Sölden finish arena: GEPA pictures
The countdown to the 2026-27 Alpine World Cup season has reached 60 days.
The women will open the season with a giant slalom Saturday, Oct. 24. The men will follow Sunday, Oct. 25. Both races will take place on the Rettenbach Glacier above Sölden in the Ötztal Alps of Tyrol, Austria.
Start lists remain months away. However, the results from the past two openers have given followers of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team women plenty to anticipate.
Scheib delivered an Austrian celebration
Julia Scheib gave Austria a memorable start to the 2025-26 season by earning her first World Cup victory in front of a home crowd.
Scheib led after the first run and completed the victory by 0.58 seconds over Stifel U.S. Ski Team skier Paula Moltzan. Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami finished third, 1.11 seconds behind the winner.
That podium will look different when racing returns in October.
Gut-Behrami announced her retirement during the offseason after a serious knee injury ended her Olympic season. The two-time overall champion concluded her career with 48 World Cup victories, 101 podiums and nine Crystal Globes.
Scheib and Moltzan, meanwhile, left Sölden with a breakthrough victory and a significant American result.
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Stifel U.S. women showed exceptional depth
Moltzan’s runner-up finish told only part of the American story.
Mikaela Shiffrin finished fourth, one position away from the podium. Nina O’Brien followed in sixth, while Katie Hensien placed 12th and A.J. Hurt finished 13th. Elisabeth Bocock added a 19th-place result.
Consequently, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team placed five women among the top 13 and six inside the top 20. All six earned World Cup points.
The performance also continued a trend established one year earlier.
At the 2024 Sölden opener, Hensien finished fourth, Shiffrin fifth and O’Brien seventh. Moltzan added an 11th-place finish. Therefore, the Americans placed four women among the top 11, including three in the top seven.
Across the two most recent women’s openers, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes have produced 10 top-20 finishes. Moltzan’s 2025 podium raised the standard even higher.
The athletes selected for this year’s opener will attempt to extend that remarkable two-year run.
Odermatt opened with a victory
Marco Odermatt began his 2025-26 season at the top of the men’s podium.
The Swiss star defeated Austria’s Marco Schwarz by 0.24 seconds. Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath finished third, only 0.27 behind Odermatt.
River Radamus led the Stifel U.S. Ski Team men in 21st and was the only American to qualify for the second run.
Much can change before race weekend, and the start lists will not be confirmed until October. Still, the first World Cup races of 2026-27 are now within sight.
The women race in 60 days. One day later, the men will launch their season on the Rettenbach Glacier.
About the Author: Peter Lange
