Nail-biting Crystal Globe races highlight stacked Sun Valley World Cup Finals

It has all been leading up to this. One hundred and forty-eight days after the action started in Sölden, Austria, the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho will bring down the curtain on the 2024/25 season.

And there is still so much to be decided, 22-27 March.

Four women’s and two men’s season-long Crystal Globe races have come down to the wire, with a host of skiing’s finest poised to jump into the history books or face an off-season beset with thoughts of what might have been.

Here is why you should not miss a moment:

Women’s Downhill on a knife edge

Even in a season packed with outstanding performances, Federica Brignone (ITA/Rossignol) stands out. Ten victories across three disciplines have presented the Italian with a golden chance to leave Idaho clutching four Crystal Globes.

First up, the 34-year-old Brignone will get the chance to seal a first career Downhill season title. Despite starting 2024/25 having never won a World Cup Downhill, Brignone sits in pole position. As long as she finishes in front of Conny Hütter (AUT/Head) and Sofia Goggia (ITA/Atomic) in the women’s Downhill on 22 March the first Globe is hers.

But it is mighty close.

Hütter sits just 16 points back, with compatriot Goggia 34 behind. One slip from the leader and the chasing pair will pounce. Hütter has form too – a year ago the Austrian snatched the very same Globe out of Lara Gut-Behrami’s (SUI/Head) hands.

Brignone out to deny Gut-Behrami record Super G crown

A sign of just how tight the margins have been is the fact that twice this season Brignone has denied Goggia a World Cup speed win by 0.01 seconds, the smallest margin in skiing.

Staying the right side of the clock has propelled Brignone to the top of the Super G rankings too. But here her lead is even more slender, a mere five points over Gut-Behrami.

It is a familiar place for both. Three times in the past four seasons Gut-Behrami has relegated Brignone to second in the standings, with Brignone winning the other time (2021/22).

Should Gut-Behrami again deny her rival, on 23 March, it will mark a record setting sixth Super G Globe for the 33-year-old.

Finale of Brignone v Robinson GS battle

Remarkably, Brignone is involved in another high stakes shoot-out.

All season she and Alice Robinson (NZL/Salomon) have gone head-to-head at the top of the Giant Slalom leaderboard. But while Brignone has either won (five times) or failed to finish (three times) Robinson’s stunning form (seven out of eight races the New Zealander has been on the podium) has delivered her a 20-point lead.

So, the equation is simple: finish ahead of Brignone on 25 March and Robinson will become the first New Zealander ever to win a Crystal Globe.

But the reality may be a whole lot harder. Brignone has won each of the past three World Cup GS races.

Underpinning all of these small Globe battles involving Brignone sits the big one. Here, the Italian boasts an almost unassailable 382-point lead over Gut-Behrami. Meaning, should she register just a handful of points in any of the first three events of the programme, she will be crowned the Overall Crystal Globe champion for the second time in her magical career.

Rising stars head-to-head in women’s Slalom

The women’s Slalom, 27 March is the only women’s Globe battle not to feature Brignone but it too is one not to miss.

Two of the season’s brightest young stars are set to battle it out for what would be a maiden crown for either.

Zrinka Ljutic (CRO/Atomic) and Camille Rast (SUI/Head) both started the season without a World Cup win but now stand on the precipice of one of Alpine skiing's most significant achievements.

After three wins and a second place, any further podium will seal the Globe for 21-year-old Ljutic. Rast, with two wins, a third place and just two finishes outside the top-five, needs a bit more to go her way. The Swiss skier is 41 points behind and if she wins in Sun Valley, she will still need Ljutic to finish fourth or lower.

Outside shots Katharina Liensberger (AUT/Rossignol) and Wendy Holdener (SUI/Head) – 51 and 96 points back respectively – require things to go very awry for the top two.

King Odi v Upstart von Allmen

On the men’s side, things are a whole lot more straightforward. First up, Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli) has the chance to take his authority to yet another level.

Should the Stöckli skier finish inside the top 14 in the men’s Downhill on 22 March he will win his eighth Globe in the past two seasons. It is a quite extraordinary number for a man who has already grabbed the 2024/25 Overall, Super G and GS titles.

But one man can stop him. And he could not be in better form.

Franjo von Allmen (SUI/Head) won the most recent World Cup Downhill in Kvitfjell, and World Championship gold last month. He does however need a minor miracle to make up an 83-point deficit – Odermatt has not finished outside the top 14 in a World Cup Downhill for two years.

Men’s Slalom a thriller

While von Allmen battles the odds, Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR/Van Deer) will seek to confirm them. The Norwegian leads the Slalom standings by 47 points and knows that a podium in Sun Valley on 27 March will bring a fourth Globe in his favourite discipline.

But Loic Meillard (SUI/Rossignol) is making him work for it. The Rossignol skier has had a dreamy end to a solid season. After securing a first individual world Slalom title in Saalbach, Meillard cut Kristoffersen’s lead with a first Slalom World Cup win of the season last time out.

Another win for Meillard and a fourth place or lower for Kristoffersen will see the 28-year-old claim a first ever Slalom Globe.

Clement Noël (FRA/Dynastar) is also in the hunt, but the Olympic champion needs to reverse recent form. A scintillating start to the season, featuring four wins in eight races, had put Noël in control but since skiing out when leading last month’s World Championships, the Frenchman has faltered.

Now it is win or bust for Noël, who sits 86 points behind Kristoffersen.  

Sun set to shine on Shiffrin once more

It is not just Globe battles that will enthral ski fans in Sun Valley however. There is also the chance to celebrate one of the greatest of all time.

While the stunning resort has hosted multiple US Alpine National Championships in recent years, the locals have not had the chance to watch Mikaela Shiffrin (USA/Atomic) in elite action.

Now, just weeks after she secured her historic 100^th World Cup win, the most successful Alpine skier of all time will go for win No.101 on home snow. Victorious in three of her five Slalom races this season, the chances are good that Shiffrin will give the masses just what they want.

Add on the opportunity to admire the returning brilliance of Lindsey Vonn (USA/Head) and cheer on the fast-rising talent of Lauren Macuga (USA/Rossignol) and it is clear this part of Idaho will live up to its name.