Mikaela Shiffrin is rewriting her own playbook as the World Cup season opens this weekend on the Rettenbach Glacier.
The six-time overall champion and three-time Olympic gold medallist has dubbed 2026/27 her “exploration season.” After winning nine of ten World Cup slalom races last winter and adding Olympic gold in the event, the 31-year-old from Colorado is deliberately shifting more of her training focus toward giant slalom and super-G while still racing slalom on a more selective schedule.
“The safe choice was obvious,” Shiffrin told the Associated Press. “I was coming off a successful slalom season, and if you only look at results, staying focused on slalom made the most sense. But after 16 years on the World Cup, I felt a real curiosity pulling me toward GS and super-G, and I’ve learned to trust that feeling.”
She made clear the move is not about reduced effort. “It’s not about caring less or working less. It’s about recovering better, training with more intention, and racing slalom when I’m prepared for it. Slalom isn’t going anywhere.”
Shiffrin opens the season Saturday in the women’s giant slalom in Sölden. Her first scheduled slalom is set for Killington, Vermont, over Thanksgiving weekend. She described the broader approach as keeping “the door open,” adding that the “exploration season” framing has allowed her to “exhale.”
The same off-script mindset is shaping her podcast, What’s the Point, now in its second season. Shiffrin is interviewing athletes and personalities including figure skater Ilia Malinin, rugby player Ilona Maher, tennis star Iga Swiatek and broadcaster Mike Tirico, focusing on what drives success. She is preparing less rigid scripts and leaning into natural conversation flow — comparing a good episode’s rhythm to the linked turns of her best skiing.
Looking ahead to the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps, Shiffrin said her plans remain fluid. Whether she is racing, supporting teammates, or hosting the podcast, she intends to stay driven by curiosity rather than obligation.
“As long as I’m skiing, it’ll be because I want to, not because I feel I have to,” she said.
The first test of the new approach comes Saturday morning in Sölden.
