Shiffrin just misses GS podium in Soelden World Cup season opener

Earlier this week, Mikaela Shiffrin said giant slalom has been a major offseason focus coming into the Olympic year. On Saturday in Sölden, Austria, the 30-year-old proved the work has paid off. Racing from bib 20, Mikaela Shiffrin put down a pair of controlled efforts to place fourth in the World Cup opener.

“This year with fourth, I’m over the moon,” Shiffrin said via one of her media managers, Megan Harrod. “It’s a really, really good step, and I have improvements to make still. … For our team, this was a spectacular day.”

Julia Scheib took the surprise victory on home soil. The Austrian blasted a first-run time of 1 minute, 7.8 seconds and held off runner-up Paula Moltzan on the second trip down the Rettenbach glacier. Lara Gut-Behrami claimed the final podium spot, finishing 1.11 seconds off the win.

“No way,” Sheib told FIS media when asked if she expected to begin the season with her first career World Cup win. “My feeling was not that good, but maybe it was a good sign for the next races.”

The 27-year-old became the first Austrian to claim a World Cup GS victory since Eva-Maria Brem in 2016. The Rossignol skier was third at the opener last year, the first Austrian podium at the Rettenbach since Nicole Hosp tied Shiffrin for the win in 2014. Scheib said she was well aware of the history when she took to the slope for her second run.

“I was so relieved when I was crossing the finish line and saw the green light,” she said. “Now, I’m just happy. I mean, winning the first race in front of my home crowd is awesome. We really celebrated together.”

Moltzan secured her sixth-career podium, leading three Americans into the top six.

“She skied incredibly well. Her first run was flawless,” Moltzan said of Scheib, who built a 1.28-second lead after the first trip down the 370-meter slope. “So, I tried to put down the same type of skiing my second run just to compete with her. I brought some time back, so I’m happy with it.”

Moltzan — who claimed her first World Cup GS podium in Kronplatz on Jan. 21 — said her world championship bronze medal from last winter really “kick-started” her confidence in the event.

“To have a medal kind of just reminds you that you belong here,” the Minnesota native said.

The Americans had five of the top seven fastest times on run No. 2. Nina O’Brien credited teammate A.J. Hurt’s course report for propelling her to the fastest second run of the day.

“(She) said I could really send it on the bottom,” said O’Brien, who finished sixth overall. “I really wanted to push myself to go for it and I feel like I did that.”

Katie Hensien, Hurt, and Elisabeth Bocock wound up in 12th, 13th, and 19th, respectively, for the U.S.

“Excited for the whole American crew,” said Bocock, who occupied the leader’s chair for the first time in her career after her scintillating second effort.

“I was happy I was able to move up a little,” the 20-year-old said. “Going into today I had kind of a game plan of taking it, not easy, but smarter in the first run and sending it in the second and I’m happy I could carry that plan through.”

Shiffrin came into the event with the high start number on account of placing 16th in the 2025 overall classification after missing much of the World Cup program due to injury. Last year was the first time since 2016 where she slipped outside of the top 3 places in the discipline’s crystal globe standings.

“I was prepared for anything and just tried to execute the skiing,” Shiffrin said when asked about the odd late start. “It’s a boost of excitement knowing I can do good skiing starting bib 20. I can climb up the ranks.” 

The winningest GS skier (22) in World Cup history, Shiffrin — who hasn’t won a giant slalom since December 2023 — said she skied “dirty” on the entrances of turns during her first run, which left her in sixth, 1.69 seconds back.

“My goal on the second run was to almost relax a little bit and let the track of the course kind of take me,” she said. “That’s really, really hard to do, especially if you’re not 100% confident.”

The Edwards skier raced within herself during a precise second run. She made up time in the bottom flat section and bolted into the lead, albeit for only a short time. Having felt nervous the entire week, Shiffrin was pleased to feel “like my mind and body were connected.”

“Every single part of today was a monumental step. We’ll analyze it and keep moving forward,” she said, adding that there’s work to be done in her tactical aggressiveness. “But to feel like I’m skiing the course and I’m sort of doing what I want to be doing — you have no idea how good of a feeling that is.”  

The defending GS crystal globe winner, Federica Brignone — who also won gold in the event at the 2025 world championships at 34 years of age (to become the oldest women’s Alpine skiing world champion ever) — suffered multiple fractures in a fall last April and did not compete Saturday. Last year’s small globe runner up, Alice Robinson, kicked off her campaign with an eighth-place finish.

The women’s World Cup continues on Nov. 15 with a slalom in Levi, Finland.