Shiffrin Has Chance To Move Up On All-Time Win List As Tech Women Take On Killington

All eyes will be on the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team this weekend as they kick off the 2019-20 FIS Alpine World Cup season in earnest at the HomeLight Killington Cup for the women and the Lake Louise Alpine World Cup in Alberta for the men.

Not one to focus on the records, Mikaela Shiffrin won’t be thinking about the fact that she’s on the cusp of tying Austrian alpine skier Annemarie Moser-Pröll on the all-time victory list. Fresh off her historical 41st World Cup slalom victory in Levi, Finland, Mikaela currently sits at 61 World Cup victories, in fifth behind Moser-Pröll (62), Marcel Hirscher (67), Lindsey Vonn (82) and Ingemar Stenmark (86). She leads the U.S. Team in both Saturday’s giant slalom and Sunday’s slalom in front of an estimated 40,000 fans at the fourth annual Killington Cup.

“I’m always thankful that we have a slalom race before Killington, because I know that’s where people are more excited to see me skiing,” Shiffrin said after her win in Levi, Finland. “Sometimes, that can add pressure. Having the race [in Finland] and to know that my good skiing is fast, that doesn’t take pressure off, but I’m on track.”

Mikaela will also be skiing with her nana on her mind. Her grandmother, Pauline, passed away just a few days before Soelden. Three years ago at Killington's World Cup debut, her grandmother had the chance to see Mikaela compete live - and win on home soil - for the first time. It was a special moment for Mikaela, her mother Eileen, and their family.

The women are excited to ski in front of what is their favorite crowd on Tour - and we’re not just talking about the American women. Athletes from across nations have commented on how impressed they are with the Killington crowd, and how at-home they feel when they ski into the finish area. The Killington crowd is a World Cup favorite, and the fast and fearless women will be sure to put on a show for them. 

Speaking of the show, everyone is wondering if New Zealand phenom Alice Robinson will be skiing in Saturday’s giant slalom, after a crash prior to her Soelden victory resulted in a bone bruise that sidelined her for a short period of time. In an announcement on Instagram earlier this week, she shared that she was healing well and had returned to snow in Colorado before heading to Vermont. She will announce on Friday whether or not she is competing. Of course, the Mikaela vs. Petra Vlhova rivalry continues this year, with Petra having had the narrow lead in Levi after the first run, but crashing and DNFing second run. Can Mikaela four-peat at Killington? Only time will tell! 

Joining Mikaela will be be a promising squad including 2017 NCAA Slalom Champion Paula Moltzan, who finished 20th in Levi, along with Keely Cashman, and Nina O’Brien in both Saturday’s GS and Sunday’s slalom. AJ Hurt and University of Denver’s Storm Klomhaus will race Saturday’s giant slalom, while fellow DU Skiing’s Katie Hensien and Dartmouth Big Green alumna Foreste Peterson will race Sunday’s slalom. All of these women have been skiing fast and solid both in training and at the recent NorAms at Copper Mountain, Colo. and they'll look forward to score in front of the home crowd at Killington!

WOMEN'S STARTERS
Keely Cashman
Katie Hensien
AJ Hurt
Storm Klomhaus
Paula Moltzan
Nina O'Brien
Foreste Peterson
Mikaela Shiffrin

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HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

ALPINE
Saturday, Nov. 30
9:40 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 1, Killington, Vt. - Olympic Channel & Olympic Channel.com
12:30 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 1, Killington, Vt. - NBCSN & NBCSports.com
2:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Lake Louise, Alberta - Olympic Channel & Olympic Channel.com
3:30 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Killington, Vt. - NBC*
9:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Lake Louise, Alberta - NBCSN*

Sunday, Dec. 1
9:40 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1, Killington, Vt. - Olympic Channel & Olympic Channel.com
12:30 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 1, Killington, Vt. - NBC
2:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G, Lake Louise, Alberta - NBC

*Same-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app.

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.