the racers with a lot of fog and consistent snow. It was clear from the first run that starting earlier held its advantages. 

Both Seymour and Ritchie held a consistent pace throughout their first runs to find the finish line and make it through to the second run. Both in good start positions to ski a clean course. 

On the second run Ritchie ran first and skied a very solid clean run. He was able to sit in the leaderboard chair for a few racers. Seymour ran just a few after Ritchie and also showed a strong slalom run. Both Ritchie and Seymour moved up a sizable amount from first run to land 17th and 21st. 

"Today the conditions were really challenging," said Ritchie. "I struggled with the conditions but fought hard and I’m happy to walk away with some points."

The day's winner was French skier Clement Noel, second place went to Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen and third place went to Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen. 

Saturday’s slalom race continues the hot streak for the men’s slalom crew of making the points as the team continues to work on rebuilding the American slalom team. The men will now turn to giant slalom on Sunday. 

RESULTS
men's slalom 

HOW TO WATCH 
Run 1 - 4:30 a.m. ET - men’s giant slalom, Adelboden, SUI - live/on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live
Run 1 - 7:30 a.m. ET - men’s giant slalom, Adelboden, SUI - live/on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live

It was an electric day for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team women with three placing in the top 15, highlighted by the return of Lindsey Vonn who landed sixth in her first downhill after six years. 

“It was fun. I love being back in the start and I know this hill really well so I knew the challenges that would come today and was ready to execute,” said Vonn. 

After a canceled training run the day before the weather cleared and the stage was set for the women to race their second downhill of the season in St. Anton. The air was crisp and the snow a touch soft. Due to the heavy snowfall a few days earlier the women started a little bit lower at the super-G start making for a close race. 

Jackie Wiles was first up for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team women - she went out early after the first split due to soft snow and being a touch low on the line. Luckily she is OK. Next came Lauren Macuga for the Americans and she did not disappoint. Macuga blazed down skiing strong and aggressively to ultimately claim ninth place. Macuga thrilled with her performance could be seen smiling from the top. 

“I am really excited. It felt like good skiing and I was able to hit the points that I wanted to,” said Macuga. “I think the conditions were a bit softer than we all thought, so we made some game time adjustments with our line to avoid the soft snow."

The long-anticipated return of Olympic Gold Medalist and one of the most successful women alpine ski racers of all time, Lindsey Vonn, came just after the top 30. All eyes were on Vonn as she knifed down the course as if she had been in the game all these years. She skied aggressively to find that finish line in the top ten. An exceptional performance. Vonn's teammates were quick to run and hug the speed queen congratulating her and welcoming her back to the downhill circuit. 

“I know I can be faster but I think for the first downhill race in six years it is a good start,” said Vonn. “Downhill has always been my favorite discipline so I am really happy and I think it was a great first step.” 

The crowd could not get too distracted from Vonn’s strong race with Breezy Johnson right on her tail. Johnson, with a lightning-fast top split maintained her speed through to land in 11th place from bib 33. 

“I feel pretty good but I also know that I have better skiing within me and there was just a couple places where I messed up but I do feel like the progression is good,” said Johnson. “It is great to see the women doing awesome. I think we are all using this energy and will try to keep building as we head into Cortina.” 

The show was not over yet as the podium was a bit of a surprise with some late field advances. Federica Brignone claimed her first downhill win with second place going to Swiss skier Malorie Blanc blazing into second place from bib 46. Rounding out the podium was Czech skier Ester Ledecka. Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Bella Wright, Keely Cashman, Tricia Mangan and Haley Cutler also raced placing 32nd, 41st, 42nd and 44th respectively. 

Overall the women are feeling very content about the start of the season and look forward to the next few weekends of downhills.

"The team result is so exciting because just two years ago there was only four of us racing and now there is three in the top 15, it’s crazy," said Macuga. 

The women have another exciting day of racing in St. Anton on Sunday with a super-G. 

RESULTS
women's downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
5:15 a.m. ET - women's super-G, St. Anton, AUT - live/on-demand on Peacock

The 2025 U.S. National Championships have officially wrapped in Anchorage, Alaska, with new National Championships crowned and top results by athletes worldwide throughout the four races, including distance and sprint race formats. 

Kinkaid Park in Anchorage played host to hundreds of skiers–and even more volunteers–for the past week for the 2025 U.S. National Championships, which brought together junior and senior-level athletes from around the world, collegiate programs and the Stifel U.S. Ski Team. The race format was as follows: 10k skate interval start, 1.3k classic sprint, 20k classic mass and a 1.3k skate sprint. 

Kinkaid Park has long been a staple of the cross country ski community in Anchorage and despite the rain, cold temperatures and a mixture of manmade and natural snow, it held together nicely for the four races. On the first day, Jan . 4, athletes took to the track for the 10k skate. 

Day One: 10k Skate (National Championship)

In the interval format, 183 men took to the start line for the reportedly “very cold” race. John Steel Hagenbuch of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team B team and a Dartmouth College student-athlete took the win in a fast 10k time, notching a National Championship title to his decorated resume. After coming off racing in the first period of the World Cup, Hagenbuch took the win ahead of Norway’s Andreas Kirkeng by .8 seconds and 14.6 seconds ahead of University of Utah’s Walker Hall. Stifel U.S. Ski Team and Anchorage-local Luke Jager was just off the podium in fourth. For the domestic podium (only U.S. athletes), Hagenbuch was first, Hall second and Jager third. Results can be found here. 

For the women, 151 athletes took to the interval start gate. It was a fight between Stifel U.S. Ski Team and the University of Alaska Fairbanks dual athlete Kendall Kramer, Montana State’s Kate Oldham and University of Utah’s Erica Laven. Kramer ultimately took second place in the final result. Oldham led the domestic podium, Kramer in second and U.S. Biathlon athlete Luci Anderson in third. Results here. 

Day Two: Classic Sprint (National Championship)

Sprinting was on the program for the second day of racing at Kincaid. In the qualification round, Jager put down the fastest time, with Bridger Ski Foundation’s Erin Bianco winning the round for the women. With the top 30 from both men and women qualifying for the sprint heats, it was anyone’s game to take home the National Championship title. It was cold and windy going into the heats, but three more races would determine the day's winner. For the men, Jager was leading the way with his qualification win. Through the heats, Norway’s Kirkeng, who was second in the 10k skate two days prior, moved up a place and took home the overall win. Jager was second, holding off his teammate Michael Earnhart, who was third. Yet, looking at the domestic podium, it wasn’t only a Stifel U.S. Ski Team sweep but all athletes from Anchorage growing up skiing and racing on these tracks their entire lives were on the podium together, with Jager in first, Earnhart second and Murphy third. Results here. 

For the women, Bianco was the athlete to beat and Sammy Smith was the one to do it for the domestic podium. After a successful first season of D1 soccer at Stanford, Smith returned to ski racing with minimal skiing under her belt this season. Despite the late start to the season, Smith was the first American across the sprint finish, becoming the U.S. National Champion for the classic sprint. Following her was Bozeman’s Bianco, who is coming off some World Cup racing and rounded out by Dartmouth’s Nina Seemann in third. For the overall podium, Sweden’s Erica Laven was first and Estonia’s Mariel Merlii was second. Results here. 

Day Three: 20k Classic (National Championship)

Back to distance racing for the third day of events. It was a mass start day, with all athletes immediately off the line in one pack. In the men’s race, the field never really broke up - skiers raced in a pack most of the race through the four laps of the 5k course. In the final lap, it was anyone’s race, but Norway’s Kirkeng put the hammer down and crossed the finish line first, taking home another win. Seconds later, Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s Hagenbuch was in second place and Jager third. The domestic podium was in Hagenbuch’s favor, with the Dartmouth senior taking home his second victory of the National Championships, with Jager in second and Will Koch in third. Results here. 

In the women’s race, it was Fairbanks local Kramer who made a statement on the course, taking home her first National Championship title in front of family, friends, teammates, and more. It was her against Laven, pushing a pace that was too fast for the rest of the field. Skiing together for most of the race was a fight from start to finish. Neck-to-neck into the final stretch, Kramer took it into another gear, crossing the line in first place and clinching her first-ever National Championship title. Laven was second and Lauren Jortberg of Quebec Ski Club was third. Domestic results were led by Kramer, with Jortberg in second and Oldham in third. Results here. 

Final Day: Skate Sprint (SuperTour)

It’s been a long week of racing in Anchorage, and the classic sprint has wrapped up all the action. The day started with a stellar skate sprint qualifier by an Anchorage skier and first-year Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Murphy Kimball and Laven winning the women's qualifier. Into the heats, the course was quickly deteriorating because of the rain. Still, the athletes put their best ski forward and continued, with the course surprisingly staying intact despite the unfavorable weather. Into the final, Alaska’s Earnhart, a Stifel U.S. Ski Team B Team athlete, took home the SuperTour win, with Walker Hall of the University of Utah Ski Team in second and Carl Rune of Sweden in third. Earnhart, Hall topped the domestic podium in second and Reid Goble of the Bridger Ski Foundation in third. Results here. For the women, Team Birkie’s Mariel Merlii led the way first, with Laven second and Kate Oldham third. The domestic podium was led by Oldham, Anderson in second, and Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s Smith in third. Results here. 
 

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Ben Ritchie claimed a career-best eighth-place finish under the lights in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. Ritchie scored a top 10 and finished in second place on the second run - a standout performance for the young skier. 

“Second run I put down a good run I am proud of,” said Ritchie. “It feels really good to be competitive with skiing that I know I can consistently do. It was nothing special for me, so competing with the top guys feels amazing.” 

The classic night event came a few weeks later than previous seasons, but it was a challenge nonetheless. Despite a large slew of snow just two nights before, the track had a solid surface for the 70+ athletes. In the first run, Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath outpaced the rest of the field with a half-second advantage over the rest of the top slalom racers. 

All three Stifel U.S. Ski Team men executed well on the first run. Jett Seymour landed in 17th and Ben Ritchie close behind in 22nd. Luke Winters, who ran wearing bib 72, was on pace for a second run but just barely missed the mark, landing in 31st. 

“It’s a great start to January. This is the best we have done since I have been a part of the U.S. slalom team so I know we have more to give,” said Ritchie. “Luke and Jett are skiing really well and it's only a matter of time it all works out for us.” 

Under the lights on the second run, the crowds were large and loud, cheering on each racer who made their way down the icy course. Ritchie was first up for the American group and fully executed his plan, knifing his way into the top position to sit in the leaderboard chair upwards of five racers. Ritchie moved up 14 positions from run one to two and ultimately landed in eighth place. 

Seymour ran just after Ritchie and was on track to have a great day as well, but unfortunately did not finish. The winner of the race was Bulgarian Albert Popov for his first World Cup win. Second place was Swiss Loic Meillard and third was Croatia's Samuel Kolega. 

The slalom men have a busy January to keep building on this momentum. The next race is just a few days away on Saturday Jan. 11 in Adelboden, Switzerland. 

RESULTS
Men's slalom

After a short break for the holiday season, the Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team turned on the gas for the first two downhill races of the season this morning, and the results did not disappoint with wins from Andrew Kurka and Saylor O’Brien. 

O’Brien served as the sole U.S. woman today, and she was sure to impress. Beyond her win, she also took home a second place finish in the first race of the day, bringing her podium count to the season to three. On the men’s side, Andrew Haraghey finished just off the podium in both races, finishing fourth with two stellar races. 

In race one, Spencer Wood finished 14th, followed by Patrick Halgren in 16th and Jesse Keefe in 17th. Andrew Kurka started the day with a fourth place finish in the men’s sitting classification, followed by Zach Williams in sixth. 

In the second race of the day, Wood improved with a 12th, Halgren in 15th and Keefe in 17th in the men’s sitting classification. Williams finished the day in seventh. 

This weekend, the athletes are back in tech mode for a set of giant slalom races in St. Moritz, Jan. 11-12. 

RESULTS
Men Race 1
Men Race 2
Women Race 1
Women Race 2

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete River Radamus announces he will fund all U.S. U16’s who qualify for the Federation of European Ski & Snowboard Associations FESA Alpine Ski Cup. 

“I’m trying to do my part to ensure the sport becomes less expensive as these athletes climb the ladder,” said Radamus. “Not more.”

The FESA Cup is a large international race and a big stepping stone for young athletes - but this qualification comes with a hefty price tag of $3,000. Radamus plans to fund every racer that qualifies for the U.S. so it is one less thing they need to worry about. The U16 international ski race will be held Feb. 28-March 10 in Les Menuires, France. The U.S. team’s three girls and three boys will be selected off four races at the U16 National Performance Series (NPS) event in Burke, Vermont Jan. 5-10. 

Radamus is teaming up with his foundation, ARCO, along with the World Cup Dreams Foundation to help with this project. Radamus launched the ARCO Foundation in July 2023. The World Champion and Olympian has been passionate about supporting skiers who otherwise would be priced out of the sport. 

The nonprofit is supporting 21 U.S. U16 athletes in its second season. Since its inception, it’s distributed over $65,000 to up-and-coming racers and hosted a five-day on-snow camp for 15 athletes last spring.

Radamus details the grant and the collaboration in his more recent social media post here. Learn more about the ARCO Foundation here. 

On the final stage of the 2023-24 Tour de Ski, Jessie Diggins took sixth place in the Final Climb to secure third overall in the Tour de Ski.

After six grueling stages featuring new Olympic-style courses prepped for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games next season, the remaining six athletes from the Stifel U.S. Ski Team lined up for the mass start of the climb. The course, new to the Tour, led athletes through a lap of the Val di Fiemme course, then down the winding Marcialonga tourist track to the base of the alpine hill. The race concluded with a brutal 4k ascent up the alpine course of Alpe Cermis, featuring a steady gradient of 12%, with the steepest section averaging 28% – the same gradient as the Champions course that moguls athletes race on at the Intermountain Health Freestyle International presented by Stifel at Deer Valley.  

Diggins entered the final stage in the women's race ranked third in the overall standings and had to fight for every second to secure the overall podium position. Despite a strong push from Norway’s Therese Johaug, Diggins held on to finish sixth on the day, clinching the overall Tour de Ski podium in the process. 

“Oh man, I don’t think you’ve ever seen a happier third place than what you’re seeing now,” said Diggins. “It’s so awesome to finish this tour and an overall podium kind of happened against all odds! It was a really epic tour, in ways that I didn’t ask for. I learned to be tough in new ways and it was a huge thanks to the amazing team around me. I am definitely excited for some rest now but it was so great to fight out there today! I am so lucky that our alpine girls were out there cheering today, and also my husband! I and the team had so much support, it was awesome.”

Norwegian teammates Astrid Oeyre Slind and Heidi Weng finished second and third for the day, with Johaug first and Slind second overall in the Tour de Ski standings. It is Johaug’s fourth Tour de Ski win, equaling the record—a particularly impressive feat for the skier who took off the last two seasons from professional ski racing.

Sophia Laukli was 15th in the Final Climb with Julia Kern 19th. Last year, Laukli became the youngest American to win an individual cross country World Cup, when she won the Final Climb. Julia Kern was 19th.

Kern was the next American after Diggins in the overall, finishing in 17th, while Laukli was 21st.  

Ben Ogden, Zanden McMullen and Jack Young represented the remaining Stifel U.S. Ski Team Tour de Ski male athletes. Up the Alpe Cermis, Ogden and McMullen fought through the pain, skiing around the alpine gates to land in the top 20: McMullen in 19th and Ogden 20th. Young, whose finish marked his first-ever Tour de Ski – his 2024-25 season goal – crossed the finish line in 53rd. 

Going into the day, Ogden was ranked 15th in the Tour de Ski overall ranking and maintained his position. This was his second best finish in the Tour de Ski, finishing 13th overall two years ago. Ogden also secured seventh in the sprint standings. McMullen was 21st overall and Young 55th. 

The day's winner went to Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krueger, followed by Mika Vermeulen of Austria in second and Friedrich Moch of Germany in third.

With a remarkable 1:23.1 second lead and four victories out of seven stages, Norway’s Johannes Klaebo secured a record-equaling fourth Tour win. Vermeulen of Austria was second and Hugo Lapalus of France was third.

Cheering on the Stifel U.S. Ski Team racers were their alpine teammates Lindsey Vonn and Alison Molin. “This is a ski slope that is meant to go downhill!” said Vonn. “It’s counterintuitive to go up! But this is incredible.” 

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team women and men both finished fourth overall in the nation standings of the Tour de Ski. 

The cross country athletes will head to their respective recovery camp locations before the World Cup season continues in Les Rousses, France Jan. 17-19.

RESULTS
Women
Men

OVERALL RESULTS
Women
Men

CLIMBER
Women
Men

SPRINT
Women
Men

NATION
Women
Men

Katie Hensien was the stand-out athlete for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team on Sunday in the Kranjska Gora slalom, earning her first top 15 in a slalom World Cup, finishing 12th.

Hensien started the day seeded in bib 36 and hung on to a top-30 finish in her first run to give her her first chance of scoring slalom points so far in 2024-25. Having not finished her first runs or not qualified for a second run in every slalom so far this season, Hensien blew her expectations for Sunday out of the water when she skied the fifth fastest run of the day in the second run, got some time in the leader's chair and ended the day with a personal best in the slalom.

Her second run was less than seven-tenths behind the day's winner, Croatia's Zrinka Lutjic, and half a second behind second-place finisher Switzerland's Wendy Holdener. In fact, she beat third-place finisher Anna Swenn-Larsson of Sweden in her second run.

"I've shown some fast skiing this season, and it's nice to put two together finally," said Hensien. "[My result] reassures me that I have been skiing fast all season, and it's nice to have that confidence now after an unlucky streak in the beginning. It shows that my speed has always been there, and I'm excited for what's to come."

Teammate AJ Hurt was the fastest American in the first run, squeezing into 11th wearing bib 27. She came into the second run guns-a-blazing and was leading the field by over a second as she skied into the third split and crossed the tips of her skis, causing her to ski out of the course and clock a DNF.

Paula Moltzan was the only other American to score points on Sunday, finishing 20th overall. Nina O'Brien did not qualify for a second run.

The next on the women's tech schedule is a night slalom in Flachau, Austria, on Jan. 14, 2025. In the meantime, the women's team will head back to the Stifel U.S. Ski Team headquarters in Toblach for training and squeeze in a few days at Kronplatz before the giant slalom there on Jan. 21. The women's speed team races next weekend in St. Anton, Austria.

RESULTS
Women's slalom