As the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup gears up for its October 25 opener in Sölden, Austria, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has unveiled a powerhouse roster for the 2025-26 Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team, blending Olympic legends, World Cup dominators, and hungry up-and-comers in a squad primed for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games.
Headlining the 49-athlete lineup are Mikaela Shiffrin, the all-time winningest alpine skier with 101 World Cup victories, and Lindsey Vonn, the 41-year-old icon making waves with her stunning return from retirement. Joining them as a key men’s anchor is Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the 2022 Beijing Olympic super-G silver medalist, whose technical prowess has solidified his status as America’s top speed man.
“This is a determined group of athletes, fully prepared to compete at the highest level as we head into an Olympic season,” said Anouk Patty, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Chief of Sport, in a statement. The nominations, based on rigorous selection criteria including prior World Cup results and national rankings, reflect a team that’s as deep in experience as it is in potential.
Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion from Edwards, Colorado, enters the season with renewed focus after a challenging 2024-25 campaign marred by an oblique injury from a crash at Killington. The 30-year-old plans to prioritize slalom and giant slalom early on, aiming to extend her record and chase a third Olympic medal. “I’m excited to get back to racing with this team—it’s like family, pushing each other to new heights,” Shiffrin said in a pre-season interview.
Vonn, hailing from Vail and boasting 82 World Cup wins and three Olympic medals, defied skeptics last winter by un-retiring and posting competitive times in select events. Her inclusion marks a full-throttle comeback, with eyes on a fifth Olympic appearance. “Skiing isn’t done with me yet,” Vonn quipped on social media, sharing training clips from New Zealand’s Southern Hemisphere summer camps. Her speed-endurance expertise will mentor a new generation while she hunts for more history.
On the men’s side, Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vermont) leads an A-Team featuring River Radamus (Edwards, Colorado), Tommy Ford (Bend, Oregon), Jared Goldberg, Bryce Bennett, and Ben Ritchie. These veterans, many with podium finishes in downhill and super-G, will shoulder medal expectations after Cochran-Siegle’s breakthrough silver in Beijing—the U.S.’s lone alpine medal from those Games.
The women’s A-Team adds firepower with two-time world champion Breezy Johnson, World Championship bronze medalists Lauren Macuga and Paula Moltzan, and versatile standout Nina O’Brien. Emerging talents like Jacqueline Wiles (Aurora, Oregon) round out a group that’s medaled consistently on the World Cup circuit.
Deeper into the roster, the B- and C-Teams brim with prospects, including Summit County standouts Stanley Buzek and Camden Palmquist on the men’s C side, and newcomers like Hunter Salani (Edwards, Colorado) and Nolan Sweeney (Littleton, New Hampshire). These athletes, many balancing college commitments at schools like the University of Colorado and Colby College, earned spots through dominant NorAm Cup performances.
The season’s stakes couldn’t be higher: World Cup results will directly influence U.S. quota allocations for the 2026 Olympics, announced by the International Ski Federation on January 19. Early highlights include the inaugural Stifel Copper Cup at Copper Mountain (November 27-30), blending men’s and women’s races, followed by the iconic Stifel Birds of Prey speed events in Beaver Creek (December 4-7). North American fans will have prime chances to roar for the red, white, and blue on home snow.
With Shiffrin and Vonn’s star power drawing global eyes, and Cochran-Siegle’s medal pedigree setting a high bar, the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team enters 2025-26 not just as contenders, but as favorites to rewrite the record books. As Patty put it, “The podiums are waiting—we’re ready to claim them.”
