It was an uncharacteristically tough day for Mikaela Shiffrin in Courchevel, France, as she finished in 17th place in Tuesday's giant slalom. Italy's Federica Brignone was first by .13 seconds over Norway's Mina Fuerst Holtmann, and Switzerland's Wendy Holdener rounded out the podium in third. 

It just didn't seem to click for Mikaela from the start of the day, as she kicked out of the start gate bib one and seemingly couldn't find her flow. Warm weather forced organizers to salt and water the track, but the conditions held up surprisingly well. As one of the few remaining multi-event skiers, since Nov. 23rd, Mikaela has competed in Levi, Finland then traveled to Killington, Vt., onward to Lake Louise, Canada for a speed series, then over to St. Moritz, Switzerland for the super-G before opting to sit out of the parallel slalom Sunday.

In this stretch opening of races, she was first (slalom), third (giant slalom), first (slalom), 10th (downhill), second (downhill), 10th (super-G), third (super-G), and 17th place in Tuesday's giant slalom. In Soelden's giant slalom opener, she skied the strongest she has on the hill and finished in second by a mere .06 hundredths. She currently leads the World Cup overall and slalom standings. For anyone's standards, this would be a successful run. 

This is ski racing, after all. Despite how "easy" Mikaela makes it look, it's not easy. She's an athlete with exceptional talent. And, she is a champion. Champions handle both success and failure with class and find a way to learn from their experiences and translate them into positives to take into the next race. And, for Mikaela, there are plenty of races and plenty of days ahead. 

Following the race Mikaela—who was visibly upset—was speechless, and a little stunned. "I have a lot of thoughts, but I probably shouldn't say any of them on camera," she said playfully through her frustration. "Look, it's not really OK for me to expect something more from the day. I mean...I skied and I placed how I placed. The girls who are ahead of me skied harder, better and cleaner than me. They did a better job. It makes sense, actually—but, yeah. I have a lot of thoughts." 

Never one to place blame on weather or equipment, Mikaela was quick to look inward, "I don't have any excuse, really. They did an amazing job preparing the surface. The slope was actually in an amazing condition. Both courses were really fun to ski, and my equipment has been really great in training and everything. There's really no one to blame but myself. I'm for sure going to watch my video. It's experience, and there's always a lesson to learn. Right now it feels heartbreaking, but it's also not the end of the world so we just have to move on to the next one." 

Prior to Tuesday, Mikaela had won the last four races in Courchevel, France—including two giant slaloms—and she had finished on the podium in each of the previous six World Cup giant slalom races. The last time Mikaela finished outside of the top-10 in a World Cup giant slalom was a 14th-place in Jasna, Slovakia in March of 2016, and the last time she finished outside of the top-15 was in Åre, Sweden in March of 2014. In the 26 giant slalom races between Jasna and Tuesday's race in Courchevel, she has been top-5 in 23 of them (88%), reached the podium in 17 of them (65%), and won nine of them (35%). Keep in mind, many of Mikaela's competitors are specialists in their respective disciplines. 

Nina O'Brien, who has been skiing fast and strong in training, also struggled with the softer snow and couldn't get into a groove, as she finished outside of the 30 on the first run. Mikaela has maintained the lead in the overall standings (546 points) ahead of Italy's Federica Brignone (381 points). 

Up next for the women is a speed series including a downhill and an alpine combined in Val d'Isere, France. Mikaela plans to ski in both events, though there is a weather pattern coming in with one meter of snow in Sunday's forecast, so it will be a day-to-day decision. 

RESULTS
Women's Giant Slalom

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Overall
Giant Slalom

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Wednesday, Dec. 18
6:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Courchevel, FRA - 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.

Luke Winters scored his first-ever World Cup points on Sunday, finishing 19th in the FIS World Cup slalom in Val d’Isere, France.

After Saturday’s race was canceled due to heavy snow and wind, the skies turned blue for Sunday’s rescheduling of the slalom. To the home crowd’s delight, Frenchman Alexis Pinturault blew away the field, winning the race by 1.44 seconds for only his third slalom win ever. Andre Myhrer of Sweden was second and Stefano Gross of Italy was third.

But the story of the day was 22-year-old Luke, who shocked the crowd when he skied into second place in the first run after starting 40th. “I’ve been skiing fast, so I knew I could get in there, but coming through and seeing second was exciting!” said Luke. “Second run, I’m just going to try and do the same thing—not try and get too riled up. There’s a little more pressure, but I think I can handle it. It’s good to make it to the finish line and be fast at the same time.”

Having spoken between runs about Bode Miller as one of his ski racing heroes, Luke’s second run was reminiscent of a Bode run: fast, but with a few major errors. He managed to hang on to finish, taking 19th place overall—his first World Cup finish and World Cup points.  

“After I had those mistakes, all I wanted was to get down and get my first World Cup points,” said Luke. “I’m happy with it. It’s hard to be mad. There were some nerves, but it’s part of the game.”

It was only Luke’s eighth World Cup start, but not his first flash of brilliance. He holds the U.S. national title for both slalom and the alpine combined, won a bronze medal in the 2018 Junior World Championships in super-G, and was in contention for World Cup podium in the Levi slalom in November, before he crashed five gates from the finish. What people may not know, though, is that Luke has been working hard and skiing fast in training, with his small team of newly-hired men's World Cup slalom coach Ryan Wilson, and technician Marko Skube. Rather than head to Beaver Creek, Colo. to compete on home soil, Luke and his team opted to head to Val d'Isere to train prior to the weekend, which proved to be the right decision. 

The last time an American had a men’s slalom podium was in March 2011, when Nolan Kasper took second in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, but Luke is part of a group of young U.S. tech athletes who are building to World Cup podium level. With plenty of more slalom races on the books for the 2019-20 season, keep an eye out for Luke and his Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team teammates to surprise more European crowds on the World Cup tour.

Luke’s result in Val d’Isere gives him enough World Cup points to slot him into the top 30 racers going into January’s slalom races in Zagreb, Croatia. River Radamus also started the slalom in Val d’Isere, but DNFed first run.

The originally scheduled Val d’Isere giant slalom has been pushed to a later date. Next up, the men start what they call the "pizza and pasta tour" as they head to Val Gardena, Italy for speed events. Val Gardena is a place where the American men feel at home, and have had a lot of success—including last year when Bryce Bennett, Steven Nyman and Travis Ganong went 4-5-6 in the downhill. 

RESULTS
Men’s Slalom

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Overall
Slalom

Under the sunshine and blue sky in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Slovakia's Petra Vlhova capitalized on Mikaela Shiffrin's absence and emerged victorious in Sunday's parallel slalom, while Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson was second, and Austria's Franziska Gritsch rounded out the podium in third.

The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team's Nina O'Brien was sitting in 14th after the qualification round, +.88 seconds off of Petra's pace, and went into the 1/16th final. A couple of slight errors meant Nina did not make it to the 1/8th final, as Slovenia's Ana Bucik narrowly snuck ahead of her to move onward, to finish eighth overall. Nina would finish 24th on the day, comfortably solidifying herself as a three-event skier on the World Cup, having scored points in slalom, giant slalom and parallel slalom events. 

"I'm feeling pretty good. I'm glad I was able to qualify for the race and compete...I wish I would have had a little more speed on my runs, but overall not bad," said Nina after the parallel. "I feel I learned that I can be in there, so there's a little bit of confidence there, and I definitely need to work a little bit more on my jumps and starts. I'm excited to do more parallel events. I've been training more giant slalom lately and it has been good. Courchevel is always a fun place to race, so I'm looking forward to it." Nina has been skiing fast in training, so keep an eye on her at Courchevel as she hunts for some more valuable World Cup points. 

The big story of the day was the bold and wise decision of Mikaela Shiffrin to sit out of today's parallel event, after her third place finish in Saturday's super-G. Mikaela swept the St. Moritz FIS Ski World Cup series last year, winning both the super-G and parallel slalom. She also won the last dual format event on the World Cup calendar—a City Event in Stockholm, Sweden—just after World Championships. Due to a busy race schedule that has Mikaela competing in five races across four different disciplines in the next 15 days, she decided to focus on long-term gains and maintain her focus and energy. 

Alice Merryweather also started for the Americans, though she DNFed during the elimination run and did not qualify for the race. Up next for the women is a giant slalom on Tuesday in Courchevel, France and then onward to Val d'Isere, France—a favorite stop on the tour for the women's speed team—for a downhill and alpine combined on Dec. 21-22. Mikaela is slated to compete in all three upcoming French venue events. 

RESULTS
Women's Qualification Round
Women's Parallel Slalom

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Overall

Saturday, Dec. 15
8:00 p.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - 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.

After a week of questionable weather reports, both the classic unpredictability of St. Moritz, Switzerland and the sunshine shone through on Saturday during a super-G where Mikaela Shiffrin led three women into the points for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team with a third-place finish. 

Prior to Saturday's race, Mikaela told NBC, "It doesn't matter what the conditions are or what the weather is, the most aggressive, cleanest skier is going to end up on top." On Saturday, that honor went to Italy's Sofia Goggia. 

With St. Moritz's typically technical super-G, featuring a fair amount of terrain, it was no surprise that Italy's fiery and fast Federica Brignone - who was bib 9 - was the early leader. Mikaela stood in the start gate, the clouds parted and the sun came out. She came out of the start - guns blazing - bib lucky number 13 and though it appeared she'd take the lead, a couple of small mistakes in the mid-section of the course cost her some time and she skied into second behind Federica, by a mere .12 seconds. She saw the time, stuck out her tongue playfully and thanked the crowd. All eyes on Sofia, bib 16. After struggling with a DNF in the season super-G opener in Lake Louise, Canada, Sofia stayed true to her wild style, always keeping fans on the edge of their seats, cutting line and even losing a pole along the way, to sneak ahead of Federica by .01 and take the lead.

As often is the case in St. Moritz, the weather can be tricky, and no one never knows when the dreaded "Maloja Snake" will rear its ugly head. The forecast called for wind and potential snowfall for Saturday, though the weather gods were kind to the FIS Ski World Cup this year, parting the clouds and allowing the sun to shine through on the women for a perfect day of super-G. It was an American course set, by women's speed Head Coach Chip White. With the venue hosting the recent Europa Cup, the track was awesome, buff - like Colorado snow. In other words, it was a complete 180 from last weekend's soft surface at Lake Louise, and much like what the women had been training on at U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain, Colo. in November. 

At Friday evening's team meeting, Head Coach Paul Kristofic told the women that the snow was "super familiar, Colorado-type snow." "You've had the best training in the world [at Copper Mountain], so translate that into the best skiing you've ever done. Do not worry about the weather, rise above it. Wherever the start is, accept it and go, go go." The word on the mountain was that wind gusts would be strong, so it was likely that at least one of the reserve starts would be utilized. On Saturday morning, there was some light snow and clouds were coming in and out, but the weather was relatively clear despite some wind out of the start gate.

"It was really, really nice to ski today, and the surface was very good," reflected Mikaela in the post-race press conference. There was slightly more air time off the jump than the women thought. "Sofia was really aggressive on the pitch going into the jump, so she carried a lot of speed, and I did a similar thing and I felt like when I was in the air I was like, 'Hmm, maybe I'm not going to land on the ground before the next gate,' so I was trying to rush to get back to the ground so I could actually make the next turn, but it was building up a lot and for a moment I thought I'd maybe not finish," Mikaela continued. 

It was a great collective team showing for the Americans, with both Alice Merryweather and Alice McKennis (29th) in the points for the fourth straight race, and Alice Merryweather coming from bib 44 to 20th. Jackie Wiles also started for the Americans, but finished outside of the points. In just her second World Cup race series back from an injury that had her sidelined for 22 months, Jackie will look to take what she learned from Saturday into the next speed series in Val d'Isere, France⁠—a favorite stop of the American women. 

Mikaela now leads the overall standings by 271 points, with 532 points to Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg's 261 points. Up next is a parallel event on Sunday, an event that Mikaela has excelled in previously but she has opted to sit out on Sunday, so she can manage energy levels and focus. Mikaela, who is one of the few athletes to compete in all disciplines (and the only athlete to win in all six currently contested FIS World Cup disciplines), is heading into a busy next couple of weeks on the World Cup tour that includes five races across four disciplines in the next 15 days. She announced the news in an Instagram post on Saturday after the super-G race:

Today was so much fun and the surface was perfect!! Congrats to Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone, and to my teammates for an awesome collective result. I’ve been asked a couple times if I’m skiing the parallel tomorrow - obviously it’s not an *easy* decision, but I’m opting out of the race tomorrow. There are quite a few reasons for this but at the top of the list is that for several years I have been longing to race Val d’Isere but have never been able to because the @fisalpine schedule is always too tough (for those who race in all disciplines), but one of my goals this season is to get on that track and to race a little more speed in general so I’m trying to manage energy and focus accordingly! It’s always a day to day process, and tough to make these decisions but I’m looking forward to Courchevel! And good luck to the girls tomorrow especially USA 💪💪🤗

 

Balancing all of the events in what proves to be a challenging and busy FIS schedule is still something Mikaela is working on, but she's finding enjoyment across all of the events—and she continues to prove she is a podium contender every time she steps into the start gate. "I don't really have a favorite event anymore, but for sure in slalom it's still where I'm the most comfortable or I have the most experience or the best feeling, so I don't need as much training to feel 100% anymore," reflected Mikaela. But, this time of year is probably the biggest push—from Copper to Levi to Killington to Lake Louise to here—and trying to feel like I can really push for a podium every time, with no training basically. So that's the most difficult thing. But it's also really nice to race like that, because you build your momentum and just keep going."

Nina O'Brien and Alice Merryweather will start in Sunday's parallel for the Americans. From there, the women will travel to Courchevel for a giant slalom on Tuesday and then Val d'Isere, France—a favorite stop on the tour for the women's speed team—for a downhill and alpine combined on Dec. 21-22. Mikaela is slated to compete in all three upcoming French venue events. 

RESULTS
Women's Super-G

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Overall
Super-G 

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Official event hashtag: #worldcupstmoritz

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 14
2:00 p.m. - NBC Special "Mikaela's Masterpiece" - NBCSN
9:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN*

Saturday, Dec. 15
3:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 4 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
3:45 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 10:30 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
8:00 p.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, 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.
 

Due to a weather pattern that came in to Val d'Isere, France, producing snowfall and strong winds, the men's slalom race was cancelled on Saturday. 

After discussions with the organizing committee, French Ski Federation, and InFront (the broadcast rights holder), the jury decided to reschedule Saturday's men's slalom race to Sunday. As such, the men's giant slalom will be rescheduled to a later date, and will be communicated as soon as the International Ski Federation (FIS) can confirm a new date and location. 

With knowledge of the weather pattern coming in, the jury - with the support of the organizing committee, French Ski Federation and InFont, had decided on Wednesday to alter the program, with slalom on Saturday and giant slalom on Sunday. On Friday evening, the winds were so strong that the organizing committee decided - for safety reasons - to cancel the public bib draw. After numerous delays on Saturday, including a move to the reserve start, the final decision was made. 

Young rising stars River Radamus and Luke Winters will be starting for the Americans on Sunday. Luke has had some solid slalom training in Val d'Isere prior to the race, and both men are looking forward to throwing it down on Sunday. 

More details about the rescheduled giant slalom will be forthcoming. 

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Official event hashtags: #worldcupvaldisere

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 14
2:00 p.m. - NBC Special "Mikaela's Masterpiece" - NBCSN
9:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN*

Sunday, Dec. 15
3:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 4 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
3:45 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 10:30 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
8:00 p.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, 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 FIS Cross Country World Cup moves to Davos, Switzerland, this weekend for a pair of events, including the highly-anticipated first freestyle sprint of the season Saturday. Over the past few years, the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team has excelled in this format, which provides fast-paced racing in an exciting head-to-head format.

In addition, the freestyle sprint is the one event that will be contested on March 17, 2020, when the FIS Cross Country World Cup returns to the U.S. for the first time in 19 years, taking place at Minnesota’s Theodore Wirth Park, just five miles west of downtown Minneapolis. Perhaps no other American racer has embraced the sprint as much as 10-year U.S. Cross Country Team member Simi Hamilton, who has participated in more than 80 World Cup sprint events. 

Now dabbling in some of the longer distance races, Simi is fired up for this weekend’s freestyle sprint, despite a nagging hamstring injury that plagued him at the start of the season. 

“My hamstring is definitely making big improvements and I think it should be 100% good to go for the weekend,” said Simi, who has four World Cup sprint podiums, including one victory from 2013 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. “I’m for sure feeling very fit right now, probably the most fit I’ve ever been at this point in the year. So I have a lot of confidence going into the weekend. I’ve made the semifinals a few times here in Davos in the past, and so I think it would be really cool and well within my potential to make the finals here.”

The women’s U.S. Cross Country Team has been racking up podiums and headlines in the first two weekends of the World Cup season with Sadie Masubet Bjornsen taking second in the opening classic sprint in Ruka, Finland, and wearing the yellow World Cup leader’s bib; Jessie Diggins grabbing two individual podiums already this season, and the U.S. Women finishing second in the team relay last weekend in Lillehammer. Meanwhile, the men’s team is making strides toward the top of the results sheet against a very deep World Cup field.

“We’ve had some solid results from the guys so far this season with Erik (Bjornsen) scoring points in Ruka, and Kevin (Bolger), Dave Norris and me just outside of the points in Ruka and Lillehammer,” Simi said. “The margins are incredibly small in men’s World Cup racing, so when you’re not racing at 100% because of an injury, illness, or by training design, it really shows. 

“It’s a very long season and this team’s collective goal is to keep skiing faster and faster as the season progresses, so we’re looking forward to doing that,” Simi added. “I’m confident that this men’s team will put together some results that will turn heads this year, but the name of the game in cross-country ski racing is patience.”

In addition to Saturday’s freestyle sprint, the athletes will compete in a 10k freestyle for the women and a 15k freestyle for the men on Sunday. On Dec. 21-22, the sprinters will have the opportunity to shine once again as the World Cup moves to Planica, Slovenia, for another freestyle sprint, followed by the first team sprint of the season.

U.S. Starters:
Freestyle sprint
Sadie Maubet Bjornsen
Jessie Diggins
Sophie Caldwell
Rosie Brennan
Julia Kern
Hailey Swirbul
Simi Hamilton
Kevin Bolger
Logan Hanneman

Women’s 10k freestyle
Sadie Maubet Bjornsen
Jessie Diggins
Caitlin Patterson
Rosie Brennan
Julia Kern
Hailey Swirbul
Rosie Frankowski

Men’s 15k freestyle
Kyle Bratrud
Scott Patterson
David Norris
Simi Hamilton 

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 14
8:00 a.m. - Men and women’s sprint, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Dec. 15
4:35 a.m. - Women’s 10k, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
8:45 a.m. - Men’s 15k, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - Women’s 10k, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel*

*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.

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team rising star Brian McLaughlin remembers the day well when his friend Ronnie Berlack died in an avalanche. Five years ago this January two promising U.S. Ski Team athletes, Berlack and Bryce Astle, were killed during a training camp in Sölden, Austria. The Bryce and Ronnie Athlete Snow Safety (BRASS) Foundation has named Brian as an ambassador, helping bring greater awareness to other ski racers and clubs of the dangers outside the race course.

McLaughlin, who won the 2018 National Collegiate Athletic Association national giant slalom title skiing for Dartmouth College, will be in the starting gate when the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup tour comes to Beaver Creek, Colo. in early December. 

“Ronnie and Bryce didn’t know the risks they were facing that day when they were taking a break from training to make a few turns in the fresh snow,” said McLaughlin. “It’s important that athletes and coaches are well versed on avalanche safety and understand that skiing off piste carries dangers we don’t experience on race courses.”

BRASS was formed to raise awareness across the ski racing community on the dangers of avalanches and the need for education, as well as athlete management by club and team coaches. Since its inception the organization has made an impact globally on the avalanche safety community, and has now begun an educational system in concert with U.S. Ski & Snowboard. BRASS has supported costs of on-snow training for athletes and coaches and is pioneering a new online education system with U.S. Ski & Snowboard that will be released this winter.

Brian grew up ski racing at Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont. He went on to race at Dartmouth College where he was a three-time NCAA All America First Team athlete and three-time National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team member, earning eight collegiate victories. He springboarded from college to win the 2018 NorAm Cup giant slalom title. Last December he scored his first World Cup points in both Beaver Creek and Alta Badia, Italy.

“Brian is a remarkable young athlete and a role model for the next generation of ski racers,” said Steve Berlack, a BRASS board member and father of Ronnie. “He will help BRASS raise awareness of the need for athletes and coaches to be aware of the dangers and to actively engage in ongoing education to keep them safe.”

This season Brian will display the BRASS logo on his racing helmet and serve as an ambassador for avalanche safety.

“Most of all, I want clubs, coaches and athletes to recognize the BRASS sticker on my helmet and think about how important it is that they engage in avalanche safety education,” said Brian. “This is education that can save lives.”

This fall, BRASS 101 clinics around New England have educated hundreds of young racers. The new online modules from BRASS and U.S. Ski & Snowboard will be designed to impact every coach and athlete. All around the country, local avalanche safety workshops provide skiers and snowboards with the basics they need to better understand the dangers.

For more information on BRASS, check out its website at www.brassfoundation.org.

Release courtesy of BRASS. 

Though our jaws are all still on the floor from Tommy Ford’s incredible inaugural visit to the podium—and the top step, no less—it is time for the FIS Ski World Cup Tour to travel across the pond to Europe. First stop: Val d’Isere, France with a giant slalom and slalom for the tech men and St. Moritz, Switzerland for the rare tech and speed combo of super-G and parallel for the women. What kind of tricks does the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team have up their sleeves this weekend? Buckle up, because it's bound to be exciting. 

Humble and hardworking, Tommy will be donning a new color when he steps into the start gate this weekend: red. Yes, as in the red leader bib. Here’s something cool - no male giant slalom skier has had a second date on the podium yet this year. Six different men have graced the podium. How cool is that?! In a giant slalom field that feels exciting and fresh and up-for-grabs, the men will take on the infamous “La Face De Bellevarde” in Val d’Isere, France. “La Face” is a tricky one for athletes, with an average gradient of 39.69%, reaching 70% in its steepest section. It’s steep, technical and the light can be tricky. Google it and you’ll find that it is widely regarded as one of the most challenging pistes in Europe. Let's hope it's not “La Face De Bellevarde of Broken Dreams" this weekend.

Let’s talk about the Americans, shall we?! Well, first there was Soelden, Austria, where the Americans stacked three into the top 11. That was the best team result in Soelden in...well, a long time. Then, there was Beaver, Creek—what a show on home snow. Three in the top 25, with Tommy leading the way, Ted in 11th and Ryan Cochran-Siegle in 23rd. Fun Fact: “RCS” was the only athlete—across all nations—to score points in all three events at Birds of Prey. Last year in Val d’Isere, Tommy had earned what—at the time—was a career-best sixth place on “La Face.” 

The last American male skier to win successive World Cup giant slaloms was none other than Ted, in February-March 2014 (he had three in a row). Tommy can become the fifth skier in U.S. history to win multiple men’s World Cup giant slalom events, after Ted (24), Bode Miller (9), and brothers Phil Mahre (7) and Steve Mahre (2). The last American male to win in Val d’Isere on La Face was Ted, on December 11, 2010. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we - as mentioned, it’s a stacked giant slalom field and the athletes are hungry for the podium. Something worth noting is that Frenchman Mathieu Faivre won his only career World Cup giant slalom race in Val d'Isère on December 4, 2016. He was second in Soelden and sixth in Beaver Creek. Got a hunch the hometown crowd will give Mathieu an extra push. Podium-hunting, commence. 

Brian McLaughlin and River Radamus round out the giant slalom roster for the men, and after a frustrating giant slalom on home soil, these two are looking to find the top-30 once again. 

On the men’s slalom side, Luke Winters will look to carry on where he left off in the third split of Levi, Finland, where he was on pace to finish in the top-five before going out. His skiing is there, his coach Ryan Wilson is proud of the mentality Luke is bringing in to race day, and he will be looking to grab his first-career World Cup points this weekend in what will be a slightly modified schedule, due to incoming weather. The men will kick off the weekend with slalom on Saturday, followed by giant slalom on Sunday. 

The women kick off their European tour at St. Moritz, Switzerland, headlined by 2019 super-G world champion and 2019 super-G titleholder Mikaela Shiffrin. Mikaela swept the St. Moritz super-G and parallel series last year. She has won 62 World Cup races, equal to Annemarie Moser-Pröll (62) in second place on the all-time women's list.  Mikaela won her first World Cup super-G in Lake Louise last season, and has won an unfathomable four of the last six major super-G races she participated in: Lake Louise, St. Moritz and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and at the world championships in Åre, Sweden. She struggled a bit last weekend in Lake Louise, so keep an eye on her as she’s already got that fire in her eyes and race day T-minus two days away. Mikaela can become the third woman to win successive St. Moritz super-G races in the World Cup after Lindsey (2010, 2012) and Karen Putzer (1999, 2001). St. Moritz is a special spot for Mikaela, as she has won three World Cup races in St. Moritz across all disciplines. Her personal record in a ski resort is four victories, achieved in seven different resorts. She’ll have to fend off a deep field of super-G skiers, including Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg, who skied a smokin'-hot super-G run up in Lake Louise last weekend. 

Alice McKennis returned from injury with a bang in Lake Louise, scoring points all three days and landing in the top-10 in the second downhill as well as a career-best 13th-place finish in the super-G. Keep an eye on this “gator” and teammate Jackie Wiles, who also returned from an injury that had her sidelined for half of the 2017-18 season and all of the 2018-19 season. Alice Merryweather—who also scored points in all three events and a career-best 23rd in super-G in the opening weekend at Lake Louise—will be starting in both the super-G and the parallel event, while Nina O’Brien will be starting in the parallel. 

The women will kick off the weekend with a super-G on Saturday and a parallel on Sunday. Though a weather pattern is coming in, FIS together with the local organizing committee, decided to keep the schedule as is. Let’s all cross our fingers and hold our thumbs that the dreaded “Maloja Snake” doesn’t rear its ugly head this weekend and the women are able to compete in a fair race - especially for Saturday’s super-G.  

See below for all of the details on who and how to watch. 

MEN’S STARTERS
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Tommy Ford
Ted Ligety
Brian McLaughlin
River Radamus
Luke Winters

WOMEN’S STARTERS
Alice McKennis
Alice Merryweather
Nina O’Brien
Mikaela Shiffrin
Jackie Wiles

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Official event hashtags: #worldcupvaldisere, #worldcupstmoritz

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 14
3:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
4:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN*

Saturday, Dec. 15
3:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 4 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
3:45 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 10:30 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 2, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
8:00 p.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN*

Two-time Olympic gold medalist, three-time reigning FIS Ski World Cup overall champion, five-time World Champion, historical four-time slalom World Champ, super-G World Champ, only athlete to win in all six disciplines, winningest slalom skier of all-time...the list of accolades goes on, and on - and then on some more - for Mikaela Shiffrin. Recently, Sports Illustrated covered Mikaela's historic 2019 season - in which she won a record 17 World Cup victories, surpassing and thus smashing Vreni Schneider's previous record of 14 - and what she has learned from it. 

Sports Illustrated senior sports feature writer, Greg Bishop, joined Shiffrin this fall in Copper Mountain as she went through a series of studio interviews for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team's annual media days. Following her from room to room, Greg heard media speak over and over of Mikaela's dominance, and then joined her as she drove home to Edwards to further discuss how she feels about being one of the most dominant athletes of her time. With a laugh, she tells Greg that when she was a child she wanted to be "a flying rainbow horse." 

Greg also interviews former teammate - and a childhood idol of Mikaela's - Bode Miller, to give context to Mikaela's greatness and how it stacks up to more well-known sports. Bode's words will give you the shivers, just as they did for Mikaela. Understated as ever, she still can't believe an idol would speak of her so highly. 

She tries to deflect the immensity of her accomplishments, even while experts, like the most prolific American male skier, Bode Miller, made the case that what she accomplished last season is without precedent in all of sports. Better than Novak Djokovic's 2015 season, when he won three Grand Slam tournaments, or even the so-called Tiger Slam of '00–01. "Those are sports where you can make errors in matches and just recover," he says. "In our sport, the margins are so fine, the tolerance for errors is so small, it's just that much more difficult to win as many races as she did."

You're going to want to read the entire piece, and grab a copy in print when it hits the stands. 

Read the full article by Greg Bishop in Sports Illustrated.