The Main Stage: Kitzbuehel and Cortina

All eyes on the biggest stage of the FIS Ski World Cup circuit this weekend in Kitzbuehel, Austria and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. It’s difficult to explain just how special both Kitzbuehel and Cortina are on the World Cup circuit. The adrenaline rush of the Hahnenkamm and the extreme beauty and perfect snow on the Olympia delle Tofane slope are unmatched. In the final weekend of Olympic qualifying events, the athletes will be putting it all on the line to prior next week’s U.S. Ski & Snowboard's team announcements.

Veterans Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) and Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) return to competition to lead the American Downhillers down the Streif in the ski racing Mecca known as Kitzbuehel, Austria. Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah), who has also been showing great consistency, will compete in the super-G and downhill events on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Nyman was second in the first downhill training run Tuesday and Goldberg posted the fourth-fastest time on Thursday.

The weekend will culminate with slalom Sunday, where David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.) and Nolan Kasper (Warren, Vt.) will headline the roster for the Americans. Kasper led the way in his first World Cup slalom race in nearly three years, earning a top 20 result in Wengen, Switzerland last weekend.

Over in Cortina, the current overall, slalom and giant slalom leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) returns to the World Cup circuit this weekend for a chance to extend her already sizable 800-plus-point lead. Shiffrin joins teammates Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.), Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.), Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and more for a pair of downhills and a super-G Jan. 19-21.

Vonn, who is searching for that 79th career victory, grabbed her first podium in Cortina and has won a staggering 11 times in Cortina, and Shiffrin was just .03 seconds off the super-G podium under the sunshine in beautiful Cortina in 2017. Vonn’s first podium was in Cortina in January of 2004 – a third place in the downhill. Cortina was also the location for Mancuso’s first and second podiums – a second in the super-G followed by a second in the downhill in January of 2006.

The first downhill is scheduled for Jan. 19 and is a make-up race from the canceled event in Val d’Isere, France. Vonn won Wednesday’s and Thursday’s downhill training runs by almost a second, with Jackie Wiles (Aurora, Ore.) third both days, Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) fourth on Wednesday and Shiffrin fifth on Thursday.

Steve Schlanger and U.S. Ski Team alumnus Steve Porino will call the action in the coming week. See who to watch and where to catch all the action below.

WOMEN’S STARTERS
Cortina, ITA

Super-G and Downhill

• Stacey Cook
• Breezy Johnson
• Julia Mancuso
• Alice McKennis
• Alice Merryweather
• Laurenne Ross
• Mikaela Shiffrin
• Lindsey Vonn
• Jackie Wiles

MEN’S STARTERS
Kitzbuehel, AUT/Schladming, AUT

Super-G and Downhill

• Bryce Bennett
• Tommy Biesemeyer
• Jared Goldberg
• Wiley Maple
• Steven Nyman
• Andrew Weibrecht

Slalom

• David Chodounsky
• Mark Engel
• AJ Ginnis
• Nolan Kasper
• Robby Kelley
• Hig Roberts

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Friday, Jan. 19
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
4:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Saturday, Jan. 20
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
3:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBC (same day broadcast)
11:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
12:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Sunday, Jan. 21
5:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
10:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Tuesday, Jan. 23
6:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom; Kronplatz – Olympic Channel TV
2:30 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – Olympic Channel TV
12:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

RESULTS
Men’s Training Run 1
Men’s Training Run 2
Women's Training Run 1
Women’s Training Run 2

START LISTS
Women’s Downhill
Men’s Super-G

Olympic Qualification Update

Some U.S. athletes have already qualified for the Olympic team based on their performances so far this season. They include:
Bryce Bennett (top 10 alpine combined) ^
Ryan Cochran-Siegle (World Cup ranking alpine combined) ^
Stacey Cook (top 10 downhill) *
Tommy Ford (World Cup ranking GS) ^
Breezy Johnson (top 10 downhill) *
Ted Ligety (top 5 giant slalom) ^
Megan McJames (World Cup ranking GS) ^
Laurenne Ross (top 10 super G) *
Mikaela Shiffrin (top 3 downhill, top 5 super G, top 3 giant slalom, top 3 slalom) ^
Resi Stiegler (World Cup ranking SL) ^
Lindsey Vonn (top 3 super G) *
Jackie Wiles (top 5 downhill) *
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria