Mikaela Shiffrin / GEPA picture
The FIS Ski World Cup heads to Åre, Sweden, for the ninth women’s giant slalom of the 2025–26 season on the Störtloppsbacken slope. This article includes how and when to watch, the full first-run start list, daily program, field analysis, and discipline standings context, along with a look at athletes from the Stifel U.S. Ski Team and Alpine Canada as the race helps determine the World Cup giant slalom title and qualification for the World Cup Finals in Hafjell, Norway.
The Åre race is the last regular-season giant slalom, meaning the results will go a long way toward deciding both the season crystal globe race and which athletes qualify for the top-25 Finals field.
Women’s World Cup Giant Slalom Podiums 2025–26
| Venue | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sölden (AUT) | 🇦🇹 Julia Scheib (AUT) | 🇺🇸 Paula Moltzan (USA) | 🇨🇭 Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) |
| Copper Mountain (USA) | 🇳🇿 Alice Robinson (NZL) | 🇦🇹 Julia Scheib (AUT) | 🇳🇴 Thea Louise Stjernesund (NOR) |
| Tremblant GS1 (CAN) | 🇳🇿 Alice Robinson (NZL) | 🇭🇷 Zrinka Ljutić (CRO) | 🇨🇦 Valérie Grenier (CAN) |
| Tremblant GS2 (CAN) | 🇦🇹 Julia Scheib (AUT) | 🇸🇪 Sara Hector (SWE) | 🇳🇿 Alice Robinson (NZL) |
| Semmering (AUT) | 🇦🇹 Julia Scheib (AUT) | 🇨🇭 Camille Rast (SUI) | 🇸🇪 Sara Hector (SWE) |
| Kranjska Gora (SLO) | 🇨🇭 Camille Rast (SUI) | 🇦🇹 Julia Scheib (AUT) | 🇺🇸 Paula Moltzan (USA) |
| Kronplatz (ITA) | 🇦🇹 Julia Scheib (AUT) | 🇨🇭 Camille Rast (SUI) | 🇸🇪 Sara Hector (SWE) |
| Špindlerův Mlýn (CZE) | 🇸🇪 Sara Hector (SWE) | 🇺🇸 Paula Moltzan (USA) | 🇺🇸 Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) |
| Olympic Cortina (ITA) | 🥇 🇮🇹 Federica Brignone (ITA) | 🥈 🇸🇪 Sara Hector (SWE) | 🥉 🇳🇴 Thea Louise Stjernesund (NOR) |
Through eight World Cup races this season there have been four different winners and ten different podium athletes, with eight nations represented on the podium.
Podium totals by country:
- 🇦🇹 Austria — 6
- 🇺🇸 USA — 4
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland — 4
- 🇸🇪 Sweden — 4
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand — 3
- 🇳🇴 Norway — 1
- 🇭🇷 Croatia — 1
- 🇨🇦 Canada — 1
The Olympic result is excluded from these statistics, as Olympic races do not count toward the World Cup standings.
Olympic champion Federica Brignone, who returned from injury to win gold in both giant slalom and super-G, has suspended the remainder of her season due to pain in her injured leg.
Top Five World Cup GS Standings
- Top Five — Women’s World Cup Giant Slalom Standings
- 1st — 🇦🇹 Julia Scheib (AUT, 1998) — 560 pts
- 2nd — 🇨🇭 Camille Rast (SUI, 1999, Head) — −89
- 3rd — 🇸🇪 Sara Hector (SWE, 1992, Head) — −131
- 4th — 🇺🇸 Mikaela Shiffrin (USA, 1995, Atomic) — −207
- T-5th — 🇳🇿 Alice Robinson (NZL, 2001) — −248
- T-5th — 🇺🇸 Paula Moltzan (USA, 1994) — −248
Scheib enters Åre firmly in the driver’s seat for the crystal globe, and it would likely take a collapse combined with strong results from Hector or Rast to overtake Scheib for the title in the final races.
Top Seven WCSL — Elite Start Group
The top seven skiers in the World Cup Start List (WCSL) draw the first seven starting positions.
Start position is always important on Störtloppsbacken.
- Bib 1 — 🇳🇴 Thea Louise Stjernesund (NOR, 1996) — WCSL Rank 7
- Bib 2 — 🇨🇭 Camille Rast (SUI, 1999, Head) — WCSL Rank 3
- Bib 3 — 🇦🇹 Julia Scheib (AUT, 1998) — WCSL Rank 1
- Bib 4 — 🇺🇸 Paula Moltzan (USA, 1994) — WCSL Rank 5
- Bib 5 — 🇳🇿 Alice Robinson (NZL, 2001) — WCSL Rank 4
- Bib 6 — 🇺🇸 Mikaela Shiffrin (USA, 1995, Atomic) — WCSL Rank 6
- Bib 7 — 🇸🇪 Sara Hector (SWE, 1992, Head) — WCSL Rank 2
This group frequently provides the race podium contenders.
Stifel U.S. Ski Team
- Bib 4 — 🇺🇸 Paula Moltzan (USA, 1994) — Ski & Snowboard Club Vail / Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy
- Bib 6 — 🇺🇸 Mikaela Shiffrin (USA, 1995, Atomic, Oakley) — Ski & Snowboard Club Vail / Burke Mountain Academy
- Bib 14 — 🇺🇸 Nina O’Brien (USA, 1997) — Burke Mountain Academy
- Bib 21 — 🇺🇸 A.J. Hurt (USA, 2000, Head)
- Bib 27 — 🇺🇸 Elizabeth Bocock (USA, 2005) — Rowmark Ski Academy
- Bib 30 — 🇺🇸 Katie Hensien (USA, 1999, SHRED) — Rowmark Ski Academy
- Bib 42 — 🇺🇸 Mary Bocock (USA, 2003) — Rowmark Ski Academy
Shiffrin, Moltzan, and O’Brien have already secured qualification for the World Cup Finals, while Hurt sits near the qualification bubble.
Alpine Canada
- Bib 10 — 🇨🇦 Valérie Grenier (CAN, 1996)
- Bib 13 — 🇨🇦 Britt Richardson (CAN, 2003)
- Bib 48 — 🇨🇦 Cassidy Gray (CAN, 2001, Atomic)
Grenier sits comfortably inside the top ten of the discipline standings and is well-positioned to qualify for the World Cup Finals.
Final regular-season GS raises stakes for Hafjell Finals
The Åre race represents the last opportunity for athletes to qualify for the World Cup Finals giant slalom in Hafjell, Norway.
Only the top 25 in the discipline standings advance to the Finals, meaning racers near the cutoff will be pushing aggressively for points.
For the top contenders, the race could also have major implications for the crystal globe battle, with Julia Scheib looking to secure the season title.
Course setters — First run: Daniele Simoncelli (ITA), Second run: Tim Cafe (NZL)
How to Watch
The women’s giant slalom is set for Saturday, March 14th. Run one begins at 5:00 a.m. EDT / 2:00 a.m. PDT, followed by run two at 8:00 a.m. EDT / 5:00 a.m. PDT. Fans in Great Britain can tune in at 9:00 for the first run and 12:00 for the second.
- United States: Live and replay coverage on Ski and Snowboard Live
- Canada: Stream on CBC Sports
- Great Britain: Both races air live on Discovery+
Daily Program
Click on the image to download
First Run Starlist
About the Author: Peter Lange
