As usual, Mikaela Shiffrin will be favored in World Cup at Killington
Shiffrin has won all three slalom races at the Vermont resort since 2016.
Since 2016, Vermont has adopted a tradition on Thanksgiving weekend: Killington hosts a World Cup ski event, thousands of fans show up, and Mikaela Shiffrin wins the Sunday slalom to roaring applause.
That tradition looks set to continue this year, though Shiffrin will face stiff competition. The women’s races that make up the event will follow the same schedule as previous years: the giant slalom Saturday, with the slalom Sunday.
NBC will have coverage, and general admission is free. In 2018, just less than 40,000 fans came over the two days, an impressive number even by European standards.
Conditions should be ideal. An early-season burst of cold provided snowmakers with more than enough time to prepare the trail (named “Superstar’’) for the world’s fastest skiers.
Here are some of the talking points for another round of World Cup racing.
■ Shiffrin is looking forward to another “hometown crowd.’’
At 24, she has become the most dominant skier in the world. Not only has she won all three slalom races at Killington since 2016, but she is coming off a season in which she won a record 17 World Cup races on her way to capturing season titles in four disciplines, including a third straight overall title. That only adds to her most prominent accomplishments: gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 Olympics.
On top of that, her slalom victory in Finland this month meant she has passed Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark for the most World Cup slalom wins ever (41).
Coming to race in New England has always held a special significance to the American champion. Shiffrin grew up skiing in New Hampshire and attended Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont. Yet her first World Cup experience at Killington in 2016 was difficult, given the pressure that accompanied her status as a favorite.
“I was so nervous the first year we had it there,’’ Shiffrin recalled. “If you want to talk about expectations, that was definitely a race where I was feeling the expectations.’’
But Shiffrin delivered, winning the slalom in front of a cheering crowd. Since then, she’s become better at handling the perpetual pressure placed on her.
“Every year it’s almost felt like a safe haven of a race,’’ Shiffrin said of Killington. “So many of my old teammates that I used to race with, friends, and family, and people that I know from the East Coast come to that race.
“I feel so welcome there that it’s just like racing in front of a hometown crowd even if I don’t live there anymore.’’
■ While Shiffrin already has tasted victory this season, she was denied a giant slalom win in the first World Cup event by a 17-year-old from New Zealand.
Alice Robinson became the first New Zealand woman to win a World Cup giant slalom when she bested Shiffrin by 0.06 seconds at Soelden in Austria in October.
Robinson also was the youngest female World Cup winner since Shiffrin herself almost seven years ago.
Because of a knee injury suffered during training, Robinson said in an Instagram post, she won’t decide if she will race at Killington until just before the weekend. But if she does take part, the giant slalom will be her best opportunity to get a second win.
■ In the slalom, Shiffrin will face a more familiar foe: Slovakian Petra Vlhova, 24, who took a first-run lead on Shiffrin in Finland a week ago, only to ski out on her second run.
The duo have a remarkable streak going; since January 2017, they’ve combined to win every World Cup slalom competition (Shiffrin holds the edge, 17-4).
A year ago, Vlhova finished 0.57 seconds behind Shiffrin at Killington.
■ When Killington was given the World Cup event in 2016, the concern was whether it would be cold enough beforehand to allow for ample snowmaking.
“Definitely the first year, we were more worried about it,’’ said Killington president and general manager Mike Solimano. “I don’t want to ever say that it’s guaranteed, because you always need cold. But I think we have such a strong snowmaking system and a great team.’’
In fact, Solimano now thinks the timing is actually better in the context of Killington’s operational plan. Most of the mountain isn’t open yet, and since Superstar is in the middle, having to close it off would “split the mountain.’’
“You can’t let people just ski through there,’’ Solimano said. “If it was midwinter, that’s a thoroughfare with people going from one side of the mountain to the other, either at the top or the bottom of the trail. So in a strange way, it’s actually a great weekend for the race.’’
Following the event, Solimano said Killington plans to begin opening trails on the other side of Superstar.
Race details
When: Saturday (giant slalom) and Sunday (slalom)
Time: First run, 9:45 a.m.; second run, 1 p.m.
Admission: Free
Television: NBCSN (Saturday, 12:30 p.m.), NBC (Sunday, 12:30 p.m.)
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