TREMblANT ERUPTS AS SHIFFRIN REVEALS A SEASON-SHIFTING ADMISSION:
The American icon opens up on her giant-slalom struggles and vows a bold turnaround, fueling anticipation as she targets a long-awaited GS podium in a high-pressure Canadian doubleheader with Olympic stakes rising fast.
The winter chill sweeping across Quebec blends with the noise of cheering fans and humming chairlifts as Mont-Tremblant launches a crucial double-event weekend in the PwC Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup. The iconic Flying Mile slope is once again the stage for the world’s best women on the giant slalom circuit—and all eyes naturally drift toward Mikaela Shiffrin. At 30, the two-time Olympic gold medalist steps into Tremblant determined to clinch her first GS podium of the season, all while carrying the heavy pressure of an ongoing Olympic-year campaign.
Saturday’s schedule opens with the first GS run at 11 a.m. local time (5 p.m. CET), followed by the second heat at 2 p.m. local (8 p.m. CET). Sunday rolls out slightly earlier with starts at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. local. Across the two days, athletes have 200 potential points available—an opportunity big enough to reshape the discipline standings. With snow officials giving a positive control report earlier this week, course setters and racers anticipate ideal hardpack conditions that tend to reward athletes with Shiffrin’s trademark precision and balance.
Shiffrin enters Tremblant sitting comfortably atop the World Cup overall tally with 368 points. She maintains a healthy 90-point advantage over 18-year-old sensation Lara Colturi of Albania, who has emerged as one of the breakout names of the season with 278 points. The American star’s supremacy in slalom has been unmistakable; she has swept all three slaloms so far—Levi, Gurgl, and the emotionally charged Copper Mountain race last weekend. That Copper win was a symbolic one: her 104th career victory, achieved exactly a year after a dramatic crash at the same venue kept her off snow for two months. By edging Germany’s Lena Dürr by a massive 1.57 seconds, she displayed the kind of mental resilience and technical clarity that has defined her storied career.
Yet giant slalom remains the unsettled storyline. Shiffrin began her GS season positively with a determined fourth-place showing in Sölden, suggesting she was ready to fight for the top again. But her follow-up race at Copper, where she slipped to 14th, exposed the ongoing adjustments she is working through. She stands sixth in the GS discipline with 68 points, trailing early-season leader Alice Robinson of New Zealand—Copper’s GS winner—and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund, who has accumulated 105 points. After the Copper race, Shiffrin hinted that she was still fine-tuning elements of her Atomic ski setup and experimenting with line strategies to regain comfort in the longer-radius turns. Although she possesses a historic 22 GS victories—more than any female skier ever—this season’s campaign carries extra weight. She opted out of defending her GS world title at the 2025 World Championships, partly due to lingering psychological shadows from her previous injury at Killington. For her, Tremblant represents a chance to reset, rebuild momentum, and confront that unfinished business.
Several major rivals loom in the wings. Last year’s GS Crystal Globe champion, Italy’s Federica Brignone, is unavailable after suffering a season-ending leg injury in April, removing one of the most consistent threats from the start list. But the field remains brutal. Robinson has already grabbed two wins this season and looks confident. Sweden’s Sara Hector, one of the most experienced GS racers on the tour, sits fourth in the discipline standings with 79 points. The American squad also brings depth and danger—Paula Moltzan sits third with 80 points, and Nina O’Brien, back in strong form, is sixth with 64 points. Both are capable of podium-level skiing. For the home crowd, Canada’s Valérie Grenier stands as the leading hope. Her steady early-season finishes—11th in Sölden and 12th in Copper—show consistency, and Tremblant’s energy could lift her into podium contention. Teenage Canadian Britt Richardson, a rising talent, adds extra excitement for the local supporters.
Tremblant itself contributes a special kind of magic. Two years ago, the venue delivered Shiffrin a pair of bronze medals, achievements she credited in part to the roaring, bilingual crowd that pushed her down the course. She noted afterward how the cheers were loud enough to be heard from the starting area—an unusual, uplifting cue for any racer perched above a steep, icy hill. This year, more than 15,000 fans are expected to line the fences, supported by nearly 300 volunteers. The World Cup’s North American technical block—two events in Copper followed by two in Tremblant—has become a spirited mini-tour that often produces unpredictable outcomes and dramatic ranking shifts.
For Shiffrin, who recently got engaged to Norwegian speed star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and has her eyes fixed firmly on the Milano Cortina 2026 Games, the significance of this weekend stretches beyond a mere podium chase. A strong performance would strengthen her GS standings, stabilize her overall campaign, and help extinguish the quiet questions about her form since the Killington crash last season. She joked after Copper that “everyone is exhausted and ready for a nap,” but her competitive fire remains unmistakable. Tremblant offers a perfect chance to strike before the season heads into the deeper winter grind.
Coverage will be available through NBC and Peacock for American viewers, while European audiences can follow every gate through Eurosport. With Quebec’s snowfall glistening and the GS battle heating up, this weekend could deliver the breakthrough run Shiffrin has been searching for—and perhaps an eruption of cheers worthy of an Olympic year.
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