Semmering hosts World Cup action as Shiffrin and Robinson lead the field

The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup comes to Semmering, Austria, for the first time this season, with two women’s races: a giant slalom on Saturday and a slalom on Sunday.

105-time World Cup winner Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), emerging talent Alice Robinson (NZL), and consistent top-10 finisher Paula Moltzan (USA) are expected to compete. The events will be live on Peacock.

With just one month until Milan Cortina, here are a few tales — a holiday gift for you and your loved ones — that will help you assess where the top athletes stand.

Is Shiffrin truly on track to sweep the slalom?

It feels silly to say Shiffrin is on “history watch” when that is the case every time she leaves the starting gate. The 30-year-old is always a threat to add to her all-time Cup win (105) and podium (161) records, so what could potentially set this Shiffrin season apart from previous ones?

A clean sweep.

Vreni Schneider (SUI), a three-time Olympic gold winner, is the only athlete to win every slalom race in a single Cup campaign. She accomplished this accomplishment in 1988-89, when there were only five races. If Shiffrin wins on Sunday, she will be five-for-five in the discipline. To be flawless, she needs to go 10-for-10 by the end of the season.

The margin for error is razor thin. Not to mention the numerous elements beyond her control, like as injuries, snow conditions, visibility, and an opponent delivering a one-of-a-kind performance, all of which work against her.

Perhaps the countdown is started too early. Maybe. Before drawing any conclusions about Shiffrin, consider the following:

During the 2018-19 season, she came ridiculously close to the accomplishment, winning 8 of the 9 slalom competitions.Her average victory margin in slalom races this season is slightly more than 1.50 seconds. Typically, that time differential separates the first-place finisher from the tenth-place finisher.She is the record-breaker in Alpine skiing. The mother of slalom. Princess of the Podium. The Gate Whisperer. The Khaleesi of the Piste, like Daenerys Targaryen, wields supernatural magic in her endeavors.

Even Shiffrin struggles to find the right words to describe her recent success:

“I have such quality skiing,” she stated following her victory in Courcheval, France. “I’m not sure what’s working, and tonight, I’m just not asking questions. Just take it and roll with it. “Ride the wave.

The season sweep milestone could wash up on the shores of history before we realize it. With seven Cup triumphs in Semmering, she is ready to keep the momentum rolling.

Which is better: the US women’s speed squad or the US women’s tech team?

This season, at least five speed (super-G, downhill) and five technical (slalom, giant slalom) World Cup races have been completed, providing sufficient data to answer this question.

One could argue that Shiffrin has been so dominant thus far — four wins, two wooden spoons, 558 Cup points to lead all women, a reindeer named Winkie, and a partridge in a pear tree — that the technical team has an automatic advantage.Moltzan is likewise in great shape, possibly the best she has been. She’s as near to a top-10 lock as you can get on race day.

Nina O’Brien (USA) has had a mixed performance, with three top-11 results, three DNFs, and a DNQ. Injuries to Katie Hensien (USA) and AJ Hurt (USA) have weakened the team.

Overall, the tech team is meeting its expectations.

On the speed front, there were much more questions entering into the season. Will Lindsey Vonn (USA) reach her top pre-retirement performance? Is Breezy Johnson (USA) ready to take a leap? Can the Americans get enough Cup points to compensate for the loss of Lauren Macuga (USA)?

At least two of the three questions have a clear positive answer. Vonn appears to have stepped into a DeLorean or a hot tub time machine (reader’s choice) and traveled back to 2010, tearing off a first, second, third, and fourth.

Breezy has a nagging back ailment, despite four top-10 performances. Most impressively, the speed squad as a whole has had five racers finish in the top 30 four times in five events. That is not simply consistency; it is consistent domination.

The speed team appears to have the upper hand right now, but Shiffrin, Moltzan, and O’Brien might reclaim it this weekend.

Does Alice Robinson have your attention now?

With frequent podium finishes, it can be challenging for skiers like Robinson to go unnoticed. However, Vonn and Shiffrin’s prominence can overshadow the rest of the competition. Put on these metaphorical sunglasses to fully appreciate Robinson’s accomplishments.

With her giant slalom victory at Copper Mountain, the 24-year-old Kiwi became the most decorated non-European, non-American Alpine ski racer in history. She had three Cup wins this season (trailing only Shiffrin) across several disciplines, as well as a second- and third-place finish.

If the Winter Olympics were held today, Robinson would be a clear gold medal favorite in the giant slalom and (possibly) the super-G. She now leads in Cup points in both disciplines. If she can hold on in either by late March, it will be her first career Crystal Globe(s) and the first for any Australian Alpine skier, male or female.

Robinson is expected to start in the giant slalom. Given her recent results, anticipate her to put on a show.