The men’s Stifel U.S. Ski team slalom team continues its strong year with two in the points in the Adelboden slalom. Jett Seymour led the way in 17th with Ben Ritchie in 21st. 

The classic men’s tech race in Adelboden switched its disciplines to have slalom on Saturday and giant slalom Sunday due to snowy conditions. The weather on Saturday was still a bit difficult for the racers with a lot of fog and consistent snow. It was clear from the first run that starting earlier held its advantages. 

Both Seymour and Ritchie held a consistent pace throughout their first runs to find the finish line and make it through to the second run. Both in good start positions to ski a clean course. 

On the second run Ritchie ran first and skied a very solid clean run. He was able to sit in the leaderboard chair for a few racers. Seymour ran just a few after Ritchie and also showed a strong slalom run. Both Ritchie and Seymour moved up a sizable amount from first run to land 17th and 21st. 

"Today the conditions were really challenging," said Ritchie. "I struggled with the conditions but fought hard and I’m happy to walk away with some points."

The day's winner was French skier Clement Noel, second place went to Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen and third place went to Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen. 

Saturday’s slalom race continues the hot streak for the men’s slalom crew of making the points as the team continues to work on rebuilding the American slalom team. The men will now turn to giant slalom on Sunday. 

RESULTS
men's slalom 

HOW TO WATCH 
Run 1 - 4:30 a.m. ET - men’s giant slalom, Adelboden, SUI - live/on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live
Run 1 - 7:30 a.m. ET - men’s giant slalom, Adelboden, SUI - live/on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live

It was an electric day for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team women with three placing in the top 15, highlighted by the return of Lindsey Vonn who landed sixth in her first downhill after six years. 

“It was fun. I love being back in the start and I know this hill really well so I knew the challenges that would come today and was ready to execute,” said Vonn. 

After a canceled training run the day before the weather cleared and the stage was set for the women to race their second downhill of the season in St. Anton. The air was crisp and the snow a touch soft. Due to the heavy snowfall a few days earlier the women started a little bit lower at the super-G start making for a close race. 

Jackie Wiles was first up for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team women - she went out early after the first split due to soft snow and being a touch low on the line. Luckily she is OK. Next came Lauren Macuga for the Americans and she did not disappoint. Macuga blazed down skiing strong and aggressively to ultimately claim ninth place. Macuga thrilled with her performance could be seen smiling from the top. 

“I am really excited. It felt like good skiing and I was able to hit the points that I wanted to,” said Macuga. “I think the conditions were a bit softer than we all thought, so we made some game time adjustments with our line to avoid the soft snow."

The long-anticipated return of Olympic Gold Medalist and one of the most successful women alpine ski racers of all time, Lindsey Vonn, came just after the top 30. All eyes were on Vonn as she knifed down the course as if she had been in the game all these years. She skied aggressively to find that finish line in the top ten. An exceptional performance. Vonn's teammates were quick to run and hug the speed queen congratulating her and welcoming her back to the downhill circuit. 

“I know I can be faster but I think for the first downhill race in six years it is a good start,” said Vonn. “Downhill has always been my favorite discipline so I am really happy and I think it was a great first step.” 

The crowd could not get too distracted from Vonn’s strong race with Breezy Johnson right on her tail. Johnson, with a lightning-fast top split maintained her speed through to land in 11th place from bib 33. 

“I feel pretty good but I also know that I have better skiing within me and there was just a couple places where I messed up but I do feel like the progression is good,” said Johnson. “It is great to see the women doing awesome. I think we are all using this energy and will try to keep building as we head into Cortina.” 

The show was not over yet as the podium was a bit of a surprise with some late field advances. Federica Brignone claimed her first downhill win with second place going to Swiss skier Malorie Blanc blazing into second place from bib 46. Rounding out the podium was Czech skier Ester Ledecka. Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Bella Wright, Keely Cashman, Tricia Mangan and Haley Cutler also raced placing 32nd, 41st, 42nd and 44th respectively. 

Overall the women are feeling very content about the start of the season and look forward to the next few weekends of downhills.

"The team result is so exciting because just two years ago there was only four of us racing and now there is three in the top 15, it’s crazy," said Macuga. 

The women have another exciting day of racing in St. Anton on Sunday with a super-G. 

RESULTS
women's downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
5:15 a.m. ET - women's super-G, St. Anton, AUT - live/on-demand on Peacock

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Ben Ritchie claimed a career-best eighth-place finish under the lights in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. Ritchie scored a top 10 and finished in second place on the second run - a standout performance for the young skier. 

“Second run I put down a good run I am proud of,” said Ritchie. “It feels really good to be competitive with skiing that I know I can consistently do. It was nothing special for me, so competing with the top guys feels amazing.” 

The classic night event came a few weeks later than previous seasons, but it was a challenge nonetheless. Despite a large slew of snow just two nights before, the track had a solid surface for the 70+ athletes. In the first run, Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath outpaced the rest of the field with a half-second advantage over the rest of the top slalom racers. 

All three Stifel U.S. Ski Team men executed well on the first run. Jett Seymour landed in 17th and Ben Ritchie close behind in 22nd. Luke Winters, who ran wearing bib 72, was on pace for a second run but just barely missed the mark, landing in 31st. 

“It’s a great start to January. This is the best we have done since I have been a part of the U.S. slalom team so I know we have more to give,” said Ritchie. “Luke and Jett are skiing really well and it's only a matter of time it all works out for us.” 

Under the lights on the second run, the crowds were large and loud, cheering on each racer who made their way down the icy course. Ritchie was first up for the American group and fully executed his plan, knifing his way into the top position to sit in the leaderboard chair upwards of five racers. Ritchie moved up 14 positions from run one to two and ultimately landed in eighth place. 

Seymour ran just after Ritchie and was on track to have a great day as well, but unfortunately did not finish. The winner of the race was Bulgarian Albert Popov for his first World Cup win. Second place was Swiss Loic Meillard and third was Croatia's Samuel Kolega. 

The slalom men have a busy January to keep building on this momentum. The next race is just a few days away on Saturday Jan. 11 in Adelboden, Switzerland. 

RESULTS
Men's slalom

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete River Radamus announces he will fund all U.S. U16’s who qualify for the Federation of European Ski & Snowboard Associations FESA Alpine Ski Cup. 

“I’m trying to do my part to ensure the sport becomes less expensive as these athletes climb the ladder,” said Radamus. “Not more.”

The FESA Cup is a large international race and a big stepping stone for young athletes - but this qualification comes with a hefty price tag of $3,000. Radamus plans to fund every racer that qualifies for the U.S. so it is one less thing they need to worry about. The U16 international ski race will be held Feb. 28-March 10 in Les Menuires, France. The U.S. team’s three girls and three boys will be selected off four races at the U16 National Performance Series (NPS) event in Burke, Vermont Jan. 5-10. 

Radamus is teaming up with his foundation, ARCO, along with the World Cup Dreams Foundation to help with this project. Radamus launched the ARCO Foundation in July 2023. The World Champion and Olympian has been passionate about supporting skiers who otherwise would be priced out of the sport. 

The nonprofit is supporting 21 U.S. U16 athletes in its second season. Since its inception, it’s distributed over $65,000 to up-and-coming racers and hosted a five-day on-snow camp for 15 athletes last spring.

Radamus details the grant and the collaboration in his more recent social media post here. Learn more about the ARCO Foundation here. 

Katie Hensien was the stand-out athlete for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team on Sunday in the Kranjska Gora slalom, earning her first top 15 in a slalom World Cup, finishing 12th.

Hensien started the day seeded in bib 36 and hung on to a top-30 finish in her first run to give her her first chance of scoring slalom points so far in 2024-25. Having not finished her first runs or not qualified for a second run in every slalom so far this season, Hensien blew her expectations for Sunday out of the water when she skied the fifth fastest run of the day in the second run, got some time in the leader's chair and ended the day with a personal best in the slalom.

Her second run was less than seven-tenths behind the day's winner, Croatia's Zrinka Lutjic, and half a second behind second-place finisher Switzerland's Wendy Holdener. In fact, she beat third-place finisher Anna Swenn-Larsson of Sweden in her second run.

"I've shown some fast skiing this season, and it's nice to put two together finally," said Hensien. "[My result] reassures me that I have been skiing fast all season, and it's nice to have that confidence now after an unlucky streak in the beginning. It shows that my speed has always been there, and I'm excited for what's to come."

Teammate AJ Hurt was the fastest American in the first run, squeezing into 11th wearing bib 27. She came into the second run guns-a-blazing and was leading the field by over a second as she skied into the third split and crossed the tips of her skis, causing her to ski out of the course and clock a DNF.

Paula Moltzan was the only other American to score points on Sunday, finishing 20th overall. Nina O'Brien did not qualify for a second run.

The next on the women's tech schedule is a night slalom in Flachau, Austria, on Jan. 14, 2025. In the meantime, the women's team will head back to the Stifel U.S. Ski Team headquarters in Toblach for training and squeeze in a few days at Kronplatz before the giant slalom there on Jan. 21. The women's speed team races next weekend in St. Anton, Austria.

RESULTS
Women's slalom

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team kicked off 2025 in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Saturday, Jan. 4, with AJ Hurt leading the way in 10th and Nina O'Brien .24 seconds behind her in 11th. 

Sweden's Sara Hector was both victorious and untouchable, throwing down two aggressive runs that put her 1.42 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Lara Colturi of Albania. New Zealand's Alice Robinson finished third, 1.52 seconds off Hector's winning pace.

For Hurt, the result is a step in the right direction. In her return to the World Cup just one week prior in Semmering, Austria, Hurt struggled to find the speed she was looking for in giant slalom and finished 27th. Her form improved in the slalom that followed when she skied to 18th. However, she wasn't fully satisfied. Given her results from last season, she felt like she was leaving a lot on the table.

Saturday's skiing in Kranjska Gora felt more like herself, she said.

"It felt like I could find that feeling and that rhythm that I've been wanting and hoping for, and it feels really good to be back in the mix and not feel the 'injured athlete' coming back," commented Hurt. "Like I was supposed to be happy with my results last week, but I knew I wanted to and could do more, and it's nice to be able to really be a contender again and show myself that I'm more than just my injury."

O'Brien had been leading for the Americans after the first run in the sixth, 1.88 off Hector's pace, but a more attainable of 0.78 seconds behind Colturi in second. O'Brien is still hunting for her first World Cup podium and wanted it badly on Saturday. However, being on the edge on the second run didn't translate into the clean, aggressive skiing she had hoped for.

O'Brien used one word to describe her second run – chaos.

"I was trying to push because I really wanted to go for it, and I definitely did that, but it was a little sloppy," O'Brien chuckled. "I had three moments where I fell over and felt like I was about to ski out, and after the third time, I was finally like, 'Okay, you gotta pull yourself together for the bottom.' So I'm not totally satisfied with the second run, but overall, I had a good attitude and still showed some good skiing today."

Katie Hensien rounded out point-scoring results for the team in 27th.

The three other American competitors, Paula Moltzan, Elisabeth Bocock and Mary Bocock, did not finish their first run. Thankfully, each athlete avoided a crash and skied out of the course safely with no injuries.

Sunday, Jan. 5, Hurt, O'Brien, Hensien, and Moltzan will start for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team in the Kranjska Gora slalom. The first run begins at 4:00 a.m. ET and can be streamed live or on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live.

RESULTS
Women's giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
4:30 a.m. ET - women's slalom, run 1, Kranjska Gora, SLO - live/on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live
7:00 a.m. ET - women's slalom, run 2, Kranjska Gora, SLO - live/on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live

On Sunday's super-G in Bormio, Italy three Stifel U.S. Ski Team men found their way into the top 30. The team was led by Kyle Negomir in 21st, Ryan Cochran-Siegle in 22nd and Jared Goldberg in 29th. 

“Bormio is tough because it's always a fight,” said Negomir. 

It was the end of a relatively heavy week and weekend at the future Olympic site. A week riddled with injuries. Most notably French ski star Cyprien Sarrazin had a bad crash on the second training run day that left him with a head injury. Over the course of the weekend three more large crashes would follow. 

The conditions were what the athletes describe as classic Bormio: “icy, dark and bumpy.” On Saturday’s downhill Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Ryan Cochran-Siegle was one to make it out of the weekend in one piece after he had a scary crash. Cochran-Siegle was leading the downhill run, poised to claim a podium spot until he caught an edge and tumbled over a gate. Luckily he would walk away with no injuries. 

On Sunday it was still dark and bumpy for the men yet they had to fight through the mental challenge and put their best foot forward. Negomir looked poised under pressure as he skied solidly to land just outside the top 20 and ahead of his teammate Cochran-Siegle. Regardless of scoring points, the men know they are capable of much more and look forward to finding that next gear in January. 

“It will be nice to go home and have a mental reset. I think some time at home will be good and then a little training block will get us some confidence and have us ready to push into the heavy month of January,” said Negomir.

RESULTS
men's super-G

AJ Hurt's first weekend back on the World Cup circuit was a success. On Sunday in the Semmering slalom, she was the only American athlete to put down two runs, finishing the day in 18th.

Believe it or not, Hurt's result in Semmering is only the fourth time she's ever finished two runs of a slalom World Cup.

Hurt, who considers herself to be more of a giant slalom specialist, surprised herself in the Kranjska Gora slalom in early January last season when she earned a career-first podium and a career-best slalom, finishing third, and hasn't scored points in the discipline since.

Known for her gutsy skiing and carefree attitude, Hurt isn't one to hold back on a slalom course to make it down to the finish. In both of her runs on Sunday, Hurt made up for lost time on the last pitch, skiing the sixth fastest second run overall to move her up the ranks nine positions.

"The first run, I was definitely just trying to get back into it," reflected Hurt. "The second run felt much more like my type of skiing, where I could ski fast, so I'm happy with it. I only finished two slaloms last year, so it feels good to be already halfway on track to besting my season last year, and I'm going to keep trying my best to keep pushing and get back to where I was."

Unfortunately, teammates Paula Moltzan, Katie Hensien and Nina O'Brien did not get a second run. However, all three athletes stuck around to support Hurt in her World Cup slalom return before heading off to Toblach for a brief training block in preparation for World Cups in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, next weekend. Moltzan was pushing hard at the beginning of her first run but straddled and did not finish.

Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic led Sunday's podium. She won her first World Cup by 1.75 seconds, followed by Germany's Lena Duerr in second and Austria's Katharina Leinsberger in third. Ljutic was the first Croatian woman to win a World Cup in over 18 years.

In Kranjska Gora, the women open 2025 with a giant slalom on Saturday and a slalom on Sunday.

RESULTS
Women's slalom

HOW TO WATCH

Jan. 4, 2024
3:30 a.m. ET - women's giant slalom, run 1, Kranjska Gora, SLO - live and on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live
6:45 a.m. ET - women's giant slalom, run 2, Kranjska Gora, SLO - live and on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live

Jan. 5, 2024 
4:00 a.m. ET - women's slalom, run 1, Kranjska Gora, SLO - live and on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live
7:00 a.m. ET - women's slalom, run 2, Kranjska Gora, SLO - live and on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live

Paula Moltzan skied to match her career best on Saturday, Dec. 28, in Semmering, Austria, finishing fifth in the giant slalom.

Moltzan, who has been itching for her first World Cup giant slalom podium, finished fourth first run, just 0.56 seconds off of leader Federica Brignone after making a huge save at the last gate to save her from a potential DNF. In the end, she missed the podium by just two hundredths. Italy's Brignone clung to her lead and finished the day in first, followed by Sweden's Sara Hector in second and New Zealand's Alice Robinson in third. 

Moltzan's result is even more impressive, considering the dislocated shoulder contracted after a hard crash in the Killington slalom. The pain has not entirely ceased, but she is pushing forward despite it all. 

"I'm proud to have put down two clean, consistent runs, both times I pushed out of the start," commented Moltzan. "I'm very happy with my result overall and look forward to carrying the momentum into tomorrow on another great surface."

Nina O'Brien also fought her way out of a tenuous position, headed into the final gate of the second run, but held on to some speed and moved up the ranks from the first to second run from 17th to 15th.

AJ Hurt earned her first World Cup points of the season after taking a break from competition to tend to shoulder issues. She finished 27th, a step up from her last performance in Semmering in 2018 when she claimed she didn't even ski past the first split. Hurt's return to the World Cup was a success despite a few frustrating mistakes. She earned her first points of the season and positively impacted the overall team energy. 

"It was really nice for the team to have AJ back," said O'Brien. "We really missed her, and I'm proud of her for getting into the points her first race back; I know she has a lot more in her."

Katie Hensien also ended the day in the points, finishing 28th overall and hanging on to a strong position in the giant slalom standings. Thus far, Hensien ranks 11th in the giant slalom season standings. Moltzan ranks sixth, and O'Brien ninth.

Sisters Elisabeth and Mary Bocock also competed in Saturday's giant slalom in Semmering, both for the first time in their careers. Unfortunately, neither made the second run, but they were excited to get more World Cup start experience. 

Moltzan, O'Brien, Hurt and Hensien will compete in the fourth World Cup slalom of the season on Sunday, Dec. 29.

RESULTS
Women's giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
4:30 a.m. ET - women's giant slalom, run 1, Semmering, Austria - live/on-demand on Peacock TV
7:30 a.m. ET - women's giant slalom, run 2, Semmering, Austria - live/on-demand on Peacock TV

On Monday’s Alta Badia slalom Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Jett Seymour closed out the 2024 year with a 13th place finish, his second best slalom result to date. 

“It was a battle but it was fun and a good fight and yeah that is what ski racing is all about,” said Seymour. 

It was a sunny yet frigid day in Alta Badia for the slalom skiers. The hill injected once again overnight to create a slick course. The conditions allowed skiers out of the top 30 to get in the mix of the race. 

Seymour running bib 32 took full advantage of this and skied strong to land the 13th first run. An outstanding jump compared to those around him on the start list. Fellow teammates Ben Ritchie and River Radamus also showed their slalom prowess. At first Ritchie seemed to be within reach of a second run but he skied a touch too conservative and landed in 31st. Radamus, historically a giant slalom and super-G skier, skied aggressively to find himself in 25th after run one. 

“I expected a lot from myself from the first two races and was very disappointed with those so it was nice to build some momentum in Val d’Isere and see it through to Alta Badia,” said Seymour. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the slalom year, especially January and to keep building on these performances.” 

On the second run the hill was somehow even icier than first run - a great opportunity to move up in the rankings. Seymour ran 17th on run two and was able to maintain his skiing from run one to stay in position for a top 15, ultimately landing in 13th overall. 

The Norwegian men once again proved their depth and talent as they claimed first and third with Timon Haugan on top and Atle Lie Mcgrath in third. Second place went to Swiss skier Loic Meillard. Radamus ended up in 27th position. 

The next men’s slalom race is in Madonna di Campiglio for a night race on Jan. 8. Meanwhile the men’s team is going to stay in Europe over the holidays with teammates, friends and family as they prepare for a packed January. 

RESULTS
men's slalom