Lauren Macuga: GEPA pictures
An Emerging Talent
At just 22 years old, Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s Lauren Macuga is quickly making a name for herself in Alpine skiing. Entering her third World Cup season, she is already emerging as a star. Last season, Macuga earned three top-10 finishes in Super-G races, proving she has the skill and determination to compete at the sport’s highest level. This season, she wasted no time making an impact, finishing fourth in the downhill at Beaver Creek—her first race of the year—on one of the most challenging courses in the world.
Her rapid improvement has caught the attention of the ski racing community. Reflecting on her rise, Macuga shared, “It’s funny to look back. I’m like, huh, I don’t really know when this happened. But it’s very exciting.”
Mastering the Birds of Prey Course
Beaver Creek’s Birds of Prey course is legendary for its technical difficulty, and this year marked the first time it hosted a women’s race. Macuga, like many racers, approached it with a mix of nerves and excitement. “At first, I was definitely a little nervous, I think, along with the whole field,” she admitted. However, once she hit the course, her nerves transformed into focus. “After running it and racing it, I liked it. It’s very fun. It has many more elements to challenge you at almost every turn. There’s never any rest.”
When asked what it took to be fast, Macuga highlighted the importance of staying clean. “On the Super-G day, being fast, you had to be clean, and I think I did very well on that,” she said. “There were just two turns where I wasn’t so clean and lost so much speed. The Colorado snow stiffens slightly, and you lose all that speed.”
In the downhill, her aggression and precision shone. “That’s where I made up a lot of time down bottom, just being so clean down there,” she said. “You couldn’t fight the hill.”
Balancing Strengths in Super-G and Downhill
While Macuga has built her reputation in Super-G, her breakthrough fourth-place finish in downhill signals an important step forward. “I only really was a Super-G skier until last year,” she revealed. “But I’ve been working on bringing more of my Super-G tactics into downhill, and it worked out.”
Macuga said the result was somewhat of a surprise but also a welcome validation of her offseason efforts. “It’s exciting to see that my downhill is coming along with my Super-G,” she said, emphasizing how both disciplines are improving in tandem.
Racing on Home Snow
Competing close to home brought a unique energy to Macuga’s performance. “We always come down the hill in Europe and people cheer, but it was a different vibe. We came down to a home crowd,” she said. Access to top-tier training facilities nearby, such as those at Copper Mountain, increased her confidence.
Having her parents present made the weekend even more special. “My mom and dad came, which was very fun…They were the first people I saw when I came down,” she said. While her siblings couldn’t attend, their excitement for her achievements was felt from afar.
Moments of Celebration
Though her schedule quickly moved on to the next race, Macuga found a moment to celebrate with teammates and friends. “After the Super-G, we were able to go out,” she said, recounting an evening with fellow athletes, including Keely Cashman, Jackie Wiles, and Bella Wright. “It was very fun to just kind of hang out with everyone.”
Building Confidence for the Future
The experience at Beaver Creek boosted Macuga’s confidence heading into the rest of the season. “My skiing was some of the best I’ve put into a race,” she said. The result reassured her that her offseason training had paid off. “Sometimes you’re like, oh, what if it left? What if I’m not good anymore? But no, that’s just me getting in my head. It’s nice to know it’s there.”
Macuga also pointed to the mental skills she’s developed as critical to her success. “I’ve been working on my mental side for a while, and I think that helped me a lot,” she explained. “Being able to zone out everything and only focus on the good skiing…When I’m in the gate, it’s only focusing on that.”
Looking Ahead
As she continues her career, Macuga is eager to carry the lessons from Beaver Creek into future races. “I’m very excited to take this into my next races,” she said. “The confidence, the skiing, and everything I learned there will help me improve.”
With her rapid progression and focus on growth, Lauren Macuga is proving she’s more than just an emerging star—she’s a force to be reckoned with on the World Cup stage.
About the Author: Peter Lange
