Global focus on Shiffrin as electrifying women’s World Cup season resumes

Mikaela Shiffrin is used to Alpine skiing fans tuning in to her every move but with the 2023 Audi FIS Ski World Cup tour returning, the 27-year-old will have to get comfortable with the fact that the eyes of the entire sporting world are now trained on her.

After a drama-filled World Championships, in which she added a gold and two silvers to her bulging medal collection, the American resumes her chase of Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time World Cup wins record.

Needing just one more victory to tie the Swede’s mark of 86 titles, and two to pass him, it is a pursuit that will undoubtedly dominate the final three women’s World Cup meets before the Finals take place in Soldeu, Andorra, 13-19 March.

But the masses may have to wait.

The stunning Swiss resort of Crans Montana hosts the first races back and, with speed the name of the game, Shiffrin looks unlikely to compete in the downhill and super-G contests scheduled for 25-26 February.

The signs are good, however, that she will head to Kvitfjell. The famed Norwegian resort welcomes back women’s World Cup racing for the first time in 20 years, with two super-G races, taking place on 3 and 5 March, and a downhill sandwiched between them.

If not there, could fate be lining up a record triumph in Are? Stenmark won five times in the home of Swedish skiing and Shiffrin will surely fancy her chances with a giant slalom and a slalom set for 10 and 11 March respectively.

Fabulous three clear at the top

As you might expect, following her run of 11 World Cup wins (five in slalom, five in GS and one in super-G) in her 23 races so far this season, Shiffrin has a beyond-formidable lead of 731 points in the overall standings.

Should she – or perhaps when she does – claim the coveted title it would mark a fifth Big Globe for the superstar, taking her past compatriot Lindsey Vonn and leaving her just one shy of Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell’s long-standing record.

Petra Vlhova is the skier closest to Shiffrin right now, with Lara Gut-Behrami hovering a further 60 points behind. Should the Slovakian hold off the Swiss, it would highlight her admirable consistency in a season where she is still yet to hit the heights.

The iconic trio, who continue to light up women’s Alpine skiing, are comfortably clear of the rest of the best.

Who can stop Shiffrin doing the tech double?

Shiffrin may have already sewn up the slalom Crystal Globe for a record seventh time, after winning five and finishing second three times in her opening nine races, but there will be plenty of intrigue when the technical skiers take to the slopes.

Not only do the two races arguably offer the indefatigable American her best chance of securing those historic 86th and 87th World Cup wins, but also there are a host of great potential storylines to play out.

Can Wendy Holdener win again? The Swiss star reached 30 slalom podiums before her first World Cup win, recorded in Killington this season, but did not wait long for a second. Or will fellow 2023 first-time victors Lena Duerr and Anna Swenn Larsson climb to the top of the podium once more?

The motivation to be the skier to finish ahead of Shiffrin, and perhaps delay her record-setting, could also be more than enough to spark Vlhova back to her best.

It is a somewhat similar story in the GS. With just two races left and 100 points available for a win, Gut-Behrami must be a long shot to overhaul Shiffrin’s current 118-point lead.

It is tight behind Gut-Behrami too, with newly crowned world super-G champion Marta Bassino and Vlhova both within striking distance.

Speed set to offer biggest thrills and spills

It looks likely to be an exciting sprint to the downhill Crystal Globe between two of the long-time superstars of women’s speed skiing.

Sofia Goggia, chasing a third successive crown, is the undoubted headline act. The Italian has four wins and a podium place from the six races so far – all of which has contributed to a heartening lead of 108 points.

But when the 2018 Olympic downhill champion failed to finish the most recent World Cup race in Cortina D’Ampezzo, the 2017 and 2019 downhill world champion Ilka Stuhec took full advantage. Finally back to full fitness and confidence after a horror run of injuries, the Slovenian’s past three finishes read: 1st, 2nd, 2nd.

If Stuhec can get the march on Goggia in Crans Montana, it would set-up a mouth-watering head-to-head.

It is a very different story in the super-G. A mere 42 points separate the top four in the rankings, after five different winners in the five races to date. The consistent Ragnhild Mowinckel currently sits atop the pile, with three top 10s and a third-place finish as well as a win last time out in Cortina D’Ampezzo.

However, Gut-Behrami, new Alpine combined world champion Federica Brignone and her compatriot Curtoni will be itching to round off their season with a very special piece of silverware.

Elsewhere, plenty of welcome attention will be focused on the previously somewhat unheralded Swiss Jasmine Flury and Canadian Laurence St-Germain. The duo claimed shock respective downhill and slalom world championship wins in Courchevel Meribel and will no doubt be returning to the tour with a bounce in their step and a point to prove.

Whatever happens, do not miss a moment.