SOELDEN, Austria — The new World Cup Alpine skiing season kicks off this weekend, but the shadows cast by a series of serious accidents from the previous season remain a concern, with many athletes still in recovery and unable to compete.
Notable athletes like former overall champions Alexis Pinturault and Petra Vlhova have decided to delay their returns until December. Meanwhile, Marco Schwarz of Austria has an uncertain timeline for his comeback, and Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde will miss the entire season due to injuries.
Despite these setbacks, excitement remains high as two giant slalom races are scheduled on a glacier in Austria. The women will compete on Saturday, followed by the men on Sunday, initiating a pre-Olympic season filled with anticipation for skiing enthusiasts.
American skier Mikaela Shiffrin is just three victories away from achieving her record-extending 100th career World Cup win. Marco Odermatt will be on the hunt for his fourth consecutive overall championship, and retired skiers Lucas Pinheiro Braathen and Marcel Hirscher are making comebacks, now representing Brazil and the Netherlands, respectively.
Though often not focused on statistics, Shiffrin acknowledged the significance of approaching her 100th win. “Bringing energy to the sport is never a bad thing, whether you want to talk about records or statistics,” she remarked. The two-time Olympic champion expressed enthusiasm about the interest surrounding her milestone.
While aiming to increase her total from 97 victories, Shiffrin is also expected to contend for the overall championship again, although she plans to skip downhill events this season. She had a commanding lead in the standings when a crash during a downhill race on the 2026 Olympic course in Cortina d’Ampezzo last January forced her out of competition for six weeks, allowing Lara Gut-Behrami to take the overall title by finishing the season strong.
Gut-Behrami’s victory marked a Swiss double, as Odermatt enjoyed a dominant performance in the men’s event, finishing with an impressive 874-point margin at the top of the standings. He notably won two downhill races in three days at Wengen, but the new season will not allow any venue to host more than one downhill race per weekend to prioritize the safety of competitors.
Amid concerns about fatigue among speed racers competing in back-to-back races, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has decided to space out the forthcoming downhill events across different venues, with men racing through nine downhills and women navigating eight.
To improve safety, FIS has made the use of airbags mandatory for all speed events, a shift that comes more than a decade after a similar initiative was introduced for ski racing. The airbags inflate automatically when a skier falls, providing additional protection for the upper body and neck; however, the reliability of this system has sparked debate among competitors.
Vincent Kriechmayr, the 2021 world champion in downhill and super-G, has voiced his support for the airbags but emphasized the need for broader safety measures within the sport. “Skiing, especially downhill, will never be completely safe. There will always be danger, but that is the thrill,” he stated.
American skier River Radamus welcomed the innovation, citing recent accidents as a stark reminder of the inherent risks athletes face on the slopes. “If we can make those horrific, catastrophic injuries a little less possible, that’s only a good thing for the sport,” he said.
However, Gut-Behrami expressed her reservations about the airbag system and initially opted not to wear one, citing doubts about its effectiveness. “We still don’t know what it protects,” she noted, highlighting a lack of regulations surrounding the equipment.
Italian skier Elena Curtoni, who has not raced since injuring her knee, has embraced the airbag system and has been wearing cut-resistant underwear for added safety. She voiced her belief in the importance of the airbag, stating, “If there’s an extra thing on a safety level, why wouldn’t you use it?”
As the new season unfolds, the focus remains on safety, competitive spirit, and the thrilling nature of Alpine skiing.