Mikaela Shiffrin opens her 16th World Cup season this weekend with the women’s giant slalom on the Rettenbach Glacier.
The six-time overall champion is entering what she has called her “exploration season.” After winning nine of ten World Cup slalom races and Olympic gold in the event last winter, she is placing greater emphasis on giant slalom and super-G training while continuing to race slalom on a more selective basis. Her first scheduled slalom is set for Killington, Vermont, over Thanksgiving weekend.
Shiffrin has described the shift as a deliberate choice driven by curiosity rather than results alone, saying the safer path would have been to stay focused primarily on slalom.
She is expected to start Saturday’s giant slalom, with the first run at 10:00 and the second at 13:00 local time. The race marks the official opening of the 2026-27 Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.
