Featured Image: Lauren Macuga. Credit: GEPA
It’s new, fresh, and exciting! The debut of the Team Combined fired up the slopes at the 2025 FIS Alpine World Championships.
Athletes were matched in pairs, consisting of one downhill racer and one slalom racer, to compete in their respective events. The pair that records the fastest combined time after both events will be declared the winner. This exciting test run for the new event takes place as it is set for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
The women’s Team Combined initiated with a thrilling downhill. The women have already raced the downhill with Breezy Johnson of the Stifel US Ski Team winning the gold.
Today, it was Stifel US Ski Team athlete Lauren Macuga who laid down the fastest time to set up her teammate, Paula Moltzan, for a strong chance at the Team Combined gold medal.
After she danced in celebration, she stated, “What a fun run, and I knew I nailed it. I have to show my dancing skills, of course.”
Macuga is thrilled that Paula Moltzan is paired with her. She stated, “I am so excited to be partnering with her. I was talking with her and having so much fun. We played a little spike ball yesterday to get our team camaraderie going.”
Aicher Heads into Slalom in 2nd
The 21-year-old Emma Aicher of Germany unveiled confidence coming into the Team Combined downhill after her 6th place in the World Championship downhill.
She executed a clean, solid run and did a great job coming off the jumps. She came through the finish -0.38 ahead. However, she was overtaken by Lauren Macuga, so concluded +0.23 behind the leading time.
Emma Aicher is paired with Lena Dürr, who secured three podium finishes in slalom this season. The 33-year-old is a top performer in the slalom discipline, giving her a strong opportunity to help the German team secure the gold medal.
Puchner Heads into Slalom in 3rd
Mirjam Puchner was silver in the World Championship downhill, so she was aiming to execute a top run for the Team Combined. The Austrian looked strong and continued to gain speed from top to bottom. Puchner came through the finish and split the German team, +0.05 behind Aicher. The 32-year-old concluded the race +0.28 behind Macuga.
After her downhill race on the 8th she stated, “Everyone said, ‘Yeah, it’s a great slope for you,’ and I like it very much—it has a bit of everything. I tried to reset, to start fresh at the World Champs, and it was great.”
Her teammate, Katharina Liensberger, needs to close the gap of more than two-tenths, and she is determined to put forth her best effort in the pursuit of gold. The 27-year-old won the slalom World Championship in 2021 and is eager to add more medals to her collection this time.
Breezy Johnson Ends 4th, Setting Up Shiffrin
Breezy Johnson of the Stifel US Ski Team was the first US athlete on the downhill track. She had the pressure from her win in the first downhill and being paired with the top ski racer, Mikaela Shiffrin, which showed in her initial turns. Nevertheless before the race she stated, “There’s no pressure for me today. I am just trying to ski my best downhill and I hope Mikaela will just have fun and ski her best slalom. Then, we will see how it goes from there.”
Once she settled into the race she was able to make up time throughout the course. She landed a little harder off the features than her execution on the 8th, but continued to make up speed. The duo heads into the slalom +0.51 behind the lead. Nonetheless, with the G.O.A.T on her team, they have a good chance of making up time to achieve a World Championship medal.
Vonn and Wiles
Both Lindsey Vonn and Jacqualine Wiles were slow off the start and had a hard time making up the time. Wiles was +2.00 off of Macuga, which put her and Katie Hensien into 15th heading into the slalom. Vonn was +2.51 off the pace, putting her and AJ Hurt into 21st heading into the next race. Aj Hurt and Katie Hensien will have some work to do to get onto the leaderboard.
The slalom is up next! The slalom will begin at 5:15 MST and the U.S. pair will be looking to hold onto the top step of the podium in the new event.
Top 3 Analysis
Rankings Heading into the Slalom
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
