The FIS Ski World Cup race in Zagreb, Croatia is known as the “Snow Queen Trophy”—for both Saturday’s women’s slalom race and Sunday’s men’s edition. It is a favorite stop of the women and men on the tour, where both tours collide in the unlikely, eclectic and bustling capital city of Croatia. 

All four (of the six) times Reigning Snow Queen Mikaela Shiffrin finished, she’s won on this Sljeme track in Zagreb. In fact, of those four wins—which came in in 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2019—Mikaela’s average margin of victory is 1.43 seconds. Take that in for a second. ONE POINT FOUR THREE SECONDS!! That’s an eternity in ski racing. She loves the typically icy conditions, and it’s these conditions—as ice like that is rarely seen on the women’s circuit outside of Killington, Vt.—where she excels and separates herself from the field (for example, the 2.29-second margin of victory in Killington). Ice is nice for this Snow Queen! 

Coming off a big, statement-making Lienz, Austria, series sweep, Mikaela (and teammate Paula Moltzan) got some training in at Obdach, Austria, over the new year. And just when Mikaela said, “Blame it on the BOOGIE” she meant it, with a fall in slalom training followed by a post on Instagram that said, “Boogie got me good today 🙄🙄 #2020ComingInHot”. Thankfully, apart from a bit of a sore hip, Mikaela is OK and will be starting in Saturday’s slalom. All hail the Snow Queen!! 

 

 

 

 

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Boogie got me good today 🙄🙄 #2020ComingInHot

A post shared by Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷💨 (@mikaelashiffrin) on Jan 2, 2020 at 10:16am PST

A lot has been said of the dominance of Mikaela—extremely rare in a sport where winners and non-podium finishers are separated by hundredths, rife with variables (wind, sun, snow, visibility, etc.). Here's a fun stat: since the start of the 2017-18 season, there have been 21 slalom races. Mikaela has won 18, gotten second twice, and DNFed just once. That's an 86% rate over a massive 2 1/2 season timespan. Take that in for a minute or two. With her slalom victory over Slovakia's Petra Vlhova in Lienz, Mikaela became the first alpine skier to claim 14 straight World Cup slalom podiums. 

Here’s the rundown of stats for the weekend:

• Mikaela Shiffrin has won an all-time record 43 World Cup slalom races. Only Ingemar Stenmark (46 in giant slalom) has won more than 43 World Cup races in a single discipline (Lindsey Vonn has also 43 wins in the downhill).  

• Mikaela has won 64 World Cup races, second place on the all-time women's list. Lindsey Vonn holds the women's record of 82 race wins.  

• The last 23 women's World Cup slalom races were either won by Mikaela (19) or Petra Vlhová (4), since retired Frida Hansdotter won in Flachau on 10 January 2017.  

• Mikaela has recorded a top-two finish in 22 of the last 23 women's World Cup slalom races, including in each of the last 14 since a 'DNF' in Lenzerheide on 28 January 2018.

• Mikaela has won the women's Zagreb slalom a joint-record four times in the World Cup, alongside childhood hero Marlies Schild. On the men's side, Marcel Hirscher has won the honor (yes, of "Snow Queen Trophy") five times. 

• Mikaela’s four wins in Zagreb came in the last five editions, with the exception of Veronika Velez-Zuzulová's win on 3 January 2017. Mikaela could win five World Cup slalom races in a single ski resort for the first time. She has now won four times in Zagreb, Levi, Åre, and Killington.

• Wendy Holdener has collected 23 World Cup podium finishes in the slalom but has yet to claim her first victory. This is currently the record for most World Cup podiums in a single discipline without winning, five more than the previous record by Hubert Strolz (18) in the men's giant slalom.

• Only three women have finished second in a World Cup slalom race more often than Wendy (12): Frida Hansdotter (17), Pernilla Wiberg (14) and Veronika Velez-Zuzulová (13). Three of these women—Wendy, Frida, and Veronika—all have raced in the era of Mikaela Shiffrin. 

Rounding out the women's roster for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team is slalom specialist Paula Moltzan, who was 12th in the first run in Zagreb last year before DNFing second run. She likes this track, and the usual hard-packed icy surface suits her aggressive style. It reminds her of her midwest upbringing at Buck Hill, Minn. and her east coast college days at the University of Vermont, where she skied for the Catamounts. Remember, ice is nice! Paula struggled in Lienz, Austria, DNFing in the top section of the course, but now that she’s got that out of her system she’s ready to rock on the Sljeme track. The rest of the team, including Nina O’Brien, are back stateside getting some NorAm starts—and confidence—in their arsenal for when they return to Europe soon. 

On the men’s side, Luke Winters, who was second behind eventual race winner Alexis Pinturault in the first run of the Val d’Isere, France slalom, and ended up grabbing his career-first World Cup points in 19th, will return to action. He and teammate River Radamus have been skiing fast in training, and they're looking forward to taking on this busy month of racing, possibly being joined by another team member, as Luke’s result in Val d’Isere scored the U.S. slalom men another start spot. Watch France's Clément Noël this weekend...think he's got some redemption up his sleeves this weekend. 

Check out all the details about who and how to watch below. 

STARTERS
Paula Moltzan
River Radamus
Mikaela Shiffrin
Luke Winters

START LIST
Women’s Slalom

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HOW TO WATCH 
All Times EST

Saturday, Jan. 4
6:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 2, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
2:00 p.m. - Women’s slalom, Zagreb, CRO - NBCSN*

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:45 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
11:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Jan. 6
1:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom, Zagreb, CRO - NBCSN**

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-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

Through five stages of the 14th Tour de Ski, the fatigue is starting to pile on. But it's at this point of the race where athletes see the light at the end of the pain cave. Sadie Maubet Bjornsen dug deep Friday, finishing seventh, just 17 seconds off of the winning time of Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in the women’s 10k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

“At this point in the tour, you have to rely on your brain, because your muscles are so tired, they are screaming stop,” said Sadie, who remained calm and cool on the first lap of the two-lap race so she had “enough energy to attack in some of the working sections that others could have exploded on. The goal is to let your brain overpower that feeling, and just keep pushing.

“It was a super fun and amazing race out there today,” added Sadie, who remains in ninth in the overall Tour de Ski standings. “Seventeen seconds back from the win is one of the best races of the year, even if seventh place doesn't say that.”

Jessie Diggins finished 17th, and Rosie Brennan was 19th, racing for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team. American Katharine Ogden posted a career-best Stage World Cup result in 28th place. 

“After a really tough classic day in Toblach, I lost quite a bit of wind out of my sails and was certainly nervous about my skis and my fatigue and everything that can happen in a tour,” said Rosie, who currently sits 19th in the overall Tour de Ski standings. “As a result, I chose to ski a little conservative and ski within myself. I am pleased with the result and some very steady skiing, but certainly think I was a bit too conservative.”

In the 15k men’s classic mass start, David Norris was the top American in 38th, and Logan Hanneman was 59th.

Up next, the men and women compete in a classic sprint for stage 6 Saturday in Val di Fiemme.

“Tomorrow's classic sprint will be really funny,” Sadie said. “When people are so tired, I am sure it will look different than a normal sprint, but that sounds so fun! I can't wait. If I can find the same feelings I found today, I feel confident I can find my magic.”

“With two days left, it's time to let it all out!” Rosie added.

RESULTS
Stage 5 Tour de Ski
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Tour de Ski Standings (Thought stage 4)
Women
Men

World Cup Standings
Women’s overall
Men’s overall

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Saturday, Jan. 4
5:25 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men and women’s sprint, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

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.

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) today announced finalists for the Team USA Awards, Best of December, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Four U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are nominated: Tommy Ford, Chris Corning, Aaron Blunck and Mikaela Shiffrin. In addition, the women's cross country 4x5 kilometer relay team of Sophie Caldwell, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan and Jessie Diggins, was nominated.

Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight Tuesday, Jan. 7.  

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Nominations

Male Athlete of the Month

Aaron Blunck, Freestyle Skiing

Clinched the gold medal in halfpipe for the second straight year at the U.S. Grand Prix world cup in Copper Mountain, Colorado, and earned silver at the world cup in Secret Garden, China.

Chris Corning, Snowboarding

Clinched his seventh career season title by taking bronze in big air at the world cup in Beijing and additionally won gold at the world cup in Atlanta, delivering the first-ever quad cork 1800 on a scaffold big air jump.

Tommy Ford, Alpine Skiing

Won gold in giant slalom at the world cup in Beaver Creek, Colorado, clinching the first win by an American man in nearly three years.

Female Athlete of the Month

Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine Skiing

Won her fourth straight world cup on U.S. snow in slalom in Killington, Vt., by a margin of 2.29 seconds—her biggest victory gap in three years—and capped the month by sweeping two world cup races in Lienz, Austria, to bring her career total to 64 wins, matching Lindsey Vonn’s record for most women’s world cup victories in one discipline with 43 slalom wins.

Team of the Month

U.S. Women’s 4x5-kilometer Relay, Cross-Country Skiing
The relay squad of Sophie Caldwell, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan and Jessie Diggins took silver at the world cup in Lillehammer, Norway, matching the best world cup podium finish for Team USA in the event.

Selection Process
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per sport discipline. An internal nominating committee selects finalists to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50% of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.

VOTE NOW
 

Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was the top finisher for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in stage 4 of the 14th Tour De Ski in Toblach, Italy, Wednesday. Jessie Diggins was 14th, followed by Rosie Brennan in 21st, Sophie Caldwell in 27th and Katharine Ogden in 38th.

Norway swept the top three in Wednesday’s 10k classic pursuit with Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg taking the win ahead of current Tour de Ski leader Therese Johaug in second, and Heidi Weng in third. Sadie moved up ninth in the overall Tour de Ski standings, just 2 minutes, 9 seconds behind Therese. Jessie is 10th overall at 2 minutes, 16 seconds back.

In the 15k men’s classic pursuit, David Norris was the top American in 44th, followed by Kevin Bolger in 61st and Logan Haneman finishing 71st. 

Up next, the athletes will have a rest day Thursday, then the women will race a 10k classic mass start, and the men a 15k classic mass start Friday in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

RESULTS
Stage 4 Tour de Ski
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit

Tour de Ski Standings (Thought stage 4)
Women
Men

World Cup 
Women’s overall
Men’s overall

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Friday, Jan. 3
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 4
5:25 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men and women’s sprint, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

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.

Jessie Diggins once again led the way for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in stage 3 of the 14th Tour De Ski Tuesday in Toblach, Italy, pacing three American's into the top nine. Jessie currently sits second on the overall Tour de Ski sprint standings, just two points behind Slovenia's Anamarija Lamic, and ninth overall through three stages.

Jessie finished seventh in the 10k individual start freestyle, followed by Sadie Maubet Bjornsen in eighth, and Rosie Brennen in ninth. Sophie Caldwell was 25th and Katharine Ogden was 34th.

“I am very happy with my race today,” Rosie said, after stating that the first two stages her performance didn’t meet her expectations. “I have some big goals riding on this tour … today was much more what I had in mind. I love individual races. I had a strong first lap and faded a bit more than I wanted the second lap but am happy with an improved result.”

In the 15k men’s individual start freestyle, David Norris was the top American in 51st, followed by Kevin Bolger in 60th and Logan Haneman finishing 73rd. 

Up next, the women will race a 10k classic pursuit, and the men a 15k classic pursuit in stage 4 Wednesday in Toblach, Italy. The top-nine finishers from Tuesday's race will all start within the first 45 seconds behind Norway's Therese Johaug in Wednesday's pursuit.

"I was really happy to finish eighth today, and I feel like I am in a great place for the pursuit classic race tomorrow," Sadie said. "Rosie, Jessie and I are all starting close enough together that we can make an American train, and take on 'the world' together."

RESULTS
Stage 3 Tour de Ski
Women’s 10k freestyle 
Men’s 10k freestyle

Tour de Ski Standings (Thought stage 3)
Women
Men

World Cup Standings
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Wednesday, Jan. 1
5:40 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k pursuit, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k pursuit, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Jan. 3
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 4
5:25 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men and women’s sprint, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold 

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.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle skied to a career-best fifth place in Sunday's alpine combined, drawing from his Cochran's Ski Area skills and posting the seventh-fastest slalom time, to lead the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Bormio, Italy, once again. 

France's Alexis Pinturault out down a respectable 12th-fastest super-G run, and won the slalom portion of the alpine combined, to seal his victory, .51 seconds ahead of Attacking Viking Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, and .56 ahead of the young Swiss Loic Meillard. 

Ryan was 15th in a tough super-G portion of the alpine combined. "The super-G inspection looked like you had to come out with good race intensity with icy snow and bumpy terrain, which was not easy to do after the past 3 days of full on World Cup downhill. I actually liked the way I came out of the gate, skiing more aggressively than my last couple super-G starts, but got bumped off line because of it before the traverse. I kept it going the rest of the way, but knew I didn’t carry as much speed out of that section as the top guys would have. I thought I took good necessary risk, but it just didn’t quite pay off to be more competitive on the run.

His slalom, on the other hand, was surprisingly (to himself) strong, as he skied a solid seventh-fastest slalom run. Following the race, Ryan—who comes out of Starksboro, Vt. and skied for Mount Mansfield Ski & Snowboard Club and Cochran's Ski Area—jokingly said, "Really don't know where that came from...felt pretty good in warm-ups and was coming hot off a second-place finish at Cochran's TGFS [Thank God for Snow Making] Race last March. All the confidence you need." 

"In slalom I had no expectations and kept my focus simple, trying to keep the arc short on the pitch and then getting to the new ski fast and early coming off the pitch with a good race mentality," he continued. "Knowing I had to ski to my limit in order to be in there helped me silence any internal thoughts aside from just my skiing. It felt to me very much in my zone and a state of flow from the top to bottom."

Ryan has scored in 11 of 12 races this season, across five disciplines—parallel giant slalom, giant slalom, alpine combined, super-G and downhill—highlighted by a career best fifth place on Sunday at Bormio. 

Bryce Bennett landed in 18th, while Sam Morse did not finish the slalom portion of the combined on Sunday. 

Up next for the men is a short break before the White Circus picks up again on Jan. 5 with a men's slalom in Zagreb, Croatia. 

RESULTS
Men’s Alpine Combined

STANDINGS
Men’s Alpine Combined
Men’s Overall  

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Official event hashtags: #bormioskiworldcup

Jessie Diggins finished fourth to lead five members of the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team into the top 25 in the second stage freestyle sprint at the 14th Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Sunday. 

Sadie Maubet Bjornsen finished fifth, followed by Sophie Caldwell in ninth, Julia Kern in 14th and Rosie Brennan in 25th. In the men’s sprint, Logan Hanneman was 20th and Kevin Bolger 21st. 

After a disappointing start to the 14th Tour de Ski Saturday, in which Jessie and Sadie finished 29th and 30th respectively in the opening 10k mass start freestyle, Sunday’s result was a solid effort as Jessie moved up to 11th overall, just 39 seconds back of race leader Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia; and Sadie moved up to 12th overall, just two seconds behind Jessie.

“It was a nice day of revenge for stage two of the Tour de Ski, making it into the finals, and ending the day in fifth,” said Sadie, who was also the top qualifier. “(Saturday) I felt amazing, but had impossibly slow skis, and felt like it was a win to make it to the finish line, only losing 1:20 to the leader. The tech team worked extra hard to find a solution, and our entire team came back strong today! Although it was an imperfect start, positivity and constantly fighting are the two keys to this incredibly exciting event. I sometimes think the winners of the Tour de Ski are not the most physically fit people, but the most mentally tough.”

In the opening quarter-final heats, Jessie finished fourth but advanced as one of two lucky losers into the semi-final round. Sophie won her quarterfinal heat, and Julia, who skied a great race, got nipped at the line in a photo finish, finishing third. In the semi-finals, Jessie won the first heat, while Sophie finished fifth. In the second semi-final, Sadie was second to advance to the finals. 

In the finals, Jessie took the early lead - setting a blistering pace on the opening climb to string out the field. On the second lap though, Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla put in a hard effort up the climb and brought Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampic with her as Jessie held on to third. However, down the finish stretch, Anamarija nipped Maiken at the line for the victory, and Natalia came around Jessie to take the final podium position.

Up next, the athletes will enjoy a rest day Monday before Tuesday’s freestyle events, a 10k for the women and 15k for the men, in Toblach, Italy.

“I look forward to the next stop in Toblach for another attempt at a 10k skate, hopefully with equal revenge as today,” Sadie said. “I have some precious seconds to try to win back still. One day at a time.”

RESULTS
Stage 2 Tour de Ski
Women’s sprint
Men’s sprint

Tour de Ski Standings (Thought stage 2)
Women
Men

World Cup Standings
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Tuesday, Dec. 31
6:30 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Wednesday, Jan. 1
5:40 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k pursuit, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k pursuit, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Jan. 3
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 4
5:25 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men and women’s sprint, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold 

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.

On December 29, 2011, Mikaela Shiffrin earned her first World Cup podium in Lienz, Austria. Fast forward eight years to the exact day—December 29, 2019—in Lienz, where Mikaela won her 64th victory and her 43rd slalom victory on Sunday.

Wow. Just WOW. 

Slovakia's Petra Vlhova skied two strong runs on Sunday, but despite giving it her all, she just couldn't best Mikaela—who was on a mission and skiing out of her mind, after a disappointing result in Courchevel, France a week ago. Switzerland's Michelle Gisin rounded out the podium in third with her first-career World Cup slalom podium. Michelle has been struggling of late, posting on Instagram after Saturday's race, "Going through kind of a rough time right now...but you know, this too shall pass." And pass it did.

Mikaela and Petra have a friendly rivalry, and in this rivalry both competitors push each other, learn from each other, and—as a result—elevate the sport of alpine ski racing together. “Petra has been one of the girls who has been able to beat me when I’ve been skiing really well,” Mikaela spoke of their rivalry. “Her skiing is super strong, and she’s motivated and she has this fire. I have a lot of respect for her and what her team does to be able to push her level, because that pushes my level too.”

The conditions on Sunday were great, and the surface was fast. Both courses were quick sets, and there were some tricky combinations the athletes don’t normally see. Mikaela was watching Petra from the start, “When I saw Petra go on the second run, I was watching from the start and I was thinking, ‘Oh no, I can’t ski it that fast, well...I guess all I can do is try.’ When I have that mindset just to go for it, and I can feel the good skiing, then it’s always really, really satisfying to come into the finish and see it worked out.”

Petra was building on her already over nine tenths lead throughout the entire course, crossing the finish line with a 1.11 lead over Michelle. All indications were pointing towards a victory with the run Petra laid down. But Mikaela had other plans. Skiing clean and strong to cross the finish line with a .61 margin of victory, Mikaela screamed and threw her hands up in celebration while Petra stood, seemingly stunned and confused, like a deer in the headlights. In the post-victory press conference, Petra said she thought after her run, “Wow, maybe today I could beat Miki.” 

After what Mikaela describes as a “heartbreaking” day in Courchevel, Mikaela came to Lienz rested and well-prepared with some solid giant slalom and slalom training under her belt. The realization that she “wasn’t really strong enough to go to Val d’Isere and race the way that I wanted to and I had to pull back,” was a tough pill for Mikaela to swallow.

Throughout the week, fans and media posted both words of encouragement as well doubt on social media. “Has she lost her touch?” “Maybe she won’t actually ever reach Stenmark’s record!” and “It’s lame that she skipped the races—ski racing is her job!” were just a few of the comments that were shared on social. Mikaela tried to maintain her focus during her training block, as well as spend some “soul-healing” time with family and her team over Christmas to drown out the noise. And then she did what Mikaela does when the noise gets loud...she skied faster. Not only did she win...she won in a BIG way.

Not only did Mikaela sweep the Lienz series, but she won all four runs—a level of dominance so rare in a sport that comes down to hundredths—and she won by a collective margin of almost two seconds. Again, a rarity in a sport where the winner and fourth place can be decided in the time span of a blink of the eye.

To say that Mikaela made a statement in Lienz, would be an understatement. Mikaela laid down some of the best skiing in the history of the sport, to walk away with back-to-back victories and prove to the world that, yes—ski racing is her job, and she does a better job at her job than anyone else. “I don’t really have words,” reflected Mikaela. “Last week the training was really good. I think that the work my team did—what we all did together—was really strong and I think it’s just special to come here and show that. Today was, again, a really special day and I knew that nothing less than 110% was going to be fast enough for this race and I know how strong Petra is skiing, so I was trying to keep myself focused and not get nervous.” But, as we know, Mikaela has learned to manage her nerves. 

Mikaela has extended her lead in the overall standings to 295 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone and sits first in the slalom standings, with 300 points—140 points ahead of Petra. Sunday’s Stats: Mikaela Shiffrin has won an all-time record 43 World Cup slalom races, tied with Lindsey Vonn (43 in downhill). Only Ingemar Stenmark (46 in giant slalom) has won more than 42 World Cup races in a single discipline. On 29 December 2011, Shiffrin claimed her first World Cup podium in any discipline as she finished third in the Lienz slalom at age 16.  

Sunday’s Stats: 

• 50 years ago, in the debut of the Lienz World Cup race on the Hochstein as Lienz, a little-known American by the name of Judy Nagel, now Judy Johnson, swept the Lienz World Cup tech series. Nagel remains the youngest American to win a World Cup (17 years, five months, 13 days) – about three months younger than Shiffrin when she won her first in Åre, Sweden in 2012.
• Mikaela Shiffrin has won an all-time record 43 World Cup slalom races, tied with Lindsey Vonn (43 in downhill) for most wins among women in a single discipline. Only Ingemar Stenmark (46 in giant slalom) has won more in a single discipline.  
• On 29 December 2011, Shiffrin claimed her first World Cup podium in any discipline as she finished third in the Lienz slalom at age 16.  
• Mikaela has won 64 World Cup races, in outright second place on the all-time women's list. Lindsey Vonn holds the women's record of 82 race wins. On the men's side, only Ingemar Stenmark (86) and Marcel Hirscher (67) have won more World Cup races.  
• The last 23 women's World Cup slalom races were either won by Mikaela (19) or Petra Vlhová (4), since retired Frida Hansdotter won in Flachau on 10 January 2017.  
• Mikaela has recorded a top-two finish in 22 of the last 23 women's World Cup slalom races, including in each of the last 14 since a 'DNF' in Lenzerheide on 28 January 2018.
• Mikaela became the first alpine skier, male or female, to record 14 successive slalom podiums in the World Cup, surpassing Erika Hess who had 13 (1980-1982).  
• Mikaela has claimed four World Cup podiums in the Lienz slalom. She won on 28 December 2017, finished second on 29 December 2013 and claimed third place on 29 December 2011, and now—eight years to the day after her first-ever podium—a victory on 29 December 2019.  
• Mikaela has now won 12 World Cup events in Austria, surpassing the women's record held by Renate Götschl, Annemarie MoserPröll, Marlies Schild and Lindsey Vonn.

Nina O'Brien also started for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, but did not qualify for a second run, while Paula Moltzan returned to World Cup action, but leaned in a bit on the top section of the course and DNFed. 

Up next, the women will have a few days before they head to the always highly anticipated Snow Queen Trophy race on Jan. 4 in Zagreb, Croatia, where Mikaela has won the last two years and four of the last five races at the venue. With the coming new year, Mikaela says “I’m excited for the new challenges, in so many ways this season is so different than last season and I’m starting to accept that and look forward to the new challenges.”

AUDIO
Mikaela Victory Press Conference

RESULTS
Women’s Slalom

STANDINGS
Slalom
Overall

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
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Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtag: #worldcuplienz

Why isn’t Lienz available on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Lienz is available via Gold Pass rather than NBCSN or Olympic Channel is that World Cup events held in Austria are not part of the TV agreement that NBC Sports has with FIS. They are controlled and sold by a different rights holder and were purchased by NBC Sports Gold for exclusive use within “Snow Pass.” If you have any further questions, please reach out to NBC Sports Gold's help desk at support@nbcsports.com. 

Why doesn’t “Snow Pass” have commentary?
In order to provide 900+ hours of content at an affordable price, we rely on the world feed (a video feed provided by the rights holder), which often does not include English commentary. Commentary is available on all television coverage provided by NBC, NBCSN and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, and live streaming via authentication at NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

Rosie Brennan finished 20th to lead three Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athletes into the top 30 in Saturday’s opening stage of the 14th Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Jessie Diggins out-sprinted teammate Sadie Maubet Bjornsen for 29th in Saturday’s mass start 10k freestyle.

“Today was a bit of a mixed day,” Rosie said. “Having missed the last two weekends of racing, I wasn't quite sure where I was at, but I felt really good in the race and am really happy with my effort.”

Norway’s Therese Johaug took the opening stage victory by 12.3 seconds over countrywoman Heidi Weng. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson was third at 12.9 seconds back. Rosie was 59 seconds off the winning time, while Jessie and Sadie were 1 minute, 20 seconds off the pace.

Sophie and Jessie started on the front row and maintained their position throughout much of the first lap. “Unfortunately, it was a really rough day for our team with the wax,” Jessie said. “Not for lack of effort or work on our techs part, but sometimes that’s the way it goes in this sport.”

Julia Kern, Rosie, Katharine Ogden, and Sophie Caldwell got caught up in traffic on the opening climb and had to fight their way to maintain contact with the front group. Therese, along with countrywoman Ingvild Oestberg opened up a gap heading into the second lap, with Therese pulling away to open a 10-second advantage at the 5.6k mark.

Rosie put in a huge effort on the second lap to close the gap to Jessie and Sadie, moving ahead of her teammates at the 5.6k point of the race.

“We struggled a bit with our skis and I maybe wasted a bit too much energy trying to move up in places that didn't make sense with the skis I had on my feet,” Rosie said. “The good news is that it was overall a very tight race so, despite less than perfect skis, I didn't lose too much time in the overall and am still optimistic for the rest of the tour.”

In the men’s 15k mass start, David Norris was the top American finisher in 58th. Kevin Bolger was 64th and Logan Hanneman 69th.

Sunday’s second stage is a freestyle sprint in Lenzerheide. 

RESULTS
Stage 1 Tour de Ski
Women’s 10k mass start
Men’s 15k mass start

Tour de Ski Standings (Thought stage 1)
Women
Men

World Cup Standings
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Sunday, Dec. 29
5:30 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men and women’s sprint, Lenzerheide, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

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

Reigning FIS Ski World Cup overall and giant slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin certainly lets her skiing speak for itself, and today she spoke loudly— winning by a massive margin of 1.36 seconds. She earned her 63rd World Cup victory, surpassing Austrian Annemarie Moser-Pröll into fourth on the all-time win list behind Marcel Hirscher (67), Lindsey Vonn (82) and Ingemar Stenmark (86).

Italy’s Marta Bassino was second, 1.36 off Mikaela’s pace, while Austrian Katharina Liensberger put on a great show for the home crowd, grabbing her first World Cup giant slalom podium in the 50th edition of the Lienz World Cup on the Hochstein track, 1.82 seconds back. 

Mikaela put a challenging day in Courchevel, France in the rear-view mirror and out of her mind, showing the world that she is indeed one of the best giant slalom skiers in the world, with her 11th career giant slalom victory. Ever a practitioner of the sport, Mikaela was back on giant slalom skis the day after Courchevel. She hit the “reset” button and opted to sit out of the Val d’Isere, France downhill and alpine combined—proving to be a smart decision taking into consideration the weather—much to the chagrin of many naysayers (including media and fans). However, when Mikaela makes a decision, it’s always a calculated one, and in this case, it proved to work out in her favor. 

Instead, Mikaela got a great block of tech training under her belt at our European training base in Folgaria with our partner Alpe Cimbra, Trentino. Joined by her mother Eileen and father Jeff—who came over for the holidays and plan to go to both Lienz and the upcoming slalom at Zagreb, Croatia—Mikaela enjoyed the holiday. She spent Christmas where she feels most comfortable—in gates, on the mountain. Hard work pays off. And on Saturday it paid off in the form of a massive 1.36 margin win and some beautiful, connected skiing by the quickly emerging greatest of all time. Mikaela described her time with her family over the holidays as “soul-healing.” 

“The last week was actually great,” reflected Mikaela. “My mom and dad are here, and the training was amazing and I was so much more prepared for this weekend than I have been. I am really excited...really excited for today. Courchevel made me doubt a lot about what I’m able to do with my giant slalom skiing, so to be able to come back here today after a lot of training the last week and a little bit of rest too, is great. You go through these moments as an athlete where you have to look at your skiing and reflect and say ‘I’m not doing a good enough job.’”

“To me,” she continued, “that happens quite often when I’m trying to race in every event because there’s never enough time to train in every event, so then I have to take a step back. We skipped Val d’Isere because I felt like I wasn’t doing my job. It wasn’t because of the weather, we skipped it because I wasn’t skiing well and I had work to do. We did a lot of work—my team, my coaches—and that paid off in today, and that’s one really big step in the right direction.”

Coming through the finish line, Mikaela was stunned when she looked at the clock. With a look of disbelief, she crouched down similarly to the way she did in Andorra when she held her first career giant slalom globe and hung out there for a moment as she took it all in. You saw that correctly, Mikaela...1.36 seconds. She won both runs, and the second run, in particular, was something special. In the third split alone, Mikaela made up one second of time. ONE SECOND.

She expressed how hard it was to just let the Courchevel result go, and that she was heartbroken after Courchevel. “You can’t go into a race thinking you can deserve something or expect something at all, but it’s hard not to compare what’s going on this season with what went on last season,” she explained. “Everyone is thinking ‘what is she doing this season compared to what she did last season’ and that’s hard because I am thinking that too. I still can’t believe I won 17 races last year, and so I have to reset and think that might never happen again, and just focus on my skiing.”

Mikaela leads the overall standings by 215 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone and has moved back up in the giant slalom standings, from fourth to second, by a mere 21 points behind Federica, who has 275 points to Mikaela’s 254. 

Saturday's Stats: 

• Mikaela Shiffrin has won 63 World Cup races, in outright second place on the all-time women's list. Lindsey Vonn holds the women's record of 82 race wins. On the men's side, only Ingemar Stenmark (86) and Marcel Hirscher (67) have won more World Cup races. 

• Mikaela has more World Cup victories in all disciplines on Austrian soil (11) than in any other country (9, United States).  

• Mikaela is the fifth woman to claim a record 11 World Cup wins in Austria, after Renate Götschl, Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Marlies Schild and Lindsey Vonn. On the men's side, only Ingemar Stenmark and Hermann Maier (both 15) have won more than 10 World Cup races in Austria.  

• Prior to Saturday's victory, Mikaela finished on the podium in giant slalom World Cup races in Lienz on two occasions: third places on December 28, 2013, and December 29, 2017.

Nina O’Brien also started for the Americans, but she did not qualify for a second run. The rest of the women’s tech team is taking some time to focus on the NorAm circuit. 

Up next for the women is a slalom on Sunday—exactly eight years to the date Mikaela earned her first-career podium in 2011, where she was third and her childhood idols Marlies Schild (AUT) and Tina Maze (SLO) were first and second, respectively. Slalom specialist Paula Moltzan will return to action after a short break to focus on some nagging back pain, and Nina will start as well. 

AUDIO
Mikaela Victory Press Conference 

RESULTS
Women’s Giant Slalom

STANDINGS
Giant Slalom
Overall

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtag: #worldcuplienz

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 29
4:00 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1, Leinz, Austria - NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 2, Leinz, Austria - NBC Sports Gold
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

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

Why isn’t Lienz available on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Lienz is available via Gold Pass rather than NBCSN or Olympic Channel is that World Cup events held in Austria are not part of the TV agreement that NBC Sports has with FIS. They are controlled and sold by a different rights holder and were purchased by NBC Sports Gold for exclusive use within “Snow Pass.” If you have any further questions, please reach out to NBC Sports Gold's help desk at support@nbcsports.com. 

Why doesn’t “Snow Pass” have commentary?
In order to provide 900+ hours of content at an affordable price, we rely on the world feed (a video feed provided by the rights holder), which often does not include English commentary. Commentary is available on all television coverage provided by NBC, NBCSN and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, and live streaming via authentication at NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.