The 2026/27 alpine skiing World Cup season kicked off in Sölden on 24–25 October. This is the 61st season of the series, and it marks 60 years since the first races, yet the field is undergoing major changes. Several defining racers have retired, others will try themselves in new disciplines, and the calendar brings new venues and records. Here is what to watch in the season ahead!
A look back
The first World Cup race was held in 1967 in Berchtesgaden, where Heinrich Messner became the first winner. The first women’s race took place two days later in Oberstaufen, where Nancy Greene won. Initially only three disciplines were part of the World Cup; the Super-G has been on the calendar only since 1982. Another curiosity: ten nations have a men’s overall winner and twelve have a women’s overall winner, and in both cases Austria is the most successful.
More races, new venues
What stands out first about the calendar is that there are far more races for alpine skiers this year. 43 are planned for the men and 40 for the women, which exceeds last season’s 36 and 37. There are several venue changes during the season. For example, in Åre, Sweden, the men will race this year instead of the women. In addition, the women return to Jasná and Lenzerheide. The season finals will be held in the United States, while the World Championships will be hosted by Switzerland in Crans-Montana. Gosau will host women’s races for the first time. This year a record 12 giant slaloms are scheduled for the women, and for the men there will be a night race in Alta Badia for the first time.
The changes to the calendar show that the split between technical and speed events has become more balanced for the men, while the women gain two technical races and only one speed race, so the changes slightly favour the technical specialists.
The Sölden opener
Braathen won the men’s opener ahead of the two Swiss, Meillard and Odermatt. It was already the Brazilian’s ninth career win. Among the women, Moltzan won for the first time in her career. She was second in Sölden last year, and this time she moved up one place. The race was extremely tight: Moltzan beat Albania’s Lara Colturi by just one hundredth of a second, while Germany’s Emma Aicher finished third. Sölden has a long history and has been the traditional opening venue for the World Cup since the 2000/01 season.
Another curiosity about the venue: the first three-way tie for first place in World Cup history took place here in 2002, when Tina Maze, Nicole Hosp and Andrine Flemmen posted an identical time.
Big retirements, and a returning star on the women’s side
Several racers retired after the Olympic season, among them, on the women’s side, Lara Gut-Behrami. The Swiss racer won Olympic gold in the Super-G in 2022, and she also has two world titles and 48 World Cup wins. She finished her last race a year ago in Sölden in third place, and a later injury forced her to miss the rest of the season.
Interestingly, Lindsey Vonn’s name is on the US team’s 2026/27 roster, but because of the serious injury she suffered in her Olympic crash, we are unlikely to see her race this season. She has not ruled out a comeback, but has not yet made a final decision about the future.
One of the most important returnees on the women’s side is Petra Vlhová, who suffered a serious injury at home in early 2024. Since then the Slovak has started only two races: she finished 20th in the 2026 Olympic slalom and 23rd in Sölden. With the latter result she scored World Cup points for the first time in more than two and a half years.
A season of discipline changes
One of the most interesting changes concerns Mikaela Shiffrin’s programme. In her own words, the American is heading into an exploration season in which she wants to put more emphasis than before on giant slalom and Super-G. She says she will skip the first two slaloms.
Shiffrin’s exploration season could open the way for several other racers. One of them is Emma Aicher, who finished second in the overall standings last season. The German was also the only racer to score points in all four disciplines last year, so she goes into the fight for the overall title with good chances. Camille Rast finished second in the slalom discipline standings, so she could have a serious chance of winning the small crystal globe in the new season. The question is whether Lara Colturi’s upward trajectory will continue. The still only 19-year-old Albanian already took four podiums in slalom last year, and with further improvement she must be taken seriously in the discipline standings.
Among the men, Marco Schwarz has also decided on a major change: he steps back from slalom and will concentrate on giant slalom, Super-G and downhill.
Retirements and absentees on the men’s side
On the men’s side too there was a major retirement, Alexis Pinturault, who won an overall World Cup, three world titles and 34 World Cup races. British legend Dave Ryding has also retired; in 2022 he became the first British skier to win a World Cup slalom.
There will also be a significant absentee: Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. The Norwegian tore his Achilles tendon during preparation in Chile and will not be seen in the field this season.
Odermatt for the sixth time in a row?
This year Braathen may try to take the overall World Cup from Odermatt. The Swiss had a considerable lead, partly because he scored big points in three disciplines. This has also prompted the Brazilian to change, and he will race in Super-G this season as well.
In the speed events Franjo von Allmen may be Odermatt’s challenger, as he is the reigning downhill champion at both the Olympics and the World Championships. In 2026 he also became Olympic champion in Super-G.
Overall, the 2026/27 season promises to be interesting in several ways. The new racing programmes, the retirements and the athletes facing new challenges could all reshape the balance of power. The next stop is Levi, where the World Cup continues on 14–15 November with the women’s and men’s slaloms.
Source:FIS,Eurosport,Reuters
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