COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colorado — Mikaela Shiffrin has two Olympic gold medals and more World Cup wins than any other skier in history. (She’s at 103, for those counting.)
And she might be at her best yet this season.
Shiffrin comes to the World Cup at Copper Mountain having won the first two slalom races of the season and barely missing a medal in the only giant slalom so far. Her technique in slalom has been near perfect — just watch her first run in Levi, Finland — and she is skiing with command.
Perhaps most importantly, she is fully healthy after missing much of last season following a crash in the GS at Killington, Vermont, that left a deep gash in her obliques.
‘I was so focused on GS over the preparation period just to bring my level back to something worthy in GS races. I didn’t get a lot of slalom training, but I got good slalom training,’ Shiffrin said last weekend.
Here’s what to know about the World Cup at Copper Mountain:
What races will Shiffrin do?
While the men had both speed (super-G) and tech (giant slalom) races at Copper, the women have two tech races. The giant slalom is Saturday, and the slalom is Sunday.
How to watch
Broadcast/streaming schedule (all times Eastern)
Outsideonline.com will show all of the races live while NBC, Peacock and CNBC will have a mix of live and delayed coverage.
Saturday, Nov. 29
Noon – First run, women’s giant slalom, outsideonline.com
1 p.m. – Delayed coverage of men’s giant slalom, NBC and Peacock
3 p.m. – Second run, women’s giant slalom, outsideonline.com
Sunday, Nov. 30
Noon – First run, women’s slalom, outsideonline.com
1 p.m. – Delayed coverage of women’s giant slalom, NBC and Peacock
2 p.m. – Delayed coverage of men’s super-G, CNBC and Peacock
3 p.m. – Second run, women’s slalom, outsideonline.com, CNBC and Peacock
Who to watch
Shiffrin is the woman to beat — and it’s going to take some great skiing to do that. Not only has she won the first two slalom World Cups in commanding fashion, finishing more than a second ahead in both, she’s been first in each run of both races.
“I think it’s some of the best slalom skiing I ever did. I feel very stable right now,” Shiffrin said after her win in Gurgl, Austria, last weekend.
“I feel really good with my level of slalom right now,” she said. “I pretty much know what to focus on to bring out fast skiing.”
Shiffrin also was fourth in the only giant slalom race this season, missing the podium by 0.31 seconds.
So who are other contenders?
Lara Colturi. The 19-year-old Albanian was second to Shiffrin in the slaloms at Levi and Gurl, and was seventh in the GS at Soelden.
Paula Moltzan. Shiffrin’s U.S. teammate is picking up right where she left off last season, when she won bronze in the giant slalom at the world championships and made two World Cup podiums. Moltzan has been in the top five in all three World Cup races this season, including a second-place finish in the GS at Soelden.
Camille Rast. The reigning world slalom champion already has a podium finish this season, winning the bronze last week in Gurgl.
Wendy Holdener. The Swiss veteran won silver in the slalom at the world championships last year.
Lauren Macuga. One of the best speed skiers the United States has right now, Macuga will be making her second career GS start in Copper.
