Mikaela Shiffrin took win number 79 in the second Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup giant slalom in Semmering, Austria. Stifel U.S. Alpine Team athlete Paula Moltzan continued her impressive season with another top 10 result. 

“It’s not easy -- it was very dark and bumpy these past two days so I just tried to push and I am really happy with these races,” said Shiffrin on her win. “I expected some rough spots but I just tried to be as quick as possible and push harder.”

It was another challenging day on the Semmering track. The temperatures were a bit cooler with some winds, poor light and some bumps still in the course. On the first run, Shiffrin knifed her way to a clean run, skiing into second place behind Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami’s near-perfect first run. Stifel U.S. Alpine Team athlete Paula Moltzan made it into 24th after her first run, grabbing a good start bib for the second run. 

“I was really bummed after the first run so I made a good plan to be full gas with nothing to lose,” said Moltzan on her great result. “We are coming into a busy period so I am excited to keep building into all of these races.”

On the second run, Moltzan posted the second fastest run of the day bumping her result all the way up to ninth place. This is her third giant slalom top ten of the season. Shiffrin then sped her way down to overtake Gut-Behrami, winning by 0.10. Marta Bassino of Italy continued her giant slalom podium streak with a third place finish. 

Shiffrin's win puts her even closer to a milestone result. The record for the most World Cup wins by a woman skier stands at 82 victories, and clinching 79 wins puts that historic marker closely within Shiffrin's sights. 

Stifel U.S. Alpine Team athletes Nina O’Brien finished first run in 34th, Stella Johansson in 40th, Katie Hensien in 47th and Ava Sunshine in 52nd. They did not qualify for a second run.

In Bormio, the men’s speed team was back in action on the infamous icy and bumpy downhill track. Stifel U.S. Alpine Team athlete Ryan Cochran-Siegle lead the way with his best result of the season in fifth. 

“It was a step in the right direction, especially relative to my skiing here last year,” said Cochran-Sielge on his effort, who has had top-10 results in Bormio before--including his first World Cup win in the super-G in 2020--but was 20th in 2021 in the downhill. 

Stifel U.S. Alpine Team athlete Erik Arvidsson also finished well in 16th place from bib 46, his best result this season and second best result in his career. “I'm really excited for Erik with his 16th. That is really well earned on this track,” commented Cochran-Siegle. 

Travis Ganong also finished in the points, taking 24th. Sam Morse was 36th and Kyle Negomir 38th. Jared Goldberg and Bryce Bennett did not finish. 

The men’s team will switch to super-G in Bormio. The women finish out the Semmering races with a night slalom on Thursday. 

RESULTS
Women's giant slalom 
Men's downhill

HOW TO WATCH

Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Men's Super-G, Bormio, Italy, streaming on skiandsnowboard.live
9:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Women's Slalom, first run, Semmering, Austria, streaming/on demand on Peacock
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Women's Slalom, second run, Semmering, Austria, streaming/on demand on Peacock

Mikaela Shiffrin nabbed her 78th Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup win in Semmering, Austria, and first giant slalom win since the 2021 season. Stifel U.S. Alpine Team athlete Paula Moltzan took another top 10, landing a 10th place in the strong giant slalom field. 

“This is my first giant slalom victory in a while and I felt really good today,” said Shiffrin on her successful skiing in today's race. 

The conditions proved to be challenging on the first run, with many racers not making it to the finish line. The snow was variable with a mix of ice and bumps causing racers to get late or pushed off the line. Shiffrin ran bib one on the first run, knifing it to the finish and set a pace far above her competitors with almost one second in the lead. 

“These other women pushed so hard on the second run and almost caught up all the way,” said Shiffrin “I try to do my best job every day, and I am confident I can ski well.”

Shiffrin raced to a first-place finish, outpacing second-place finisher Petra Vholva by 0.13 overall and third-place finisher Marta Bassino by 0.31. 

It was another positive result for Moltzan, as she continues her strong season with a top 10 in giant slalom. 

“I am really excited with how well I skied through really tough conditions and I am happy to end up in the top 10, and now top 15 overall, so with a better bib number I will just keep making those baby steps forward,” said Moltzan on her strong result.

Stifel U.S. Alpine Team athlete Stella Johansson finished first run in 44th position, but did not qualify for a second run. Nina O'Brien, Katie Hensien and Ava Sunshine also raced, but did not finish. 

The women continue the tech series in Semmering with another giant slalom on Wednesday, Dec. 28, followed by a night slalom on Thursday, Dec. 29. The Stifel U.S. Alpine Team men will also be back in action in Bormio for a downhill race on Wednesday. 

RESULTS
Women's giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Women's Giant Slalom, first run, Semmering, Austria, streaming on NBC/Peacock.
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Men's Downhill, Bormio, Italy, streaming on skiandsnowboard.live
7:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Women's Giant Slalom, second run, Semmering, Austria, streaming on NBC/Peacock.

Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022
9:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Women's Slalom, first run, Semmering, Austria, streaming on NBC/Peacock.
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Men's Super-G, Bormio, Italy, streaming on skiandsnowboard.live
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup, Women's Slalom, second run, Semmering, Austria, streaming on NBC/Peacock.

The Stifel U.S. Alpine Team men were back in action at the Skiarea Alpe Cimbra in Trentino, Italy, a consistent host of our Stifel U.S. Alpine Team men over in Europe. The team and Alpe Cimbra have agreed to a renewal of the four-year agreement between the Stifel U.S Alpine Team men's national ski team, Trentino Marketing and the Azienda per il Turismo Alpe Cimbra Folgaria Lavarone Lusérn Vigolana, which enables the athletes to train on the Folgaria slopes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season.

The provincial councilor for craftsmanship, commerce, promotion, sport and tourism, Roberto Failoni, commented on the important renewal. "The agreement reached with the Stifel U.S. Alpine Team is important because it will cover the next four competitive seasons. It is a great opportunity for international visibility and promotion of Trentino.”

With Ryan Cochran-Siegle’s strong 2021-22 season and a silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he will again be the Ambassador of Alpe Cimbra, Trentino. In honor of the return to training and the renewal of the agreements, the men’s speed team and technical teams were present and training together on the hill.

Patrick Riml, the Stifel U.S. Alpine Team alpine director also emphasized the importance of this partnership. “The men’s alpine team has forged a long-term relationship with Alpe Cimbra, Trentino, featuring world-class training and hospitality,” said Riml. “This partnership is an integral part of equipping our men’s alpine team with necessary resources and training as we head through the World Cup seasons. For our athletes, who spend a majority of the winter in Europe away from home, the partnership with Alpe Cimbra, Trentino is a huge benefit.”

Check out the training venue in this video here.

Mikaela Shiffrin launched a YouTube channel with a new series called Moving Right Along. Episode 1 | The Beginning dropped on Saturday, Dec. 17.

Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic champion, six-time World Champion and four-time overall World Cup globe winner on the Stifel U.S. Alpine Team, launched the series with a focus on “moving forward” after missing the medals at the 2022 Olympics, while giving her fans a look at her life on the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup circuit from her own perspective.

“For so much of my career, my story has been told through someone else’s perspective,” wrote Shiffrin on Instagram. “I am so grateful not only for the media’s interest in sharing my personal journey, but also for sharing this sport that has provided so much passion and joy for my family and me. That said, most people often only get an in depth glimpse of our sport every four years, when the Olympics roll around. Don’t get me wrong, the Olympics are definitely a big deal, but I feel that there is so, so much more to this amazing sport than what is broadcast every four years.”

The first episode begins at the opening World Cup race in Soelden, Austria. While the race was canceled, Shiffrin was able to get in some training, meet her fans that came to watch her, and cook with her boyfriend—Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the reigning World Cup super-G and downhill champion. The episode then goes to Levi, where she won the two opening World Cup slalom races, adding two additional reindeer to her herd and bringing the total to six.

In the 2022-23 season, Shiffrin has already reached 77 World Cup wins as of December 18 and is nearing two massive records: becoming the winningest woman skier in history (Lindsey Vonn has 82 wins), and becoming the winningest skier of all time (Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark has 86 wins).  

“Failing doesn’t mean you’re a failure,” says Shiffrin in the first episode. “It’s the concept that you can fail so many times and you can still get up and still race and still succeed.”

Follow Shiffrin along as she pursues success this season. Episodes will be uploaded every two to three weeks throughout the season. Subscribe here.

The Stifel U.S. Alpine Team tech men had a strong showing at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Alta Badia on Monday with River Radamus leading the way in 10th place. Tommy Ford had a speedy second run and ended up in 15th place.

“It was a good step in the right direction,” said Radamus. “This is a really special hill for me. I always want to come and perform here.”

The day’s winner was Swiss skier Marco Odermatt, who continued his streak of being on the podium in every giant slalom race this season. In second place was Norwegian Henrik Kristofferson, and in third Zan Kranjec of Slovenia.

The conditions were noticeably difficult today. The racers that started further back had more trouble maintaining speed, as seen by the first run time intervals. Regardless, if the racers were able to make it down without too many mistakes, cracking top 30 was possible. The sun came out to shine on the second run and the crowds filtered in, and the surface was noticeably better than first run, making for a very tight race.

“First run, I just didn’t feel the flow of the course, but second run I did not want to leave anything out there so I charged as hard as I could,” said Radamus. “I’m very satisfied with today’s race.”

George Steffey and Brian McLaughlin did not qualify for a second run.

The giant slalom men will now prepare for the next race in Adelboden. Meanwhile, the next World Cup event will be slalom on Dec. 22nd in Madonna di Campiglio before the holiday break.  

RESULTS
Men's giant slalom

On a beautiful bluebird day in Davos, Jessie Diggins claimed her 14th World Cup victory and made her mark in the history books by becoming the most decorated American cross country skier in history.

Standing atop the podium with Diggins was teammate Rosie Brennan, who was third, right behind Ingvlid Flugstad Oestberg of Norway. 

With her 14th World Cup victory, Diggins, a three-time Olympian, moved into second in the overall World Cup standings and continues to chase the overall World Cup title - the crystal globe, which she won in the 2021 season.

In the individual start freestyle race, Diggins started in the 27th position in a field of 49 skiers. Throughout the 20k, she never ventured far from third place, going between first and third through every kilometer marker and ultimately winning the race once all skiers crossed the finish line. 

"Wow! What a day! Once again, super thank you to the team, we had some really awesome skis," Diggins told us. "I felt really good today. I was able to bounce back really well from the sprint day the day before and I felt like I could push really hard. I just raced as hard as I could until I got to the finish line, which was really cool. I was just trying to ski my own race and ski as smart and as powerful as I could. This win means a lot, as it breaks an American record for the number of World Cup wins which is super exciting and fun!" 

On the women's side, the American's had a solid day of racing, with all women in the top 50 scoring World Cup points. Brennan was third, Sophia Laukli was 17th, Alayna Sonnesyn in 26th and Lauren Jortberg in 39th. 

It was a nice showing for the American men. Gus Schumacher lead the charge in 18th, with Ben Ogden right behind in 22nd. For Schumacher, his top 20 finish marks his best distance result in Davos. But, at the end of the day, the Norwegian men were on top, taking the first six spots with Simen Hegstad Grueger crossing the line in 42:12.3 minutes. 

"It was really validating of my plan to start the season less sharp than in the past because it's gotten better every week and the trend is always something I like to look at for how the training is going," said Gus Schumacher in a post-race reflection. "I am really stoked to train a little now and bring the momentum to the tour because today felt really solid. I was skiing really smoothly and my energy and technique felt good, so I'm happy with it!"

Similar to the women, all U.S. men were in the top 50, with all athletes adding more World Cup points to their tally. Hunter Wonders was 33rd, Scott Patterson 38th and Zak Ketterson 43rd. 

Now, the team will rest, enjoy the holidays and prepare for the Tour de Ski! 

RESULTS

Women's 20k 

Men's 20k 

Mikaela Shiffrin continued her successful speed series with her 77th World Cup victory Sunday at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Shiffrin now has 124 World Cup podiums to her name.

Shiffrin described her skiing as good, commenting that she pushed hard in the race. “I felt very good, from inspection I was looking at a very tough line and I tried my best to follow that line,” said Shiffrin. “You have to push so hard and its always on the limit. I knew where my tactics should be and I’m happy with that.”

Behind Shiffrin on the podium was Italian skier Elena Curtoni in second, and French skier Romane Miradoli in third. Stifel U.S. Alpine athlete Breezy Johnson finished in 34th, Keely Cashman in 40th and Lauren Macuga in 41st.  Bella Wright and Tricia Mangan did not finish.

It was another bluebird day on the hill with the sun shining down at the finish for the speed racers as they close out their speed series in St. Moritz.

The tech men also raced Sunday in Alta Badia for a giant slalom series. Brian Mclaughlin finished first run in 37th, Tommy Ford finished first run in 44th, George Steffey finished first run in 52nd and River Radamus did not finish. The men return to Alta Badia for another race on Monday.

RESULTS

Women's super-G

HOW TO WATCH
Men’s Alta Badia G.S. Dec. 19th 4:00 a.m. ET  https://skiandsnowboard.live/

Birk Irving took the big win at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe to close out the weekend of events at Copper Mountain. Sister Svea Irving was just off the podium in fourth place.

It was Irving’s third win at Copper, who hails from just down the road at Winter Park, Colorado, but his first win since 2019. “I’ve gotten a few World Cup wins before, but this one hits a little different,” said Birk. “Home turf, whole family is here—it feels really good. It’s awesome.”

Two Canadians stood on the podium with Birk: Brandon MacKay in second and Noah Bowman in third.

Irving threw a huge third run to burst onto the top spot and held it. His run featured a switch left 10 blunt, a massive right dub 12 Japan, left dub 14 safety, switch right 7 tail and a left double down the pipe high safety. His last trick thrilled both the crowd and his competitors alike, with a progressive blocked 720.

“It’s like a double Michalchuk 7,” said Birk. “It’s like a pretzel flip—so it’s kinda weird. I’ve done it a few times before. I had it in my head today, but I wasn’t sure I was going to need it, but at third run I was like, yeah I’m definitely going to need it!”

The competition was fierce, with a number of men vying for the top three. Alex Ferreira stood on the podium throughout the comp, but was bumped off in the last run and took fourth. Hunter Hess finished eighth.

Svea also threw down two solid runs, but just missed the podium, taking fourth. But she stood with the team at the base of the pipe to support her brother in first. Behind Svea, Hanna Faulhaber was sixth, Brita Sigourney seventh and Carly Margulies eighth. Margulies fell first run and did not start the last two runs.

Rachel Karker of Canada was first with teammate Amy Fraser second. Kelly Sildaru of Estonio was third.

The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix wrapped the weekend of events at Copper with the freeskiers now looking toward slopestyle in Font Romeu, France after the new year.

Be sure to tune into the tape-delayed broadcast of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix and Visa Big Air presented by Toyota at Copper Mountain on Sunday, Dec. 18 and Christmas Eve.

RESULTS
Women’s halfpipe
Men’s halfpipe

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST - Please refer to this link for most up-to-date schedule.

Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022
12:30 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix snowboard halfpipe finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock
4:30 p.m. - Visa Big Air presented by Toyota freeski and snowboard finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock

Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022
5:00 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski halfpipe finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock

Hailey Langland and Chris Corning were the top U.S. riders at the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota at Copper Mountain, both landing huge tricks that secured them second place finishes.

It was a balmy day of 12 degrees F compared to the freeski big air on Friday, which topped out at 0 degrees, and the athletes were welcomed to the finish each run by cheering fans at the base of Copper Mountain. Langland sent it to the moon on her first hit, putting down a cab 10 indy that had the crowd going wild. She backed it up with a switch back triple 16 Weddle, which secured her second place, finishing in between two Japanese riders: Mari Fukada in first and Miyabi Onitsuka in second.  

Corning dropped a back 18 melon on his first hit and a switch back triple 16 Weddle, which held him in first place for the majority of the event, but Norwegian great Marcus Kleveland threw a nollie frontside off the toes 14 tail grab for his final trick—a trick no one had ever done in a contest before—to grab the win. Corning took second, while Ian Matteoli of Italy was third.

This was Corning’s second second place finish in a week, having securing the runner-up position at the Edmonton big air World Cup last week. “It’s a really good start to the season,” said Corning. “It is definitely a tough situation because I’m happy to be there, but I’m also not happy at all. It’s two second places in a row that I had a good chance of winning. I’m going to try to figure some stuff out and hopefully bring home a win in the next one.”

Julia Marino finished sixth, but scored the Visa Best Trick Award with a hugely progressive cab double 1080 nose grab. Kleveland took home the Visa Best Trick Award for the men.

Rounding out the rest of the U.S. Snowboard Team, Luke Winkelmann was seventh for the men and Courtney Rummel was eighth for the women. It was Rummel’s first time making finals in a big air World Cup.

The Visa Big Air presented by Toyota wraps the snowboarding portion at Copper. The team has a holiday break before the Kreischberg big air World Cup in Austria.

RESULTS
Women’s big air
Men’s big air

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST - Please refer to this link for most up-to-date schedule.

Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022 
3:00 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski halfpipe finals - streaming LIVE on Outside

Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022
12:30 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix snowboard halfpipe finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock
4:30 p.m. - Visa Big Air presented by Toyota freeski and snowboard finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock

Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022
5:00 p.m. - Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski halfpipe finals - tape delayed on NBC and simulcasted on Peacock

Olivia Giaccio was the top U.S. woman in dual moguls in the FIS Freestyle World Cup in Alpe d’Huez, France, finishing fifth. D Team athlete Charlie Mickel was ninth, his best FIS World Cup result.  

Anri Kawamura of Japan and Perrine Lafont of France battled for first, with Kawamura taking the win. Jakara Anthony of Australia was third. Japan brought home the men's win too, with Ikuma Horishima of Japan on the top step of the podium. Benjamin Cavet of France was second and Walter Wallberg third.

Giaccio skied well to make it into the quarterfinals, but couldn’t beat the Olympic champion LaFont, who ended up second. But she scored another top finish, and will keep that in her back pocket as she looks for the podium in 2023. Lemley, who podiumed in the last two events, also made it to the quarterfinals and finished eighth. Jaelin Kauf snagged another top 10, taking 10th, and Alli Macuga was 11th. Tess Johnson was 13th and Development Team skier Kasey Hogg had her personal best World Cup result in 14th place.

Mickel made it to the round of 16, but was beat out by William Feneley of Great Britain. But it was a stellar result for the young 18 year old, who only just started skiing World Cups this season. His previous personal best was 21st place, so he was excited to crack the top 10.

"I'm super happy with my skiing all day and thrilled to finally break that top 10 bubble," said Mickel.
"Looking forward to the rest of the season and glad I could end this trip with a good result."

Behind Mickel, Dylan Walczyk also made the round of 16 and finished 14th. Cole McDonald was 17th, Nick Page 22nd and Ian Beauregard 28th.

The Alpe d’Huez World Cup wrapped up the first period of moguls skiing with the athletes now heading home for a holiday break.

RESULTS
Women’s dual moguls
Men’s dual moguls