It was a tough day for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, with no Americans qualifying for the second run in Sunday's slalom. However, despite missing the last five FIS Ski World Cup races, Mikaela Shiffrin maintained her lead in the overall standings. 

Paula Moltzan, who has been skiing fast in training, straddled, while Nina O'Brien was skiing solid on the top of the first run, but "made a mistake and couldn't get her rhythm back," explained coach Magnus Andersson. Nina did not qualify for a second run. 

Swede Anna Swenn Larsson had everyone amped, having had the fastest first run. After the first run, Slovakia's Petra Vlhova was sitting in fourth, .92 seconds back. However, Petra stepped on the gas second run, moving ahead of both Switzerland's Wendy Holdener (who ended up second) and Norway's Nina Haver-Loeseth (who moved back to fourth). All eyes on the Swede, Anna, as she made a valiant effort to win her first World Cup. Gaining time all the way down, Anna had a massive 1.17 second lead on Petra before a heartbreaking fall right before the finish line. 

Petra won by .24, with Wendy Holdener in second, .24 seconds back, and Austria's Katharina Truppe in third, .89 seconds off Petra's pace. This is Petra's third-straight slalom victory—a victory that extended the three-year winning streak of Mikaela and Petra in the discipline. Mikaela and her rival Petra have won the last 26 slaloms, with Mikaela winning 19 to Petra's seven. 

Mikaela's absence was not only felt by fellow competitors and the media but also fans. Slovakian fans paid a classy tribute to Mikaela, holding up a big sign with a Slovakian and American flag that read, "We miss you, Mikaela!" Though the rivalry on the hill is strong, Mikaela and Petra have displayed incredible sportsmanship both on and off the mountain, and Mikaela is adored by Slovakian fans. 

Despite sitting the last five races out (one downhill, two super-Gs, a giant slalom, and a slalom), Mikaela continues to hold the lead in the overall standings, by 113 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone (who was in 25th after the first run, but DNFed second run of Sunday's slalom) and 154 points ahead of Petra Vlhova. In the slalom standings, Petra has now surpassed Mikaela by 20 points, with 460 points, followed by Mikaela with 440.  

The races in Kranjska Gora were a replacement for the previously scheduled "Golden Fox Trophy" races in Maribor, Slovenia, but warm temperatures forced the change in venues. 

Up next for the women is a speed series in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, with two downhills—including a make-up downhill from Rosa Khutor, Russia—and an alpine combined (featuring one run of super-G and one run of slalom). The next tech series in Ofterschwang, Germany March 7-8. At this point, the current overall leader Mikaela's return to Europe and return to competition is unknown. 

RESULTS
Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Sunday, Feb. 16
7:00 p.m. - Women’s slalom, Kranjska Gora, SLO - 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. 

On Friday, Winter4Kids at the National Winter Activity Center—the nation’s first and only fully dedicated youth winter sports facility—announced the winners of the first-ever NorAm Cup parallel event in the United States hosted in partnership with U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the International Federation of Skiing (FIS). Fans from the tristate area attended to watch members of the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Alpine Canada (Canadian National Ski Team) and club skiers from Canada, university skiers and beyond, compete in an action-packed, fast-paced race under the lights.

The men's winner was Jett Seymour of the University of Denver (DU), while the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team's Ben Ritchie was second, and Dartmouth's AJ Ginnis was third. On the women's side, Foreste Peterson of Team X Alpine was victorious, while DU's Storm Klomhaus was second, and the U.S. Ski Team's AJ Hurt rounded out the podium in third. 

“I am really excited,” said Foreste Peterson, Team X Alpine. “This is my first-time skiing in New Jersey. I want to thank Winter4Kids for putting this event on, it was a great experience from the course conditions to the volunteers. I am really happy with how I performed and I’m thankful for this opportunity.”

“I’m happy to be here to be here,” said Jett Seymour, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. “This was an exciting NorAm race in New Jersey, especially for it being my first time in the state. I’m glad to have been able to race at Winter4Kids.”

The NorAm Cup which took place in Vernon, New Jersey at Winter4Kids, offered a new format with head-to-head competition between some of the best alpine athletes in the world for $75,000—the largest prize offering yet.

“Tonight, we hosted the first-ever NorAm Cup parallel ski race in the U.S. right here at Winter4Kids,” said Schone Malliet, CEO of Winter4Kids. “We’re thankful for all of our volunteers who allowed this event to be a success, as well as friends and family who came out to support. It was our pleasure to present competitors that have come from far and wide to showcase their talent, with a significant reward.”

The NorAm Cup strives to prepare athletes for the FIS Ski World Cup, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard is promoting this format at the grassroots level, in an effort to develop future World Cup parallel champions. The event features a head-to-head slalom with a knockout format each round. It is an exciting event for spectators and a unique opportunity from a broadcast standpoint, showcasing multiple world-class athletes from North America. Winter4Kids is the nation’s only nonprofit dedicated winter activity program and facility for youth only, serving school-age children of all economic backgrounds.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has had a long relationship with the National Winter Activity Center and Winter4Kids since its first season in 2015.

Currently, Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes Keely Cashman and Bridger Gile are leading the NorAm overall standings for women and men, respectively.

RESULTS
Women's Parallel
Men's Parallel 

STANDINGS
Women's Overall
Men's Overall

We Are Winter4Kids!
Winter4Kids is a youth-focused, nonprofit organization that changes lives through winter activities. We provide mentor-based, experiential learning and encourage kids to have FUN while mastering Snowboarding, Nordic and Alpine skiing. Our programs deliver incremental physical activity and have been designed to inspire our participants and build confidence in an educational environment. Winter4Kids is located at the National Winter Activity Center in Vernon, NJ. This facility is totally dedicated to making unimaginable dreams inevitable opportunities for youth.  For more information about Winter4Kids, please visit www.winter4kids.org.

About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, based in Park City, Utah. Tracing its roots directly back to 1905, the organization represents nearly 200 elite skiers and snowboarders in 2019, competing in seven teams; alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, nordic combined and ski jumping. In addition to the elite teams, U.S. Ski & Snowboard also provides leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders across the USA, encouraging and supporting them in achieving excellence. By empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team.

Release courtesy of Winter4Kids.org. 

Under the sunshine and on hard snow in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Nina O’Brien was the lone starter for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Saturday’s giant slalom, ending up in 26th—her fourth-straight points-scoring result across three disciplines. 

For the first time since Soelden, Austria when she won by a mere six hundredths over reigning giant slalom titleholder, New Zealand’s Alice Robinson won with a stunning second run, by .34 seconds over Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova. In fact, struggling to find her form, Alice had not even been on the podium since her win in Soelden. Rounding out the podium in third was a tie between Slovenian Meta Hrovat and Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener, 1.59 seconds off the pace set by Alice. This was just the second podium for Meta, and Wendy’s second-career giant slalom podium—her first was in Courchevel, France in December. 

Nina had a solid first run despite a few small mistakes on a swingy course set by her coach Magnus Andersson. Nina started the second run strong, gaining time in the first two splits and ahead by .24 seconds at one point, but ran into trouble when she got low and lost nearly seven-tenths of a second on the bottom split. 

Though she is struggling to put two solid and clean runs together, this is the fourth-straight points-scoring result for Nina across three disciplines: giant slalom, slalom, and parallel giant slalom. This is the seventh time Nina has scored points in 12 FIS Ski World Cup starts this season. Last season, Nina scored just twice, so the consistency has been there this season. 

“It feels great to be finding some consistency lately,” noted Nina. “My skiing feels like it’s in a good spot, and the speed is getting there. While I’m always happy to be in the points, I want more. I had some really good sections today but ultimately made a few mistakes over terrain. It’s a process, and I’m trying to learn from each race. Hopefully, I can clean things up in tomorrow’s slalom!” 

Noticeably missing from Saturday’s race was current overall leader and reigning giant slalom titleholder Mikaela Shiffrin. During the team captain’s meeting on Friday evening, U.S. Ski Team coach Magnus Andersson delivered a statement on behalf of Mikaela’s management team that read, 

"As you can see, U.S. Ski Team athlete and current World Cup overall and slalom leader Mikaela Shiffrin’s name is not on the board for tomorrow. Our continued thoughts go out to Mikaela, Eileen, and Taylor as they deal with the incredible loss of their father and husband Jeff Shiffrin. At this point, we have no information to share about a return to Europe or a return to competition. We ask that you continue to respect the family’s privacy."

Despite sitting the last three race weekends out, Mikaela continues to hold the lead in the overall standings, by 113 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone (who finished a disappointing eighth in Saturday’s giant slalom) and 254 points ahead of Petra Vlhova. In the giant slalom standings, Federica is currently leading with 407 points, while Petra has moved to second with 333 points, followed by Mikaela with 314.  

The races in Kranjska Gora were a replacement for the previously scheduled "Golden Fox Trophy" races in Maribor, Slovenia, but warm temperatures forced the change in venues. 

Up next for the women is a slalom on Sunday, where Nina and Paula Moltzan are expected to start for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team. Mikaela currently has an 80-point lead in the slalom standings over Petra, with the next tech series in Ofterschwang, Germany March 7-8. 

RESULTS
Giant Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Giant Slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Saturday, Feb. 15
7:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Kranjska Gora, SLO - NBCSN*

Sunday, Feb. 16
4:00 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1, Kranjska Gora, SLO - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 2, Kranjska Gora, SLO - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 p.m. - Women’s slalom, Kranjska Gora, SLO - 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. 

On a shortened super-G track due to heavy snowfall and high winds in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Travis Ganong was the fastest man on the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, finishing in a tie for seventh place.

Running bib lucky number seven, Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde snagged the victory—his first World Cup victory of the season—by 15 hundredths of a second, over Switzerland's Mauro Caviezel in second. Germany's Thomas Dressen, who grew up going to school 30 minutes away from Saalbach—was once again feeling at home finished in third. This was Thomas' third-straight podium, as he won Saturday's downhill and the previous downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. 

Aleksander is the only man to have finished in the top eight in each of the last 10 World Cup super-G events, with his best result second places in Beaver Creek, Colo. and Kitzbuehel, Austria. His only career super-G victory was on February 27th, 2016, in Hinterstoder, Austria. Despite having won only one race this season, Aleksander's podium consistency in the speed disciplines, coupled with his strong giant slalom skiing (he has two top-five results in GS), has made him a strong contender for this year's overall title. With 982 points, Aleksander is leading the overall title chase by just 79 points over tech-focused teammate Henrik Kristoffersen. 

Travis was within striking distance from a podium and had both the fastest speed and the fastest second split, but a couple of mistakes cost him valuable time. "I had a really good top two splits and was feeling really confident and comfortable on my skis, and I landed off the second to last jump and the snow is a lot different down there," reflected Travis. "I didn't adjust properly, so I went into two turns and tried to push hard and lost my ski, and I lost over seven-tenths on the second to last split. It's super frustrating because I have never been on the podium in super-G yet and I've been really close a lot of times, and today was a really good chance for me. I'm really bummed out, but also happy with my skiing, and I'm looking forward to one more chance in Kvitfjell (Norway), and Finals in Cortina (Italy). All in all, pretty happy and I can get to go home now for a little break, so it's nice."

After multiple delays to Sunday's race with volunteers, organizers, and coaches shoveling massive piles of snow off the course, an early bib number wasn't an ideal scenario to be in, making it difficult to get meaningful information or course reports. While Ryan Cochran-Siegle ran an unfortunate bib 2, he was still able to pull off a 16th place finish—his 13th top-20 finish of the season, across five disciplines: downhill, super-G, alpine combined, giant slalom and parallel giant slalom. 

With 15 DNFs in the 53-person field, the conditions weren't ideal, but Travis felt like it was a positive that the organizers were able to get a race off. "It's always tough when it's a big snowstorm and you're waiting and waiting and waiting," he said. "I think, in the end, the skies cleared and it stopped snowing, and we were able to have a race. Everyone always wants to race, that's why we're all here. You put in the effort in, it's good that we got the race off. The conditions were not perfect, but it was still a good race and the best guys won." 

Bryce Bennett started in just his third super-G of the season, finishing in 36th. Sam Dupratt was having a top-20 speed run, before skiing out and DNFing. Steven Nyman also missed a gate and DNFed, but skied away and is OK. 

The Saalbach races were a replacement for the previously scheduled Beijing Olympic test events in Yanqing, China, so the men's speed team will enjoy an unexpected break and travel home to spend time with family and friends. Due to the change in schedule, the men will enjoy the rare weekend off while the women compete in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. Up next for the men is a tech series in Niigata Yuzawa Naeba, Japan. 

RESULTS
Super-G

STANDINGS
Overall
Super-G

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Friday, Feb. 14
6:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AUT - 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. 

On a sunny day in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Bryce Bennett was the fastest man on the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, finishing in 12th place in Saturday's downhill.

Thomas Dressen of Germany—who grew up going to school just 30 minutes away from Saalbach—snagged his second FIS Ski World Cup downhill win in a row with a flawless run, highlighting his gliding ability down the winding course. The Swiss men stacked it in behind Thomas, taking second, third, fourth and fifth place. Beat Feuz was second, stepping on the podium for the seventh time this season and maintaining his hold of the downhill leader bib, and Mauro Caviezel third.

Bryce, who was fast at the top but made a few small mistakes, was still happy about his finish and the overall course conditions, which were unpredictable during training. “I think I made a little mistake entering [the middle] section and then I thought I skied the rest of it really well, which I was psyched on,” said Bryce. “I had a little bobble down bottom, and that’s just how it goes sometimes. The snow is a little inconsistent, but it’s pretty impressive how much the course conditions turned around from yesterday to today. They busted some serious butt last night to make this race happen, which is cool.”

Bryce, who didn’t have a great finish in the Garmisch downhill, said his improvement was due to some good training in between the races and a few tweaks to his equipment. But while he’s pleased with his progress, he’s still looking for that elusive spot in the top three this season. “I’m just trying to hopefully get on the podium,” said Bryce. “I think that’s the goal at the end of the season. Just keep pushing and stay focused.”

Travis Ganong—who finished fifth in Garmisch, the best downhill result from a U.S. male skier this season—was 15th. Also skiing into the points, Steven Nyman took 21st place and Jared Goldberg tied for 30th. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was just outside of the points in 32nd and Sam Morse 43rd.

The men race super-G on Friday, with World Cup fans hoping for good weather. The Saalbach races are a replacement for the previously scheduled Beijing Olympic test events in Yanqing, China.

RESULTS
Downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Friday, Feb. 14
5:00 a.m. - Men’s super-G, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AUT - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
6:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AUT - 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. 
 

The second stage race of the season kicks off Saturday with Ski Tour 2020 along with a new twist on racing, travel and environmental stability for the FIS Cross Country World Cup tour.

Ski Tour 2020 will take place at both familiar, and unfamiliar Nordic venues in Sweden and Norway, featuring six stages over nine days at five different locations. Östersund, Sweden will host the first two stages - an individual start freestyle and a classic pursuit. 

“I am really looking forward to having some individual start races and pursuits as those are my favorite,” said Davis U.S. Cross Country Team member Rosie Brennan. “Östersund is the only venue I have been to before and I really enjoyed the courses, so I am excited about the opening weekend.”

Stage three will take place at a well known FIS World Cup venue - for alpine events. But instead of alpine races, a freestyle sprint course will be set up in the bottom of the ski slope of Sweden’s national alpine ski area of Åre, on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Stage four, the queen stage, will feature the legendary crossing of the international border between Storlien in Sweden (start) and Meråker in Norway (finish) on Thursday, Feb. 20. The 38k course will require athletes to carry their own nutrition as no feeding zones or coaching will be allowed on the majority of the course. Upon arrival in Meråker, the athletes continue by train to Trondheim, Norway, the final destination of the Tour.

"The 38km point-to-point skate race should be really fun and interesting because we’ve never had a World Cup race like this before," said Jessie Diggins. "I’m looking forward to the challenge."

The organizers behind the Ski Tour 2020 want to set an example for future organizers by making Ski Tour 2020 as sustainable as possible. In minimizing the use of fossil-fuel operated transportation, all participating athletes and staff will travel by train between the venues as no team cars will be allowed, with the exception of wax trucks.

“Having no control over our travel will be a new challenge, but the whole field is in it together so it should also provide some laughs and enjoyment,” Brennan said.

The final stages of the Ski Tour 2020 will take place in the Granåsen Ski Stadium where the FIS Cross-Country athletes will meet the FIS Nordic Combined athletes for a Nordic weekend. Stage five will be a classic sprint, followed by the final stage classic pursuit, 15k for the women and 30k for the men.

“The unknowns such as mandatory travel by train and new venues for me are all factors that have given me a lot of anticipation for this tour,” said David Norris, the top American on the World Cup distance standings, who noted that the U.S. Ski Team ski technicians have truly made the difference with his results this season. “I have had really good skis this season and thanks to our team I'm getting a fair chance each race to fight for the results that I know are possible from our nation. I hope I can maintain the form I currently have and put myself in the position to fight for some top 20's and finish the tour in the top 30.”

Joining Rosie, Jessie and David for Ski Tour 2020 are fellow Americans Alayna Sonnesyn, Hailey Swirbul, Rosie Frankowski, Katharine Ogden, Caitlin Patterson, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Julia Kern, Sophie Caldwell, Simi Hamilton, Kevin Bolger, Ben Lustgarten, and Logan Hanneman.

Every member of the U.S. Team wants to make it to Trondheim, and each athlete has different goals and expectations, including Kevin, who in addition to testing his fitness in the sprint stages, is pretty stoked that this tour’s final stage doesn’t climb straight up an alpine ski run.

“Of course I'm looking forward to the sprints, and luckily enough one of them is in Trondheim - a city in which I spend a lot of my time in the summers training, so the classic sprint there is at the top of my list. It is near the end of the Tour so I'm hoping I can get there with good energy and I’m able to put together a result I am happy with,” Kevin said. ”I’m stoked to get this thing rolling and I know the rest of the team over here is as well. I think it's safe to say the U.S. is going to pull off some killer results!”

Ski Tour 202 Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 14
Opening Ceremony, Stortorget, Östersund, SWE

Saturday, Feb. 15
Stage 1 Östersund, SWE
Freestyle individual start - 10k women; 15k men

Sunday, Feb. 16
Stage 2 Östersund, SWE
Classic pursuit - 10k women; 15k men

Monday, Feb. 17
Rest day

Tuesday, Feb. 18
Stage 3 Åre, SWE
Freestyle sprint

Wednesday, Feb. 19
Travel day

Thursday, Feb. 20
Stage 4 Storlien, SWE (start) to Meråker, NOR (finish)
Freestyle 38k both men and women

Friday, Feb. 21
Travel day

Saturday, Feb. 22
Stage 5 Trondheim, NOR
Classic sprint

Sunday, Feb. 23
Stage 6 Trondheim, NOR
Classic pursuit, 15k women, 30k men

HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, Feb. 15
7:15 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 10k, Ostersund, SWE - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
10:10 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 15k, Ostersund, SWE - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
11:30 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 10k, Ostersund, SWE - Olympic Channel*

Sunday, Feb. 16
7:45 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 15k pursuit, Ostersund, SWE - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:45 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 10k pursuit, Ostersund, SWE - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
12:30 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 15k pursuit, Ostersund, SWE - Olympic Channel*
1:30 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 10k pursuit, Ostersund, SWE - Olympic Channel*

Tuesday, Feb. 17
10:15 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men and women’s sprint, Are, SWE - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Thursday, Feb. 19
4:45 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 38k mass start, Storlien, SWE - Meraker, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 38k mass start, Storlien, SWE - Meraker, NOR - 5:00 a.m. - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 22
7:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men and women’s classic sprint, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb 23
5:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:05 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m.. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*
1:00 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - 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.

Olympic and World Champion Mikaela Shiffrin has made the cut in Sports Illustrated's Fittest 50 2020, landing in fourth on the list, with gynmastics phenom Simone Biles ranked number one.  

Sports Illustrated accepted the challenge and ranked the best-conditioned male and female athletes in the world, consulting trainers, exercise physiologists and performance experts with experience across the college, pro and Olympic levels of sports to evaluate athletes on the following criteria: performances over the last 12 months; demands and risks of their respective sports; durability; training regimens and other physical benchmarks including power, speed, strength, agility, endurance, flexibility and more.

Mikaela was ranked 19th on Sports Illustrated's Fittest 50 2019 list. This year's list features the likes of track star Allyson Felix (ranked 15th), tennis superstar Serena Williams (ranked 12th), U.S. Women's National Team (soccer) athlete Julie Ertz (ranked 11th), five-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Katie Ledecky (ranked fifth), and of course—Simone (ranked first). 

The list of accolades for Mikaela Shiffrin is lengthy: the youngest slalom champion in Olympic history; the youngest skier to earn 50 World Cup race wins; the first skier—of any gender—to earn $1 million in prize money in a single season; 66 (and counting) World Cup victories … and so on. So, it should come as no surprise that the 24-year-old is disciplined and regimented when it comes to her training, keeping detailed data logs, prioritizing sleep and hitting the gym as hard as she hits the slopes.

Check out Sports Illustrated's full list.
Read the article about Mikaela's training regime and what makes her different.

Tommy Ford grabbed his best FIS Ski World Cup result of 2020, taking fourth in the parallel giant slalom in Chamonix, France.

Swiss teammates Loic Meillard and Thomas Tumler battled for first in the big final, with Loic taking the win. In a dash for the podium, Tommy made a tiny mistake to finish behind Alexander Schmid of Germany in the small final, allowing Alexander to take third.

Tommy quickly picked off Stefan Hadalin of Slovenia in the 1/16 finals, Giovanni Borsotti of Italy in the 1/8 finals and Thibaut Favrot of France in the quarterfinals before losing to Alexander. This is Tommy’s third top-five result of the 2019-20 season, having taken fourth in Soelden and the big win on home soil in Beaver Creek. This is his career-best parallel giant slalom result. 

Tommy had a fast first run in the morning's qualifier and a "safer" second run as he tried to dial in his set-up and figure out the skis before heading into the 1/16 finals. "I was able to get in a rhythm right out of the start, which was a big change from Alta Badia," said Tommy. "I was able to find the ski early and was psyched about that—I had fun just generating speed from top to bottom. I just got in the flow of things and felt connected to the skis and the snow, even over the pieces of terrain, and kept the continuity with it throughout the runs and before I knew it I was in the semifinal."

The parallel event has stirred up controversy in the ski community, with athletes and fans alike questioning the fairness of the event, as well as the safety of the head-to-head format. In the quarterfinals, Tommy was the only skier to emerge victorious on the more challenging red course. 

From there, Tommy narrowly escaped a collision in the semifinals with Thomas Tumler of Switzerland.  "I got out of the start a little slower and pushed it maybe a little too much, had some sweet turns and went straight into a piece of terrain where you usually need a bit more direction, and landed sideways, popped a ski off and narrowly missed getting hit by Thomas Tumler—so hats off to him for taking it off the gas for a second," he said. "And then, after that with Schmid in the small final, I just lost a little momentum there, but still skied well. All in all, fun day...nice to get more than a couple of runs in a pro-style event."

Luke Winters also started the race for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team but did not finish in the qualification round.

Next up, the men head to Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria for speed events on Thursday and Friday, replacing the Beijing Olympic test events that were originally scheduled for Yanqing, China. The tech men head over to Japan for giant slalom and slalom events in Niigata Yuzawa Naeba on February 22 and 23.

RESULTS
Men’s parallel giant slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Parallel

Alice Merryweather put down her best career super-G result in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, taking 14th.

It was a typical Garmisch race, with the dark Kandahar track full of bumps and Alice describing the race as a “bit of a rodeo.” Corinne Suter of Switzerland took the win and extended her lead for the super-G FIS Ski World Cup globe. Nicole Schmidhofer of Austria was second and Wendy Holdener of Switzerland was third.

Garmisch is becoming a favorite of Alice’s, having snagged eighth in the downhill last season, her best World Cup finish. Sunday’s super-G continued the upward trajectory she’s been on throughout the season, as the young skier regularly posts top-20 results.

“I’m pretty happy with today,” said Alice. “It was definitely not easy out there—pretty bumpy and Garmisch is always dark. But I’m really happy with the way I just stuck my nose in it. Sections were good; sections still weren’t what I want. I’m sitting in 14th right now and that’s my best super-G finish, so I’m pretty happy with it!”

Breezy Johnson, who was the top Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team finisher in Saturday’s downhill, took another top-20 result in 18th. Both Alice Mckennis and Jackie Wiles skied out of the course and did not finish. Both Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg—who was victorious in Saturday's downhill—and Italy's Sofia Goggia unfortunately sustained season-ending injuries.  

Mikaela Shiffrin, who is back in the states after her father unexpectedly passed away, remains in the lead of the overall World Cup standings by 145 points.

The women’s speed team has a break for a week while the tech women race a giant slalom and slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia on February 15 and 16. Speed events resume the following week in Crans Montana, Switzerland.   

RESULTS
Women's Super-G

STANDINGS
Overall
Super-G

Breezy Johnson led the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, finishing 17th in the downhill.

Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany took her first FIS Ski World Cup downhill win by an impressive .61 seconds in front of her home crowd, while Federica Brignone of Italy captured yet another podium in second. Speed skiing and alpine snowboarding sensation Ester Ledeka of the Czech Republic was third.

Breezy has shown some brilliance in the last few races, taking two top-10 results in January. While 17th wasn’t exactly where she wanted to have finished on the Kandahar track, she was still in good spirits. “It was tough out there,” said Breezy. “It was bumpy out there. I thought I skied my best, which is just what you want to do every day. Whatever the result is, at least there’s nothing I would have changed about my approach that much. It’s time to just go back, keep working and move forward.”

Alice Merryweather finished right behind Breezy in 19th place, while Alice Mckennis was just out of the points in 32nd. Jackie Wiles, who is still coming back from injury, was 38th.

Federica’s second-place finish closed the gap for the overall World Cup to just 190 points behind Mikaela Shiffrin. Mikaela is currently back home with her family in Colorado after her father passed away unexpectedly.

The women race a super-G on Sunday to finish out the weekend.

Luke Winters and Tommy Ford raced slalom in Chamonix, France on Saturday, with no U.S. men qualifying for a second run. Clement Noel of France took the win with Timon Haugan of Norway second and Adrian Pertl of Austria third. The U.S. men will look for strong finishes in Sunday’s parallel giant slalom.

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill
Men’s Slalom

STANDINGS
Women’s Overall
Women’s Downhill

Men’s Overall
Men’s Slalom