Shiffrin Skips Slalom as Sölden Opens 2026 World Cup Season

Aspen —The silence of the Sölden glacier is deceptive. It looks like a frozen lake, white and still, but under that crust, the machinery of Alpine skiing is already grinding into motion. This weekend, the 2026-27 World Cup season kicks off with giant slalom races on the Rettenbach, marking the start of a campaign that promises to be anything but predictable.

The obvious narrative here is that Mikaela Shiffrin is the woman to beat. After all, she just claimed her sixth overall title, equalling the record set by Annemarie Moser-Pröll in the 1970s. She has 110 career wins, a number that feels almost mythical. But if you look closely at what Shiffrin is actually doing, the picture changes. She isn’t ramping up; she’s pulling back. She’s calling this an “exploration season,” reducing her starts in slalom — her absolute stronghold — and shifting her focus to giant slalom and super-G.

Why would the best slalom skier in history skip the early slalom races in Finland and Austria? Why would she wait until November 29 in Killington to start her slalom campaign? It’s a bold, almost counterintuitive move. Shiffrin admits she has “really big questions” about whether she can win in GS again, her last victory in that discipline coming nearly three years ago. By stepping away from the discipline where she is untouchable, she is opening the door for her rivals. Suddenly, the slalom crown isn’t guaranteed; it’s contested.

On the men’s side, the story is different. Marco Odermatt is starting the chase for his sixth straight overall title. He’s not experimenting; he’s dominating. His consistency is the anchor of the men’s race, even as the calendar stretches through 43 events. For folks around here, the real action arrives in late November when the men hit the slopes at Copper Mountain, bringing the global spotlight directly to the valley.

The season is long. It winds through 40 women’s and 43 men’s races, interrupted by the world championships in Crans-Montana in February. It touches North America twice: the men race in Copper Mountain and Beaver Creek in late November and early December, while the women head to Killington, Tremblant, and Beaver Creek. In March, Sun Valley hosts the World Cup Finals for both genders.

But for now, the focus is on Sölden. The women race today, and on Sunday, Odermatt takes to the slopes. Shiffrin is watching, waiting, exploring. The ice is thin, and the stakes are high. The season has begun, and the first turns are already being carved into the snow.