Featured Image: Nina O’Brien racing giant slalom at the Åre, Sweden World Cup. Credit: GEPA

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team held a press conference today in Sölden with River Radamus, Paula Moltzan, Tommy Ford, and Nina O’Brien. The excited nerves were circulating amongst the four athletes, and each seemed confident and stoked to kick off the season. 

The women’s tech team revealed a high level of confidence coming into the first event and Nina O’Brien is ready for her much-anticipated return!

Confidence in Similar Preparation Program

From the women’s team, they had a strong prep period with solid training heading into this season. Their program this summer was similar to the mens, which added a cohesive element for the team during their pre-season training. 

“I would say we’ve matched the men’s program basically from the summer on. We’ve both been to New Zealand; both went to Belgium, and then we’ve been bouncing around between Austria and Italy recently,” Paula Moltzan explained. 

The women expressed strong confidence in the team’s preparation and are eager to start the season.

Moltzan stated, “From what I’ve seen from our side, the women are skiing really well, and from what I’ve seen of the men, they’re also skiing very well. So I’m just looking forward to Saturday. And then we will also be watching the men on Sunday.” 

Nina O’Brien is Grateful Returning to the World Cup Stage

“I am kind of nervous, excited. This will be my first race back; I missed all last season, so I’m really excited to be back, and I’m grateful that I feel really good,” O’Brien stated. 

O’Brien is coming up on her first World Cup race since 2023. The successful athlete unfortunately re-fractured her leg prior to competitions last season during their preparation camp in New Zealand. 

She stated last season in September: “Ski racing, I love you, but wow, you can be brutal. I was having the best camp and just want to get back to those moments. So I guess we’ll have to try this thing again. At least this isn’t my first rodeo.”

 Now she is back and ready. 

“My body actually feels strong and healthy, and skiing feels like it’s getting there too. So yeah, nervous but feeling ready, and I think it’ll be a lot of fun to be back in the start,” she stated. 

O’Brien Pushing Through Different Challenges in Her Comeback

“I did it once; you start to believe you can do it again,” O’Brien explained.

Returning from an injury presents a significant physical challenge for athletes, but the mental hurdles are often even greater. O’Brien discusses psychological obstacles she has faced in her journey to return to the slopes for the 2025 season.

“For me, I think there’s obviously mental challenges, or just the landscape of coming back from an injury is sometimes hard to face or know what to expect from yourself every day,” she explained. 

She discussed what she learned from her initial comeback after her first fracture in Beijing: “I think two seasons ago when I came back from my injury in Beijing, I remember having initially some good results and then struggling and feeling like that struggle was actually more painful because I tasted that I could still do it and I had the speed, and so then when I went through this dip I was, it really hurt in my heart or mentally.”

“I think just knowing that that kind of return to racing and to peak performance isn’t always linear is something that I’m aware of now, and hopefully it all goes up and smoothly this time around,” she continued. 

O’Brien expressed confidence in her mental readiness for this season, stating that the lessons learned from her previous challenges have made her more resilient.

Different Philosophy With New Women’s Tech Head Coach 

Rudi Soulard became the head women’s tech coach for the 2024-25 season. His approach to coaching has been different coming into this World Cup season. 

“He has a much different philosophy than Magnus [previous women’s head tech coach]. He has a much calmer and mellow presence on the hill and off the hill,” Moltzan explained. 

She commends Soulard for being able to support the team in different ways, alter intensity levels when needed, and bring variation to training. “I think that’s been really productive for our entire team.”

Getting Days on the Race Track and Seeing Changes

All the athletes discussed the difference in the condition of the track heading into this first event. The pitches have changed over time, and they agreed that it is a significantly different track than last year. 

Moltzan explained, “I think it feels way different than last year. There’s that middle of the pitch breakover; it just progressively gets steeper where you’re like, “Where did this come from?”

They showed gratitude for having time to train on the track before the race, which allowed them to better understand what they were going to change heading into Saturday. 

“It is nice that we got some days on it beforehand to know that it’s there and what’s coming. So, I guess we’ll see how the weather plays out,” Moltzan stated. 

Mikaela Shiffrin Ready to Rock in Giant Slalom 

During Mikaela Shiffrin’s individual press conference yesterday, she stated, “I have had some really great training days now, quite a few in Chile, Argentina, and the last week and a half in Europe.” 

She recently was training with other top athletes on the World Cup circuit in Schnalstal, Italy, which powered up the intensity of the top female racers coming into this event. 

Shiffrin feels grateful for this moment to hop back in a GS start; she is confident in her skiing and everything she has done with her team to prepare for competition. 

The female athletes conquering the Sölden track from the Stifel U.S. Ski Team include Mikaela Shiffrin, Nina O’Brien, Paula Moltzan, Katie Hensien, and Keely Cashman. We are excited to watch how these women kick off the 2025 World Cup circuit! 

Tune in to Watch

Women October 26th, 2024: 

Giant Slalom Run 1: 10:00 CET (2:00 AM MST, 4:00 AM EST)

Giant Slalom Run 2: 13:00 CET (5:00 AM MST, 7:00 AM EST)

Mens’ October 27th, 2024:

Giant Slalom Run 1: 10:00 CET (2:00 AM MST, 4:00 AM EST)

Giant Slalom Run 2: 13:00 CET (5:00 AM MST, 7:00 AM EST)