As we finally anticipate the arrival of the World Cup Finals here in Sun Valley it’s important to bring clarity and awareness to the actual event. Live music, parking, and logistics may have been in the front of our minds as we imagined the week and it’s the racing itself that is the mainstay. As the regular season concludes with one weekend left of racing, here are the storylines to be on top of as the world floods into our valley.
In the overall picture there is a clear front runner for both genders. Switzerland’s phenom Marco Odermatt has a 552 point lead over Norway’s number one Henrik Kristoffersen who leads the slalom standings. Italy’s fierce Federica Brignone leads Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami by 322 points. Despite one more weekend of racing in men’s tech and women’s speed left in the regular season, Odermatt does have the title all but locked up while in La Thuile, ITA we could see the woman’s action get spicy as the athletes arrive in Sun Valley.
Given that athletes earn 100 points per win, 80 for second, and so forth, Gut-Behrami has the distinct ability to overtake Brignone in Sun Valley. Both athletes compete in the same three events: downhill, super giant slalom, and giant slalom. Given that there are two super g’s left leading into finals with three events they’ll ski in Sun Valley this leaves a maximum potential of 500 points up for grabs. Technically one could close the gap or lengthen their lead without winning however it does not bode well for either the campaign to settle for anything short. Brignone has had the eye of the tiger all season while Gut-Behrami has been a snake in the grass battling for her place.
Specifically in downhill, as its regular season has concluded, Odermatt’s younger Swiss teammate who’s had an explosive season, Franjo Von Allmen, is only 83 points behind his team’s number one. While the women’s top three is only separated by 34 points with Brignonein front followed by Austria’s Cornelia Hutter and Brignone’s teammate and star Sofia Goggia.
In Super Giant Slalom (SuperG) Odermatt has a commanding 210 point lead over Austria’s Vincent Kreichmayr, so this is a bit of a non-story line. The women, however, have two familiar names separated by 55 points. Brignone has the lead over Lara Gut-Behrami so not only do we have an overall season title on the line, we also have a discipline title as well.
Men’s Giant slalom has the two best separated by 41 points with Odermatt hanging onto the lead over Kristoffersen. Despite the overall season title in Odermatt’s hand, Kristofferesen could still grab the discipline title from him with one more GS on his home snow of Hafjell, Norway this weekend in addition to the finals GS in Sun Valley. Both races will really come down to snow conditions as both men have the most expansive bag of tricks to execute. The women’s race is one of the most exciting chases as New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, who won her first World Cup at 17 years old and now 24, leads over Brignone by 20 points and could give her country its first discipline title should she prevail.
Slalom just could be the most competitive race of the week as it features the most successful number of athletes. 108 points separates the men’s top four and most notably features Kristoffersen up front with a 77 point lead over France’s Noel Clement. Clement has the best top end speed in the world in Slalom and has been finding a way to be inconsistent, but he has won four races this season and clearly has the chops to contend. Kristoffersen has relied on his consistency this year however has only won two races. Remember the men have one more slalom on Kristoffersen’s turf in addition to the GS in Hafjell, NOR this weekend. Switzerland’s biggest dog in the slalom fight is Loic Meillard who did win the gold at World Champs in Saalbach, Austria this year, but count on him being on the podium and not on the top step. Eitherway, this particular race has the makings for some excellent drama.
The women’s top four in slalom is separated by 86 points and will be the biggest globe up for grabs during Finals. Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic and Switzerland’s Camille Rast are both young emerging athletes who have been trading the red bib all season. Austria’s Katharina Liensberger, who did win the slalom overall in 2021, sits in third with Switerzland’s mainstay Wendy Holdener in fourth. This event could come down to nerves as the two rising stars try to suppress the excitement of first time sustained success while the second two are familiar with it but not skiing at the same top speed level.
Americans on the List:
Mikaela Shiffrin’s early season injury sidelined her for a much longer period that anticipated, which made room for new storylines and a much more interesting season. Unless there is a discretionary rule unaccounted for, she is only qualified for the slalom at Finals and has as much of a chance as anyone to claim the win for the day and would be her 101st.
Other Americans that we will be cheering for include Paula Moltzan in the slalom and giant slalom who has podiumed in World Cups and medaled at World Champs this season in giant slalom this season. She will be joined by teammates Nina O’Brien, Katie Hensien, and AJ Hurt who has won on our hill three times during the 2018 National and Junior National Championships. The men will include breakthrough Ben Ritchie in slalom and River Radamus in giant slalom who is a distant cousin to our locally celebrated Palmer family.
In speed, Lindsey Vonn in her comeback tour has likely qualified for both speed events (17th ranked in SuperG with two left, Downhill is locked in) and should be favorable as our track does not feature any gliding as this has been a challenge for her this season breaking in new skis. Two more females we need to pay close attention to are Lauren Macuga who has been accelerating to the top in her young career and Breezy Johnson. Both of whom medaled in each speed event at World Champs back in February in Saalbach, Austria. Jacqueline Wiles adds to this depth in downhill as well. In men, Beijing SuperG silver medalist, Ryan Cochran-Siegle has qualified in both events. Jared Goldberg will join him in the SuperG and Bryce Bennett in the downhill who will be skiing through the finish to the airport to hopefully be home for the arrival of his first child.
Make no mistake, the depth of talent the US will feature at finals has the ability and accolades to affirm reasoning that they have as much of a chance as anyone to be on the top steps of Sun Valley’s World Cup Finals and will certainly be where the hope in our hearts lie when they enter the starting gate.
