The Alpine World Cup winter starts in Sölden on Saturday with the women's giant slalom, followed by the men's race the next day. The most important facts about the season opener.
23.10.2025, 04:01
23.10.2025, 07:07
SDA
Where does the 2025/26 World Cup season start?
Traditionally on the Rettenbach Glacier above Sölden, with a giant slalom for both the women (next Saturday) and men (Sunday). This winter, which includes a clear highlight with the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina in February, there are 36 more World Cup races on the women's program, and 37 for the men.
What are the Swiss chances in Sölden?
Good, if you look at the results from the past - not including 2024. Lara Gut-Behrami has already won the glacier prologue three times (most recently in 2023) and finished second once. Last year, however, the Ticino native withdrew from the start in Sölden at short notice, making Camille Rast the best Swiss skier in twelfth place.
And in the men's event?
The Swiss-Ski team is (more) broadly based at the top. Before he was eliminated in the first run in 2024, Marco Odermatt stood on the podium in Sölden three times in a row, twice as the winner. With World Championship medal winners Loïc Meillard and Thomas Tumler, there are two other Swiss cracks alongside dominator Odermatt who are among the contenders for the top 3 in the giant slaloms. Meillard, however, has never finished better than 5th place at the start of the season (2020). Tumler's best result in Sölden was 14th place last year, when he was the only Swiss in the top 15 alongside Gino Caviezel (9th).
Who are the favorites from an international perspective?
In the women's event, there is one name to mention first and foremost - both in Sölden and for the season as a whole: Mikaela Shiffrin. The American is a five-time overall World Cup winner and 101-time World Cup winner. She has already stood on the podium six times in Sölden, twice as the winner. Shiffrin will not be competing in any downhill races next season and only occasionally in the super-G, which gives her rivals hope in the battle for the big crystal globe.
In the men's event, four-time overall World Cup winner Odermatt faces a challenge from team-mate Meillard as well as from the Norwegians. Their best, Henrik Kristoffersen, was over 600 points behind in second place overall at the end of last season. In Sölden, the 31-year-old recently finished 3rd and 2nd.
Who are the big absentees?
A distinction needs to be made between (long-term) injuries and retirements. It remains to be seen when Federica Brignone, Petra Vlhova and Nina Ortlieb will return to the World Cup after their injuries; the same applies to Gino Caviezel and Cameron Alexander. Aleksander Kilde is planning his comeback in December, Marcel Hirscher probably before then. Cyprien Sarrazin, on the other hand, will certainly miss the whole winter.
Who announced their retirement?
Among others, the Austrian Stephanie Venier, the Frenchman Mathieu Faivre and Sebastian Foss-Solevaag. All three have won World Championship gold at least once, Venier as recently as last February in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. From a Swiss perspective, former Junior World Champion Reto Schmidiger, Urs Kryenbühl, Yannick Chabloz, Cédric Noger, Noel von Grünigen, Elena Stoffel and Noémie Kolly are no longer taking part.
What happens after Sölden?
In Levi (November 15/16) and Gurgl (November 22/23) there is a slalom each for the women and men. Then it's across the Atlantic to North America, first for both genders to Copper Mountain in the USA. The men will then travel on to Beaver Creek and the women to Tremblant in Canada.
The 45-time World Cup winner Odermatt will have made a note of January 24, 2026, when the downhill race takes place in Kitzbühel. One of the few important races that the man from Nidwalden has yet to win. The alpine season comes to an end from March 21 to 25 with the World Cup final in Norway.
When do the races take place in Switzerland?
The season kicks off in St. Moritz, where three women's speed races will be held from December 12 to 14. The men's classics in Adelboden (January 10-11) and Wengen (January 16-18) will follow at the beginning of the year. The ski circus will also make a stop at the 2027 World Championship venue before the Winter Games: in Crans-Montana, the women will compete in a downhill and a super-G (January 30/31) and the men in a downhill (February 1).
