World Cup Giant Slalom at the Christmas Break | Olympic Picture Takes Shape

Alice Robinson / GEPA pictures

Women’s Giant Slalom: Robinson and Scheib Carry a Growing Rivalry Into the Olympic Phase

The women’s World Cup giant slalom reaches the Christmas break with the discipline already taking shape. In an Olympic season where the ability to respond under sustained pressure defines success, nearly half of the calendar is complete and the hierarchy is beginning to take shape.

Nine giant slaloms are scheduled this season. Four are now in the books, and seven will be contested before the Olympic break. With only three races remaining before the women arrive in Cortina d’Ampezzo, opportunities to establish Olympic positioning and secure favorable seeding are coming quickly.

At the center of the discipline is a genuine rivalry.

New Zealand’s Alice Robinson and Austria’s Julia Scheib have turned the opening phase of the season into a compelling head-to-head battle. Robinson leads the standings with 292 points, with Scheib just behind on 280. The narrow margin reflects how evenly matched they have been across four races.

Robinson has won twice and reached the podium three times, skiing with increasing authority and improved tactical discipline. Scheib has answered every challenge, matching Robinson win for win, podium for podium and delivering the most composed and efficient giant slalom skiing of her career. Rather than one athlete separating from the field, the two are pushing each other toward higher levels of excellence and raising the overall standard of the discipline.

Last season’s title fight never returned. Federica Brignone, who claimed the crystal globe at the World Cup Finals, has not raced this winter while recovering from injury. In her absence, the Robinson–Scheib duel has become the defining storyline of the women’s GS season.

Behind the leading pair, the chase group is taking shape. Zrinka Ljutić sits third in the standings, followed closely by Camille Rast and Sara Hector. All three remain consistent podium threats, but Robinson and Scheib have established a baseline that leaves little margin for error.

Women’s World Cup Giant Slalom Podium Table — 2025–26 Season

Women’s Giant Slalom Standings — Top Five at the Christmas Break (4 of 9)

• Alice Robinson (NZL, 2001) — 292 points
• Julia Scheib (AUT, 1998) — 280 points
• Zrinka Ljutić (CRO, 2004) — 178 points — Atomic
• Camille Rast (SUI, 1999) — 161 points — HEAD
• Sara Hector (SWE, 1992) — 159 points — HEAD

North America has played a meaningful role in shaping the early season, particularly on the U.S. side.

🇺🇸 Stifel U.S. Ski Team — Women’s Giant Slalom Points (2026 Season)

• Mikaela Shiffrin (1995) — Rank: 6th — 158 points — Atomic, Oakley
• Paula Moltzan (1994) — Rank: 7th — 140 points
• Nina O’Brien (1997) — Rank: 11th — 90 points
• Katie Hensien (1999) — Rank: 27th — 22 points
• AJ Hurt (2000) — Rank: 29th — 20 points — HEAD
• Elisabeth Bocock (2005) — Rank: 36th — 12 points

Moltzan opened the season with a second-place finish in Sölden, immediately establishing herself as a season-long contender. Shiffrin, the most successful women’s World Cup giant slalom skier in history with 22 victories and 43 podiums, raced limited GS over the past two seasons due to injury challenges. This winter, she is skiing with growing strength and moving steadily back toward her elite level.

Injuries have affected the U.S. depth. Hensien raced the season-opening GS before being sidelined, while Hurt injured her hip training in Copper Mountain and has not raced GS since Sölden. The hope remains that Hurt will return soon.

🇨🇦 Alpine Canada Alpin — Women’s Giant Slalom Points (2026 Season)

• Valérie Grenier (1996) — Rank: 9th — 104 points
• Britt Richardson (2003) — Rank: 15th — 64 points
• Cassidy Gray (2001) — Rank: 45th — 4 points — Atomic

Grenier delivered one of the defining moments of the early season by finishing third in front of her home fans in the first Tremblant giant slalom, while Richardson has added consistent scoring to keep Canada firmly in the conversation.

The women’s giant slalom resumes December 27 in Semmering, Austria, the first race after the Christmas break. With only three GS races remaining before Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Robinson–Scheib rivalry sits firmly at the center of an increasingly compressed Olympic season — and every start from here forward carries added weight.

Men’s Giant Slalom: Brennsteiner Leads at the Break as Odermatt Remains the Benchmark

The men’s World Cup giant slalom reaches the Christmas break with the standings tight at the top and the Olympic picture sharpening quickly. Five of nine giant slaloms are complete, with seven scheduled before the Olympic break and only two remaining before the season pauses for the Games. In a discipline defined by maximum risk and reward, every result now carries greater weight.

At the center of the conversation remains Marco Odermatt.

The Swiss star is the favorite every time he enters a giant slalom start. That status is earned through sustained excellence, not reputation. But Alta Badia offered an important reminder of the physical demands of a season. Odermatt is racing all three long disciplines — downhill, super-G, and giant slalom — at the highest level. At Alta Badia, he finished sixth, ending a GS podium streak that dated back to March 2021. The result reflected fatigue from a heavy race program rather than a drop in form.

Odermatt faces a similar challenge in January beginning with Adelboden on January 10, but a brief reset after the Livigno super-G on December 27 should provide recovery time. Even after Alta Badia, he remains the benchmark — and the favorite — because he has consistently delivered when the stakes are highest.

Leading the standings at the Christmas break, however, is Austria’s Stefan Brennsteiner.

At 34, Brennsteiner is enjoying a genuine breakout season. He has finished inside the top five in all five giant slaloms so far, including his first career World Cup victory at Copper Mountain. That consistency has carried him into the break with a narrow lead in the standings and has turned him into one of the most compelling stories of the winter.

Marco Schwarz added another layer to the title fight with his victory at Alta Badia, moving into third overall. Henrik Kristoffersen and Alex Vinatzer remain firmly in the mix, reinforcing the depth and volatility at the top of the men’s GS field.

Men’s World Cup Giant Slalom Podium Table — 2025–26 Season

Men’s Giant Slalom Standings — Top Five at the Christmas Break (5 of 9)

• Stefan Brennsteiner (AUT, 1993) — Rank: 1st — 305 points
• Marco Odermatt (SUI, 1997) — Rank: 2nd — 300 points — Stöckli
• Marco Schwarz (AUT, 1995) — Rank: 3rd — 252 points — Atomic
• Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR, 1994) — Rank: 4th — 224 points
• Alex Vinatzer (ITA, 1999) — Rank: 5th — 207 points — Atomic

🇺🇸 Stifel U.S. Ski Team — Men’s Giant Slalom Points (2026 Season)

• River Radamus (1998) — Rank: 9th — 142 points
• Ryder Sarchett (2003) — Rank: 27th — 32 points
• George Steffey (1997) — Rank: 44th — 4 points — Völkl (Independent — Global Racing)

Radamus remains the anchor of the U.S. men’s GS program. The longtime U.S. No. 1 has scored points in all five giant slaloms this season and has recorded three top-10 finishes in the last three races. His season has followed a pattern — one solid run paired with one exceptional run — and when he puts two strong runs together, brilliance follows. Radamus will head to the Olympic Games for the second time and has consistently shown his ability to rise to major occasions.

Sarchett has emerged as a bright light within the Stifel U.S. Ski Team. Just starting his World Cup journey, he has competed in all five giant slaloms this season and scored twice, highlighted by a career-best 10th place finish in Val d’Isère. A former Junior World Champion who skied for the University of Colorado Buffaloes, Sarchett’s trajectory points clearly upward.

Steffey’s points have come as an independent athlete racing with Global Racing, an important distinction in a discipline where access and continuity matter.

🇨🇦 Alpine Canada Alpin — Men’s Giant Slalom Points (2026 Season)

• Erik Read (1991) — Rank: 44th — 4 points — Atomic (Independent)

Read continues to define longevity at the World Cup level. The Canadian veteran scored giant slalom points this season at Copper Mountain and has now recorded GS points in 10 consecutive World Cup seasons. A four-time World Cup Finals qualifier, Read is pushing toward qualification for his third straight Olympic Games and a start in Bormio.

With two giant slaloms remaining before the Olympic break and Adelboden next on January 10, the men’s discipline sits at a fascinating intersection. Brennsteiner leads, Odermatt remains the standard, and the pressure is building — exactly as an Olympic season should.

As the Olympic season reaches the Christmas break, giant slalom has already revealed clear contrasts and compelling parallels. On the women’s side, a high-level rivalry between Alice Robinson and Julia Scheib is driving the discipline forward, raising standards and sharpening the fight for Olympic positioning. On the men’s side, consistency and endurance are being tested, with Stefan Brennsteiner’s breakthrough season unfolding against the backdrop of Marco Odermatt’s relentless excellence across three disciplines. With only two men’s giant slaloms and four women’s remaining before the Olympic break, every run now carries added weight — and the athletes who manage pressure, recovery, and execution best will define the road to Cortina d’Ampezzo and Bormio.