Mikaela Shiffrin offered fans a light, human glimpse of life away from the race course this week, posting a short caption that quickly drew a wave of recognition from supporters.
“If you know, you know… Raise a 👋 if you would get motion sickness on this road…” the American alpine star wrote, appearing to reference a steep, twisting mountain route during off-season travel or training.
The post required little explanation. Ski racers regularly travel the same narrow switchbacks and hairpin roads that serve the resorts where they train and compete. Those drives — often without guardrails, with sharp elevation changes and repeated 180-degree turns — are a familiar part of the job. For many fans, they are also a reliable source of carsickness.
Shiffrin’s note landed because it was informal and specific. It did not promote a race, a sponsor, or a training milestone. It simply asked who else would feel sick on that stretch of road.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist and record World Cup winner has spent the past two seasons rebuilding after a serious crash at Killington in November 2024, when a puncture wound damaged her oblique muscles and later contributed to post-traumatic stress symptoms in giant slalom. She returned to win her 100th World Cup race, added more victories, and claimed slalom gold at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
That competitive context makes the latest post stand out. Even at the highest level of the sport, the ordinary details of getting to the mountain still apply.
Comments quickly filled with people admitting they would not last long as a passenger. Some recalled family drives in the Alps or Rockies. Others joked that Shiffrin can absorb 60-plus slalom turns at race speed but still draw the line at a particular road.
The World Cup season is approaching, and Shiffrin has already begun counting down publicly. The motion-sickness post sits beside that buildup as a small reminder that the athlete fans watch on race day is also someone who takes the same winding routes everyone else does — and is willing to laugh about it.
