Hurt Closes Out Giant Slalom Season in Top 10 on Home Snow
The sun was out in full force, the course was set and the athletes put it all on the line for the final giant slalom of the 2024-25 season at the Stifel Sun Valley Finals. At the end of the day, it was Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete AJ Hurt as the top American, taking eighth place.
With a smile across her face, Hurt whipped her hands into the air across the line to end her season with a top 10 result and 14th in the overall FIS giant slalom overall rankings.
In the first run, the snow did not hold up well and the set was difficult, causing many DNFs. Paula Moltzan, currently ranked within the top seven, ran into trouble early in her run. Losing grip on her pole around the third gate, she fought her way down the course with just one pole and was heading into a position within the top five. However, just before the finish, Moltzan crashed into the fence. Despite being banged up with a bandage on her face, she is OK.
The other surprise of the race was when the leading Crystal Globe contender, New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, also did not finish the race and ultimately gave up the Globe to Italian Federica Brignone.
Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Nina O’Brien also landed in the top 15 in 12th place. While it was not the result she hoped for at home, she was still excited to race in the U.S. and see friends and family in the crowd. O’Brien ended her giant slalom season in 11th in the overall GS rankings.
“The set was definitely a little bit tough today with the snow breaking down, and you have to be really smart about how you ski,” said O’Brien. “Our team has been pushing each other this season a lot and it feels like every race somebody is shining each day which has been really cool.”
On the second run, the course set was much more forgiving for the athletes, and the best pushed the limits. Hurt skied cleanly into the top position and moved up a few spots to land in the top 10.
“It's nice to come away with a good result as we head into the next season,” said Hurt. “It is also pretty awesome to have family and friends around since we are also pretty close to California.”
Stifel U.S. Ski Team members Lauren Macuga and Katie Hensien also raced. Though Hensien did not finish, she is still proud of her season. Macuga, a speed skier, was able to race after scoring over 500 World Cup points. She put down two gutsy runs in her first ever World Cup giant slalom and scored points, finishing in 15th place.
Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami took the victory, claiming her second win of the Stifel Sun Valley Finals week. Brignone ended up in second, and with that result, secured the giant slalom Crystal Globe, edging Robinson. It is Brignone’s third Globe of the 2024-25 season, after capturing the overall, super-G and giant slalom. Sweden’s Sara Hector finished third.
Gut-Behrami also clinched the Stifel HERoic Cup, a $50,000 prize for the winningest World Cup woman skier between the U.S. World Cup races: the Stifel Killington Cup, Stifel Birds of Prey and Stifel Sun Valley Finals. Stifel chairman and CEO Ronald Kruszewski presented the check and a trophy to the accomplished racer, who was thrilled to win the award, and stated that she was going to build a pool with the prize money.
The women’s tech team will now prepare for the slalom race on Thursday, March 27, while the men’s giant slalom skiers prepare for their last giant slalom race on Wednesday, March 26.
RESULTS
Women's giant slalom
HOW TO WATCH
- Wednesday, March 26
- 11:30 a.m. – men’s GS, first run – LIVE on Outside TV
- 2:00 p.m. – men’s GS, second run – LIVE on Outside TV & USA
- Thursday, March 27
- 11:00 a.m. – women’s slalom, first run – LIVE on Outside TV
- 12:00 p.m. – men’s slalom, first run – LIVE on Outside TV
- 2:00 p.m. – women’s slalom, second run – LIVE on Outside TV & USA
- 3:00 p.m. – men’s slalom, second run – LIVE on Outside TV
