In what is a rebuilding year for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in slalom, the American slalom skiers showed flashes of brilliance but will have to look ahead to the Schladming Night race on Tuesday evening to show what they are made of, under the lights. 

Switzerland's Daniel Yule won his third FIS Ski World Cup slalom race of the calendar year, with Austria's Marco Schwarz in second by .12 and France's Clement Noel in third, .37 seconds off the pace. Daniel ended a 52-year winning drought at the Kitzbuehel slalom. The last—and only—Swiss man to win a World Cup slalom event in Kitzbuehel was Dumeng Giovanoli in 1968.

All eyes were on the 19-year-old Norwegian, Lucas Braathen after he knifed the first run coming down into the lead ahead of Daniel by .33 seconds from bib 34. It appeared he'd hang on to a podium position second run, but he slipped back to fourth place, .49 seconds off Daniel—a career-best result for the young Attacking Viking. 

The conditions at Kitzbuehel were favorable to the entire field, with a consistent and grippy-icy surface. High bib numbers—like Austria's Adrian Pertl, who started bib 73 and finished eighth on the day—were able to lay it down and punch it in there. The young guys, like Lucas, are skiing fast and the veterans, like France's Julien Lizeroux (41-years-old), are still skiing fast—making it near-impossible to squeeze in the top-30 in the men's slalom field at the moment. It is, arguably, the deepest and most challenging field on the circuit at the moment. 

The young American men's slalom field showed some promising and solid sections, but Luke Winters and AJ Ginnis finished just outside of the 30 in the first run, while Ben Ritchie skied a fast top split before he DNFed, and Kyle Negomir ran into some trouble on the top and did not qualify. It's a tough course with a lot of rolls and lots of terrain, and all of the guys except for AJ had not skied it previously. They'll take the experience and look ahead to Schladming. 

"I got a little bit thrown on the top, like the third or fourth gate, but I think my splits were still OK up there," Luke reflected. "Then, I skied all the way down and was trying to push it, but came over the last roll and had a little mistake. It's so tight right now in World Cup slalom...you have to be clean all the way down, and also ski really well. I know I have the speed, and I'm really looking forward to Schladming in a couple of days. We all know we have the speed, it's just about getting from top to bottom clean and fast." 

Up next, the men will take on the famous Schladming, Austria Night Race under the lights—with crowds of nearly 60,000 flare-throwing, cheering, drinking Austrians—on Tuesday night. 

RESULTS
Men's Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Slalom

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Official event hashtag: #Hahnenkamm

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Monday, Jan. 27
1:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill & super-G, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**
3:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**

Tuesday, Jan. 28
11:45 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Schladming, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
2:45 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Schladming, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

**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. 

Why isn’t Kitzbuehel available live on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Kitzbuehel 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.

Mikaela Shiffrin took her second win of the weekend in Bansko, Bulgaria, winning her fourth FIS World Cup super-G.

Behind Mikaela, Marta Bassino of Italy grabbed her second second-place finish of the weekend, and Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland was third. "It was a perfect weekend for me," said Mikaela, who won the first downhill on Friday and was fourth in the downhill on Saturday. "It was super fun, but again—it was a really big challenge." Mikaela walked away from the weekend with a massive 250 more points to extend her lead in the overall. 

Shiffrin put down a risky, aggressive run down the dark and bumpy Bansko track, but it was worth it, as she came out .29 seconds ahead of Marta. The triumph also means she’s won a race in every discipline besides the alpine combined this season.

Mikaela, who has been lauded as more of a technical skier, has been excelling in speed events over the last few years and her confidence continues to grow. “I felt really good on my skis—I felt like I could do what I wanted to do,” she said. “But I had to be really aggressive. It wasn’t always perfectly clean, but it was the fastest way I could ski this hill and this course. I’m super excited.”

The win brings Mikaela’s total to 66 wins—just one shy of Marcel Hirscher’s record of 67 wins—and leaves Mikaela in the lead of the overall, slalom and super-G standings and second place in the giant slalom and downhill standings. But she isn’t counting her chickens yet, having struggled to find the top spot in the last couple of weeks. In fact, this was just Mikaela's second victory of the calendar year, and she wants to make sure the fans and the media know it's not easy...even though her skiing looks graceful and effortless. Winning one World Cup is tough. Winning 66 times is otherworldly. 

“This season has been a really big challenge—every single race,” said Mikaela. “There are so many women that are skiing really fast, really strong. Every race is such a big fight and I haven’t been the one on top of this fight every time. Certainly, I’ve been feeling sometimes like the expectations that I have or that other people may have, I’m not quite living up to that. It’s hard not to feel like I’m failing sometimes, even though this is an incredible season.”

Rounding out the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Alice Merryweather skied into the points in 19th place. Breezy Johnson was 32nd and Alice Mckennis was 37th. Jackie Wiles skied out of the course and DNFed but is OK.

The women have more speed events next weekend, heading to the 2014 Olympic venue: Rosa Khutor in Sochi, Russia. Mikaela is undecided about whether or not she will travel to Russia for the speed series.

RESULTS
Women’s Super-G

STANDINGS
Overall
Super-G

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Jan. 26
12:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, Bansko, BUL - NBCSN*

*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. 

In the most challenging and famous FIS World Cup on the circuit, Bryce Bennett grabbed a solid eighth-place result in the Kitzbuehel downhill.

Thrilling the raucous Hahnenkamm crowd, the Austrian men went 1-2 with Matthias Mayer winning and Vincent Kriechmayr taking second. Beat Feuz of Switzerland tied Vincent for second. It was Matthias' second win in Kitzbuehel, having won the super-G in 2017, and became the eighth man to win the speed double at the venue.

Bryce, who has shown strength over the years, had a tough beginning to the 2019-20 season but turned it around in Wengen, Switzerland, the week before Kitzbuehel with a seventh-place finish in the Lauberhorn downhill. Having finished 14th last season at Kitzbuehel, the top-10 result is Bryce's best career result on the Hahnenkamm. The result gave him the confidence he needed, and with unusually aggressive and grippy snow on the Streif track, he put it all on the hill.

“I just had my plan and I was set on committing to it,” said Bryce, who previously had a career-best downhill venue result of 14th at Kitzbuehel last season. “It was a cool feeling—I haven’t quite experienced that at Kitzbuehel. I fully committed to it and it felt like I had a pretty solid ride. I was excited.”

In Friday night's bib draw, Bryce wore jorts (jean shorts) and a jean vest, with an American flag as a cape. He walked out on stage and the crowd of thousands roared. Then, he boldly chose bib one over bib 19. The fans loved it. Bryce ran bullet in the downhill and getting to open up the storied event and sit in the leader's box for a good chunk of time was a cool experience. But next year, he wants to stay in the leader's chair and win it all. “I’m excited because I left everything on the hill and don’t have any regrets,” he said. “I’m bummed, but I learned a lot and I’m excited to try and win this thing.”

Steven Nyman also put down a solid run, despite making a big mistake, taking 13th. He was in the green on the top section of the course and leading at the fourth split before making a costly mistake. In the finish, he let out his frustration with a yell when he realized he was within striking distance of his first Kitzbuehel podium—and quite possibly win. Jared Goldberg and Travis Ganong finished in the points in 23rd and 30th, respectively. Sam Morse was 41st in his Kitzbuehel debut, holding his hands up and making a moose—his nickname—sign at the TV camera in the finish. Ryan Cochran-Siegle DNFed, but is OK and skied down to the finish.

The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team slalom team gears up for Sunday’s slalom race in Kitzbuehel with Luke Winters leading the way for the Americans.

RESULTS
Men’s Downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Jan. 26
4:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Jan. 27
1:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill & super-G, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**
3:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Kitzbuehel, AUT - 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. 

Why isn’t Kitzbuehel available live on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Kitzbuehel 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.

Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson led the way for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Bulgaria, finishing just off the podium in fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the Bansko downhill.

For the fourth time ever, the Italians swept the FIS Ski World Cup podium, with Elena Curtoni skiing to her first World Cup win, Marta Bassino second and Federica Brignone third. All three finished within .14 seconds of each other.

Mikaela, who had won the downhill on Friday, was thrilled to be back in the top-five in another speed event. “With a win yesterday and holding onto a fourth today—that’s pretty incredible here,” she said. “I was so excited to come to Bansko and get on this track and try everything. I didn’t expect much, so this is beyond what I dreamed about it.”

But the story of the day was about 24-year-old Breezy Johnson, who was racing in only her third race back from a knee injury she sustained in June. She had a banner day on Friday in the bumpy and technical downhill, finishing 10th, and she attacked Saturday’s course with confidence and aggression to take fifth place—her second-best World Cup result.

“I’m very thrilled,” said Breezy. “To do it on a course like this is kinda crazy. I told my therapist yesterday that I was so glad that I could come to a place like this—it’s bumpy, it’s tough and you really have to stand on your outside ski—and have zero thoughts about not trusting [my knee] at all. I’m just so grateful to have my body and feel like my body is in-line with my goals right now.”

Mikaela was ecstatic and inspired to see her hard-charging teammate only .12 seconds behind her in the standings so quickly after an injury.

“Oh my gosh, I am so happy for her,” said Mikaela. “She’s had such a tough comeback. All the girls on my team have had such a tough time the last couple of years. For me, it’s so inspiring to see how they’re every single day charging, aggressive and staying positive, pushing for it and staying motivated… For Breezy, to come here especially, this is her third race back and every single race she’s having better and better results. It’s just incredible and her attitude has been so good. On a track like this, that’s bumpy, really challenging and super technical, for her to lay down like that and just stay so mentally aggressive, my mind is blown. I’m so so excited for her. Also, pretty inspired too.”

Breezy’s result also spoke to the closeness of the women on the World Cup and the compassionate and encouraging community that has been built. “Everybody has been so supportive with the comeback,” said Breezy. “I definitely want to give a shout out to the girls that are injured right now and are coming back because I’ve gotten some amazing messages from girls on the World Cup and other people. That’s been really incredible to have… I feel like I’m out here a little bit for everybody who has ever had obstacles and is trying to come back, just to be like, you don’t have to do anything crazy—just believe in your body and do your thing.”

Alice Merryweather also finished in the points, taking 26th. Alice Mckennis was 37th, Isabella Wright 41st, and Jackie Wiles 43rd.

With her fourth-place finish, Mikaela retains her overall lead over Saturday’s third-place finisher Federica Brignone with 1,125 points to Federica’s 855. Mikaela also sits in second in the downhill standings, only 16 points behind Corinne Suter of Switzerland.

The women finish out their weekend in Bansko on Sunday with a super-G.

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Jan. 26
12:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, Bansko, BUL - NBCSN*

*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. 

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

Travis Ganong landed another top result, finishing in 10th in the super-G in Kitzbuehel, Austria—the most famously challenging super-G on the FIS World Cup circuit.

It was a fantastic day for the Norwegian ‘Attacking Vikings,’ who went 1-2 in front of the rowdy Austrian crowd. Kjetil Jansrud showed that he’s still the most successful man in the discipline, taking his 13th FIS World Cup super-G victory. Only his retired teammate Aksel Lund Svindal, who was cheering in the Hahnenkamm finish, and Hermann Maier of Austria have won more World Cup super-G races than Kjetil. Showing incredible consistency, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde finished second. He has secured a result in the top eight in each of the last 10 World Cup super-Gs. Matthias Mayer of Austria tied Aleksander for second place—his fifth Kitzbuehel super-G podium.

Travis was happy to put down another good finish after finishing eighth in the Bormio downhill in December. “I think I’m skiing pretty well,” he said. “I’ve been building up again since the break over Christmas… I always love coming back to Kitzbuehel. It’s a really fun hill because you don’t have to worry about all these little funky sections. You just ski fast and well and push on the ski. It’s really enjoyable to ski. I have a good feeling on my skis and it’s nice to come down in the top 10.”

Unlike most years where the Kitzbuehel track looks more like a mirror and coaches have to bring crampons to stand on the course, this year’s snow is significantly more aggressive and forgiving. “Of all my years, it’s probably the easiest snow I’ve skied on (at Kitzbuehel),” said Travis, who has been racing the Hahnenkamm for nine years. “You can really charge and push on the ski and take some more risk. It’s less of a tactical race and more of a normal ski race. It’s fun!”

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Steven Nyman also skied into the points, but had major mistakes, taking 26th and 30th, respectively. Jared Goldberg was 40th and Sam Dupratt 42nd.

Now that the super-G has finished, all eyes turn to the big event: Saturday’s downhill on the Streif. “It’s always good having one race under your belt leading into the downhill—especially the downhill here,” said Travis. “The super-G is kind of like a warmup. If you can make it down and have a solid run in super-G, it’s nice to take that momentum into the next day. We’ll see what happens.”

RESULTS
Men’s Super-G

STANDINGS
Overall
Super-G

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Jan. 25
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 26
4:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Jan. 27
1:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill & super-G, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**
3:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Kitzbuehel, AUT - 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. 

Why isn’t Kitzbuehel available live on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Kitzbuehel 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.

Mikaela Shiffrin picked up her first FIS World Cup downhill win of the 2019-20 season in Bansko, Bulgaria. And in only her second race back after injury, Breezy Johnson finished in 10th.

Federica Brignone of Italy took second place and Joana Haehlen of Switzerland stepped on her first World Cup podium in third.

Mikaela was all smiles at the bottom of the course when she came down with a lead, even though she was worried that she hadn’t had enough time on her downhill boards this season. “I feel really good,” she said. “I felt so much more confident with my skiing today. The training yesterday was my first run on my downhill skis since Lake Louise, so I was just trying to ski down the hill and be clean if I could. Today I felt better with my line, better with my attitude on my skis and better with my technique. So all of those things ended up piecing the track together really well.”

Mikaela won her first downhill two seasons ago in Lake Louise and was second in the Lake Louise downhill this season, but with only 11 World Cup downhills under her belt, she’s still building her confidence. “I wasn’t confident—I was maybe even a little bit scared,” she said. “But I was like, let’s do it. It’s time to go now—let’s just try. So it was pretty exciting to come to the finish and see that it was fast.”

With her victory in Bansko, Mikaela’s win record brings her to a total of 65—only behind Lindsey Vonn (82) in the all-time women’s list. She also sits comfortably in the lead in the overall hunt with 1,075 points—280 points ahead of Federica Brignone of Italy. Her win also brought her to second place in the downhill standings behind Corinne Suter of Switzerland.

Breezy was stoked to land another top 10 in Bansko after battling back from a knee injury she sustained in June, proving her worries false about skiing on such a technical downhill. “This course in Bansko has been really tough,” she said. “I showed up here and it’s really steep, it’s unforgiving, there’s virtually no flat on it. It’s really easy as a speed skier who’s never even raced a World Cup GS to count yourself out… It’s very reassuring as a speed skier that I can do well on such a technical track. Hopefully I can carry that momentum into the next places we’re going to go.”

Breezy also reminded fans to watch out for the rest of the team, who are skiing fast. “It was really awesome to see Mikaela do well—I’m super happy for her,” she said. “We’ve been training in San Pellegrino and the rest of these girls are definitely slaying in training. It’s just a matter of time before all these things come together. Can’t wait to see that happen for the rest of the team.”

Isabella Wright finished just out of the points in 31st place. Alice Merryweather, Alice Mckennis and Jackie Wiles did not finish, but are thankfully OK.

The women race another downhill on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Jan. 25
3:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Bansko, BUL - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Bansko, BUL - NBCSN*

Sunday, Jan. 26
3:15 a.m. - Women’s super-G, Bansko, BUL - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
3:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G, Bansko, BUL - Olympic Channel*
12:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, Bansko, BUL - 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. 

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.

FIS Ski World Cup action continues at the revered Hahnenkamm in its 80th anniversary in the scenic mountain town of Kitzbühel, Austria, for the men, while the women head eastward to Bansko, Bulgaria, for a speed series. 

The men will take on the Streif: arguably the most famously challenging super-G and downhill, along with a slalom on Sunday. Austrian fans come out in droves to watch their sport gods, and those who emerge victorious on the Streif in Saturday’s downhill, specifically, become etched in history—both figuratively, and literally on the sides of the gondolas on the Hahnenkammbahn. Soon enough, the magical Kitzbühel fairies will be hard at work cleaning the streets up after the 70,000 glühwein and beer-imbibing Austrian superfans have overtaken the town. Speaking of legends of the Streif, Italy’s Dominik Paris has done won four times on this track (three times in downhill, and once in super-G), though he, unfortunately, was injured in a training session prior to the downhill training runs this week. That makes Switzerland’s Beat Feuz a clear favorite...but don’t count the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team boys out...they’ve been skiing fast and committed in downhill training runs. 

After laying down the fourth-fastest time in Thursday’s second and final downhill training, veteran Steven Nyman—whose best Hahnenkamm finish was fifth in 2015—felt positive going into the race weekend. “The snow is super positive coming into carousel turn, I kind of relaxed—but there’s no point on this course where you can just relax...on the Steilhang or in the carousel, or off the Mausefalle or any of the technical parts,” he explained. “You have to just continually drive and I got that reminder right in the beginning. I can make up a lot of time up there. I felt comfortable...wasn’t fully committed down here through the Hausberg, but I have a plan and I executed that little thing that I’m trying—don’t want to reveal too much. I feel a lot more comfortable on my skis...willing to drive, willing to commit to turns better...so I’m happy. It’s a work in progress, and with that feeling and that confidence I’ll start pushing more and be willing to charge more on race day.”

Bryce Bennett, who had a career-best venue result of 14th in last year’s downhill, is feeling like the experience he’s gained with age is allowing him to fully commit to it. “It was fun,” he said, “Everyone is skiing pretty well. The five guys we have in the top 30 now are solid...I think we’re all just skiing well and it’s clicking.” Travis Ganong echoed sentiments that teammate Bryce had said in the finish...that the course was really “fun” this year. The snow is probably the most consistent and “easiest it’s been in three years,” he added. It’s smooth all the way down. 

Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who has had the best and most consistent season of his career, laid down two solid training runs and is feeling good about the weekend. “There is a nice flow to the hill, so having fun with it is important,” he said. “You get into the start gate and it’s intimidating, and you don’t really know how it’s going to go...you think it’s just going to be kind of chaos and there’s a little bit of chaos, but I think also within yourself and a controlled ability. So, trusting that going into the races, is important. I feel like the track is a little more on the fun side and a little less on the fear side. It is a challenging downhill and there’s a lot going on, so you have to respect the mountain and respect the challenges that it throws at you.”

Jared Goldberg has been struggling with a bit of the flu, but after some good rest and Netflix time, he was able to bounce back and ski the second-fastest training run on day one, just four hundredths behind Attacking Viking Kjetil Jansrud. 

On “Slalom Sunday” all eyes will be on the young Luke Winters...because, well, #WintersIsComing after all. Luke has scored consistently and has had flashes of brilliance all season. The guys have had some great training in Folgaria - Alpe Cimbra at our European training base in the Trentino region of Italy, and they’ll be ready to take on both Kitzbühel and Schladming. 

The women return to Bansko, Bulgaria, for two downhills and super-G, including a rescheduled downhill from Val d’Isere, France. Bansko’s track is a bit more technical, which will play to the favor of skiers like current World Cup overall and slalom leader Mikaela Shiffrin, who was the third-fastest in Thursday’s first and only downhill training run, and Italy’s Federica Brignone, who was the second-fastest. Though Thursday was the first time Mikaela put on downhill skis since Lake Louise, she felt positive coming out of the downhill training run. “I like this track a lot. It’s definitely one of the more technical tracks on the speed circuit, which plays into my favor a little bit more because I obviously do a lot more technical skiing than speed skiing. So I was really excited coming here, and was looking forward to this first training run and getting on the track.”

Mikaela knows what she needs to do in order to find the speed podium, and she and teammates—including Alice McKennis, Breezy Johnson and Jackie Wiles, will get three chances to show what they’ve got. “I had some trouble in a couple of spots, like dragging my turn long enough and making long enough turns, but it's super fun,” she commented. “The surface is a little rattly and bumpy in some spots, but just rock solid and it’s such a good surface to push on the ski and really lay the ski over, so it was really fun to ski today. It’s also a new-ish track, some of the girls have been here before, but there haven’t been many races here, so everybody is sort of learning it, and in that sense, we’re all in the same boat learning a new track. I had so much fun today, and I feel like there are some spots I can clean up a little bit and, for sure, will be better just knowing how it feels to ski down and how it feels to be back on my downhill skis, and how the speeds feel in the course, too, so all in all - it’s awesome.” 

Mikaela will head into the weekend with a 249-point lead in the overall standings over Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova, and a 260-point lead over Federica, who sits in third in the standings. 

Check out how and who to watch below. 

MEN’S STARTERS
Bryce Bennett
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Sam Dupratt
Travis Ganong
Jared Goldberg
AJ Ginnis
Sam Morse
Kyle Negomir
Steven Nyman
Ben Ritchie
Luke Winters

WOMEN’S STARTERS
Alice McKennis
Alice Merryweather
Mikaela Shiffrin
Jackie Wiles
Alix Wilkinson
Isabella Wright

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

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

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Friday, Jan. 24
3:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Bansko, BUL - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Men’s super-G, Kitzbühel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 25
3:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Bansko, BUL - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill, Kitzbühel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Bansko, BUL - NBCSN*

Sunday, Jan. 26
3:15 a.m. - Women’s super-G, Bansko, BUL - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
3:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G, Bansko, BUL - Olympic Channel*
4:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Kitzbühel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Kitzbühel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
12:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, Bansko, BUL - NBCSN*

Monday, Jan. 27
1:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill & super-G, Kitzbühel, AUT - NBCSN**
3:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Kitzbühel, AUT - 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. 

Why isn’t Kitzbühel available live on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Kitzbühel 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.

The men finished out the weekend in Wengen, Switzerland with a slalom on one of the trickiest tracks on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit. The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team men had a tough day, with no Americans qualifying for a second run.

Clement Noel of France started first and never gave up the lead, taking another win on the track where he had his first World Cup victory last season. Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway finished second—his third World Cup slalom second-place result in a row—and Alexander Khoroshilov of Russia was back on the podium in third.

Starting bib 44, the light turned green in the first split for Luke Winters, showing an early lead for the young skier who has had a number of impressive moments so far this season. But he struggled over the pitch—getting low on his line before straddling and DNFing.

“I was happy with how I went out of the gate,” said Luke. “Especially with my second run at Adelboden—not really pushing like I needed to—I thought I did that today. But I didn’t change gears coming over the pitch and lost it from there down. That said, I’m happy with it. It’s my first time on the hill—there’s a lot to learn here.”

Wengen is a difficult track with all kinds of terrain changes including steep pitches, rolls, side hills, and flats, making it difficult to find a rhythm. The fact that Luke was leading at the first split on his first attempt on the hill is a promising threat of future success. “I know I’m fast. I know I can ski well and keep up with those guys,” said Luke. “I just have to find that gear. There are things I learned today—like coming over that pitch: You gotta change gears. You’re not going to win it on the pitch because it’s so steep… I tried to bring the intensity on the pitch and didn’t need to.”

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team slalom coach Ryan Wilson agreed with Luke. “Green light again and then Luke went out, but we are happy with his fast skiing and setup,” Ryan commented. “We are in great spirits, as he was fast as heck before he went out.”

Ben Ritchie finished the first run, but had a few mistakes and did not qualify for a second. Kyle Negomir and River Radamus did not finish their first runs.

The men’s slalom team is heading to the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team's official training base in Folgaria, Italy for a few days of training before attacking the two wildest slaloms on the tour: Kitzbuehel and Schladming. And these young guys are excited to see the culture at the two storied races.

“I’m looking forward to the scene,” said Luke of Kitzbuehel. “I think it’s going to be crazier than anything I’ve done so far in my ski racing career, so that’s going to be exciting. But also the track—it’s so crazy and so many rolls. My family is coming and there’s going to be a lot of people there supporting me and watching me.”

The men’s speed team starts downhill training at Kitzbuehel on Tuesday with a super-G kicking off the races on Friday. The slalom takes place on Sunday.

RESULTS
Men’s Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Slalom

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Official event hashtag: #lauberhorn

HOW TO WATCH
All Times EST

Sunday, Jan. 19
5:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - NBC**
9:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Wengen, SUI - 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. 

The parallel giant slalom made its debut on the women's FIS Ski World Cup circuit today in Sestriere, Italy, where current overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin extended her lead in the overall despite landing in ninth, and Nina O’Brien finished a career-best 11th place. 

Mikaela had the fastest time in the morning’s parallel giant slalom qualifier, followed by Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener and Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova. Nina had the ninth-fastest qualifier time heading into the race. After the qualifier, all indications were leading to a battle between Mikaela, Wendy and Petra. However, in an unexpected turn of events, all three of the favorites were beaten—Petra in the 1/16 final to Swiss Aline Danioth, and then Mikaela and Wendy both in the 1/8 finals. 

France’s Clara Direz—who beat Mikaela in the 1/8 final, skied fast and strong all day, going on to snag her first World Cup podium and victory, while Austria’s Eliza Moerzinger was second, and Italy’s Marta Bassino rounded out the podium in third. Three Italians were in the top five, with Marta Bassino beating teammate Federica Brignone in the small final and Sofia Goggia finishing fifth. 

The results stirred up some controversy about the fairness of the event, with social media erupting after the race and fans expressing frustration with not only the fairness of the event but the change in event format as well. In parallel races in past seasons, the qualification run results did not carry through to the round of 32. Once athletes qualified, they were seeded according to World Cup Start List (WCSL) ranking. Then, the better-ranked skier got to pick their course for each single-run (or knockout) round. In City Event parallel races, there were two runs in each round, rather than this knockout round format. 

Though she said it’s unbelievable and was excited to win the first-ever parallel giant slalom on the calendar, Saturday’s victor Clara admitted she is not sure how fair the event really is. “I don’t know if it’s really really fair or not,” she said. I’ve been lucky today because I was always on the blue course for the last runs, so I’ve been a little bit lucky. So I won’t complain about that. I’m pretty happy about winning today my first World Cups, so I won’t say something bad about that, but yeah.” 

In all single-elimination heats, only three skiers ever won from the red course, while 17 won on the blue course. Additionally, in the quarterfinals, one out of eight women (Sofia) won on the red course. In the round of 32, Mikaela was .42 seconds faster on the blue course, Wendy .32 seconds faster on the blue course, and Federica .38 faster on the blue course. Never one to complain and always diplomatic, Mikaela said she likes the event and thinks it has potential for viewers and TV, but admitted it could use some refinement. 

“This is the first parallel GS we’ve had, and it is fun—I think I like the parallel GS more than the parallel slalom, but it’s a little bit difficult,” she explained after Saturday’s race. “There’s still a lot of work we have to do, and FIS has to do, to really make the race as even as it can be…there’s always a faster course, but today it’s like they’re not even the same course at all. Especially in the last four or five gates on the blue course, you can even see just looking up the hill, that it’s straighter than the red course.”

Mikaela continued, “I don’t normally talk about luck playing a role in the results, even yesterday being .01 out, I feel like that was in my control, especially in the first run. But today I would say it’s a day where luck really plays a role so you just have to take it and be OK…all in all, it is fun and I think people like to watch it—it’s just a work in progress to make the event the best it can be. This event is still in its infancy, it is fun and I see the appeal and excitement, but it’s just how it is. I wasn’t the one to make the red course work today, but there are a couple of girls who are doing that really well, so they’re going to have a really nice race.”

Nina skied strong in the qualification Saturday morning, and carried the strong skiing through to the race, scoring a career-best 11th place. In the first qualification run, Nina was second behind Mikaela, by just .05 seconds. Despite the fact that Austria’s Katharina Huber was ahead after the first run in the round of 32, Nina kept her wits about her and ended up moving onward to qualify for the 1/8 finals. Tina Robnik of Slovenia beat Nina by just .01 seconds in the 1/8 final and did not move forward to the quarterfinals. “I’m really happy to be leaving Sestriere with an 11th place and personal best,” she said after the race.” It felt really good to put some of my best skiing out there today. I love the competitive aspect of parallel, and I finally felt like I rose to the challenge today. It’s always a little tough to lose by one hundredth, but I left it all on the hill and I’m happy with my skiing.” 

Keely Cashman and AJ Hurt also started but did not qualify for the round of 32. AJ Hurt finished the qualification round just outside of the 32. Mikaela maintains, and in fact extends her lead slightly in the overall standings, with 975 points to Petra’s 726. Federica closed the gap in third to a mere 15 points, with 715 points. 

Up next for the women is a speed series in Bansko, Bulgaria, including two downhill races—including a rescheduled race from Val d’Isere, France—and one super-G. Mikaela is planning to head to Bansko for the series, “I’m excited...I’ve never been to Bansko. It sounds like it’s a fairly technical slope, so it should be really fun, and I’m looking forward to it. 

RESULTS
Women's Parallel Giant Slalom
Full Results (including qualification and add’l rounds)

STANDINGS
Parallel
Overall

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
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Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtags: #skiworldcupsestriere

HOW TO WATCH
All Times EST

Sunday, Jan. 19
5:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - NBC**
8:00 p.m. - Women’s parallel giant slalom, Sestriere, ITA - NBCSN*
9:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Wengen, SUI - 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. 

Under the sunshine in Sestriere, Italy, Mikaela Shiffrin was third Saturday in a giant slalom where just .01—that's one-hundredth of a second—separated three women. Italy's Federica Brignone and Slovakia's Petra Vlhova tied for first. 

Mikaela's fourth-fastest first run was a "little sloppy," as she said, and she sat .42 seconds out going into the second run. But, she skied a solid second run, .23 faster than anyone else, which gave her something to smile about after the last couple of weeks. "The second run I was more aggressive and cleaner with my skiing, so I was happy with that," she reflected. "But, in the end, when it's .01 seconds and the two girls ahead were tied for first, I'm like...arghhhh...well, that's how it goes. That's ski racing."

In a challenging and deep women's giant slalom field, five different women from five different nations have stood on the top step of the podium—New Zealand's Alice Robinson in Soelden, Austria, Italy's Marta Bassino in Killington, Vt., Federica in Courchevel, France, Mikaela in Lienz, Austria, and now Federica and Petra in Sestriere. For certain, the level of women's giant slalom is increasing, and to Mikaela, that's fun and motivating to see. 

"I said this almost every race last year. It's not easy," Mikaela said. "It is never easy to win and you can ask Fede and Petra—it wasn't like they just skied down, had a nice Sunday drive and won the race...they were both skiing really hard and really well, and that's why they ended up ahead. For me, last year, that happened a lot, but it was never easy. It's motivating to have so many athletes that are able to be on the top this year, but it's also not something I didn't expect. Everyone is motivated, everyone wants to win, and I think the most exciting thing for me is that people have stopped asking me, 'Are you unbeatable?' I feel like we're all racing and it's just normal now."

When your "normal" is 11 podiums in 15 starts with four victories, it's a good thing. And that's the case for Mikaela. Last year, in a record season with 17 World Cup victories that may never be topped, she acknowledges that she was on the right side of the hundredths many times. 

"I know, especially last season, I had the lucky side of the hundredths many times, so sometimes I’m not going to be on the lucky side, too," she said. "For me, giant slalom has always been the most difficult event to find my timing and my technique, because you have to be pushing 100% super aggressive with the line and with how you’re skiing, but also really precise with the technique. It can be really challenging to find the balance between those two, and it’s so easy to lose the time if you’re not going as hard as you can. Right now, a lot of the athletes have a pretty good idea of what that balance needs to be. That means different winners, and everybody’s hungry."

The ongoing rivalry between Mikaela and Petra has become a main topic on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit and is arguably the most exciting storyline the sport currently has. Even so, Mikaela is quick to point out the respect she has for her rival. “One of the things I respect the most about Petra is she has a really disciplined, great style of skiing…but she does—and she did—the work to come out on top," she commented. "There aren’t many athletes who have been willing to do that, so the last years I’ve been able to stay on top, maybe because I was doing more work or smarter work, or something. So it does feel a little bit like I have to find something new [to get back on top], but also I just have to get my feeling in slalom back. It wasn’t there in Zagreb...and in Flachau, too – I skied the best I could that day, but I know it’s not the best I could ski. She was able to win because she did the work, so I am looking forward to doing better work.”

After narrowly making the flip, tied for 30th in the first run, Nina O'Brien went on to ski two solid runs and finish 29th. This is the third time this season she's scored World Cup giant slalom points. AJ Hurt, Keely Cashman, and Paula Moltzan also started in Saturday's giant slalom but did not qualify for a second run. 

Mikaela still has a commanding lead in the overall title race, with 946 points—233 points ahead of Petra, and 281 points ahead of Federica. The hardest part to swallow about a third-place finish by a mere .01 is that it's the sizable difference between 100 points and 60 points, and though it's 60 more points for Mikaela, she now trails Federica in the giant slalom standings by 61 points. It'll be tough with how strong Federica is in the discipline, but there are still three more giant slaloms on the World Cup calendar and anything is possible. 

Up next, the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes take on a parallel giant slalom on Sunday, in the event's FIS Ski World Cup debut on the women's circuit. When asked about whether or not she'll find revenge tomorrow with rival Petra, Mikaela answered, "I don’t normally ski with revenge. I don’t have this sort of vindictive personality. Tomorrow is a new day, and it’s a new opportunity and I’m really looking forward to racing and we’ll see what happens. I’m just going to do my best, try to bring a little bit more fire and go for it."

RESULTS
Women's Giant Slalom

STANDINGS
Giant Slalom
Overall

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtags: #skiworldcupsestriere

HOW TO WATCH
All Times EST

Saturday, Jan. 18
5:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Sestriere, ITA - NBC*
8:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - NBCSN*
9:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Sestriere, ITA - NBCSN*

Sunday, Jan. 19
3:45 a.m. - Women’s parallel giant slalom qualifying, Sestriere, ITA - NBC Sports Gold
4:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel giant slalom, Sestriere, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - NBC**
8:00 p.m. - Women’s parallel giant slalom, Sestriere, ITA - NBCSN*
9:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Wengen, SUI - 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.