Nicolas Garcia

By Margo Rawlings

As the alpine skiing season comes to a close, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Alpine Ski World Cup Finals are fast approaching. This year, Sun Valley, Idaho will host the finals for the first time in FIS history. After over four months of competition, the top 25 male and female skiers in each discipline will compete in Sun Valley. At the conclusion of the races, the top six skiers in each discipline will receive small Crystal Globes; additionally, the skier with the most overall points will win the Overall World Cup title and the large globe. The remaining competitors are striving to better their point totals to boost their starting positions next season. 

Due to unusual snowfall and high winds, the Idaho resort cancelled the downhill races scheduled for Mar. 22, resulting in automatic victories for the men’s and women’s point leaders. In the women’s circuit, Italian Federica Brignone will win her first career small downhill globe as well as her second overall title. Since Brignone currently leads Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami by 382 points in the overall standings, it is mathematically impossible for Gut-Behrami to surpass her as race winners receive 100 points per race and there are three races remaining. Moreover, with a 16-point advantage over Austria’s Cornelia Huetter in the downhill standings, the race’s cancellation secured Brignone’s triumph. Similarly, in the men’s circuit, Marco Odermatt of Switzerland will also win his second downhill globe due to his 83-point lead in the downhill classification. 

 As of Mar. 22, however, the men’s overall winner is yet to be decided. Strong contenders include Odermatt, Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen, and Swiss Loic Meillard. Odermatt currently holds 1,596 points, giving him a strong lead over Kristofferson (1006) and Meillard (931). The remaining disciplines include Super-G on Mar. 23 and the Slalom events from Mar. 25-27. 

In the men’s slalom, Kristoffersen heads the leaderboard by 47 points with Meillard at 2nd. If Meillard takes first place in the final and Kristoffersen places fourth or lower, Meillard will win his first Slalom globe and increase his cut some of the point differential between him and Odermatt. 

In the women’s Slalom, fans favor Croatian Zrinka Ljustic or Swiss Camille Rast to take home the women’s globe. Although both athletes began the 2024-25 season without a World Cup win, they currently lead the Slalom classification with 515 points and 474 points, respectively. 

It’s safe to say that this year’s World Cup finals will be exciting for spectators and athletes alike as they are a culmination of months of hard work. Fans can also tune in to watch the freestyle finals currently taking place in Idre Fjäll, Sweden. 

(Sources: FIS Ski, France24, NBC Sports, Yahoo Sports)