All Eyes Are on Mikaela Shiffrin as World Cup Comes to Copper

With the Winter Olympics coming up this February in Italy, Colorado gets a preview of the hard-charging talent on tap this week at the Stifel Copper Cup World Cup alpine ski races at Copper Mountain. Racing kicks off with men’s super G Thursday and giant slalom Friday, followed by women’s GS Saturday and women’s slalom Sunday. Normally Killington Resort would host the latter two events, but due to chairlift construction directly over the racecourse, the Vermont slope cannot host this year.

Although just about every nation on the World Cup circuit (as well as teams and clubs from across the country) descends on Copper Mountain for training every November, this week marks the first time in 24 years that Copper has hosted World Cup racing. The last top tier races landed in 2001 due to lack of snow in Aspen, when Copper took up the reins to run the women’s World Cup giant slalom and slalom races.

With plenty of shake-ups and twists among top-ranked athletes leading into this season and this week, these races, which function as Olympic qualifiers, should prove thrilling.

Who to Watch in the Men’s Races

Thursday’s race is the season opener for the World Cup’s speed specialists, and top American SG skier (and 2022 Olympic silver medalist) Ryan Cochran-Siegle said that the dawning of the upcoming Olympic season is suddenly “getting very real.”

“The snow feels more firm than we’re used to in Colorado. The preparation is good,” the Vermont native said after training last week. “It’s cool to have the whole World Cup come here and build up to the season. It’s better that it’s a fair race.”

Wednesday will present an opportunity to free-ski on the race hill, but other than inspection of the gate placements before each race, it will mark athletes’ only opportunity to get a feel for the terrain.

Aside from Cochran-Siegle, who’s the top American SG skier, Aspen veteran Jared Goldberg has also proven to be a solid contender, having landed his first World Cup podium in super G last season. As for giant slalom, Vail’s River Radamus is the reigning national champion in the discipline, and the only American to score points in October’s opening GS World Cup race in Soelden, Austria. The man to beat is Swiss World Cup overall champion Marco Odermatt, who also holds Cup titles in super G and GS. Also keep an eye on Austrians Marco Schwartz and Raphael Haaser.

Who to Watch in the Women’s Races

Having missed the U.S. races in Beaver Creek last year when she was recovering from injury, Mikaela Shiffrin is coming into Copper Mountain red hot having just won the first two World Cup slalom races of the season in Levi, Finland and Gurgl, Austria and landing fourth in the Soelden GS.

“I’m excited,” Shiffrin said of the Colorado races during an interview after her Gurgl victory last weekend. “This is the first time I’ve slept in my own bed during the season in like 10 years.”

Shiffrin also admitted that her slalom skiing last weekend was likely “the best” of her entire career. Considering she’s the greatest skier of all time, that’s no small claim.

For Saturday’s GS especially, don’t count out Minnesota native Paula Moltzan, who is also off to the best season of her career so far. She finished second in the opening GS race last month and fourth and fifth in the first two slalom races. She also landed some hardware last season, a bronze medal in the World Championship GS (and narrowly missed a slalom medal in fourth).

The women’s GS field will hold a couple of gaping voids in the Copper races in the form of  Italian Federica Brignone, who is recovering from injury suffered last spring after she won the World Cup overall, GS and downhill titles. The other is the absence of Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami, who crashed while training at Copper a few days ago and suffered a knee injury that looks as though it will sideline her from what was set to be her final World Cup season.

Back to the Americans, the U.S. women’s GS team looks to be a wall of power this season. Nina O’Brien, sixth in the season opener, is off to a strong start, as is AJ Hurt (13th in the season opening behind teammate Katie Hensien, who is sadly recovering from a tibia fracture sustained in Europe a couple of weeks ago). Lauren Macuga, who suddenly established herself as one of the greatest speed skiers in the world last season with her first World Cup victory in downhill and a World Champs bronze medal in super G, is also planning on starting in Saturday’s GS. She raced the first GS of her World Cup career in Sun Valley last season and landed a respectable 15th.

How to Watch

Despite the holiday weekend timing of the Copper Cup, as evidenced by the already sold-out grandstand, fans appear to be highly anticipating the four days of racing. Spectators are also welcome to watch the races for free from around the finish area, which also includes a festival village and free live music Friday and Saturday nights. You can also watch the races live from home on Outside TV. Find the complete schedule here, including how to get eyeballs on each competition throughout the holiday weekend.