Louis Muhlen-Schulte and Madi Hoffman have both competed at the World Cup slalom events in Gurgl, Austria, over the weekend, with Muhlen-Schulte coming agonisingly close to qualifying for the top-30 second run, missing out by just 0.05 seconds in 32nd place.

The 32nd place is his best ever result in World Cup slalom, with the 2022 Olympian making the top-30 once last season in the giant slalom discipline and becoming the first Australian male to score World Cup ranking points in a technical discipline.
 
Muhlen-Schulte finished in a time of 55.56 seconds, 2.76 seconds behind event winner Clement Noel of France.
 
“Gurgl that's a tough one. Never love being on the wrong side of the coin (second run top-30), but I'm happy to be there fighting with the best.
 
“It was not an easy day by any means, really icy and the hill is harder than it looks. I haven't skied much slalom this season but wanted to give it a crack and came into the weekend feeling good. The run was good I'm happy with my skiing, I had a few too many mistakes but I'm glad the speed is there and I am excited that there's plenty more racing to come.
 
“Up next for me I have a week of training in Europe then I'm headed to Beaver Creek for the next giant slalom of the season.”
 
In the women’s event, Madi Hoffman finished the first run in 53rd place in a time of 54.67 seconds, 3.59 seconds behind the event winner, legendary American skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who recorded her 99th FIS World Cup victory, and can claim win number 100 on home soil next weekend in Killington.

2022 Olympian Louis Muhlen-Schulte has competed in the opening Alpine Skiing World Cup event of the season in Sölden, Austria, finishing in 51st place out of 74 competitors.
 
Under sunny skies on the on the Sölden glacier, Muhlen-Schulte crossed the line in a time of 1:08.06 seconds, 3.75 seconds behind eventual event winner Alexander Steen Olsen who led a clean sweep of the podium for Norway.
 
The Alpine Skiing World Cup season will run through to mid-March, with the World Championships set to take place in Saalbach, Austria, from February 4-16, 2025.
 
Before the opening event, Muhlen-Schulte commented on how he is feeling heading into the 2024-2025 season.
 
“I’m super excited to start the new FIS Alpine season in Sölden. I’m hoping to start the season off strong, keeping the momentum going from the end of last season: said the 26-year-old from Melbourne.
 
“I had a great summer training in New Zealand and on the glaciers in Europe so I’m excited to see what happens."
 
The next World Cup event will take place in Levi, Finland, with Muhlen-Schulte to be joined by Madi Hoffman in the slalom on November 16-17.

Over the weekend Australia's leading alpine ski racers competed in various National Championship FIS events.

Madi Hoffman had a gold (slalom) and a bronze medal (giant slalom) at the USA National Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Louis Muhlen-Schulte competed in the Italian National Junior Championships in Kronplatz, with a silver medal in the first slalom event and an eighth-place finish in another slalom event the following day.

Harry Laidlaw was fifth in the National Championships giant slalom event at Malbun in Lichtenstein.

2022 Olympian Louis Muhlen-Schulte has created history, becoming the first Australian male to finish in the top-30 in a World Cup giant slalom race and secure World Cup points after placing 27th in Aspen, USA.

Three Australian alpine ski racers have now advanced to the top-30 second run in the technical events (slalom and giant slalom) this season, with Madi Hoffman 25th in Slalom at Levi, Finland, in November, and Harry Laidlaw qualifying for the second run in 24th place at Bankso, Bulgaria, in mid-February, but unfortunately crashed out in the final sector of the course in the second run recording a "DNF".

Harry Laidlaw was also close to the top-30 in the Aspen race, just missing in 33rd place, with world number one  Marco Odermatt of Switzerland claiming victory.

In the second giant slalom event in Aspen, Muhlen-Schulte almost made it back-to-back top 30's, finishing in 32nd place. Unfortunately Harry Laidlaw was unable to finish his first run. Marco Odermatt also won on day two, making it an incredible twelve straight giant slalom World Cup wins for the Swiss star.

"It's definitely pretty cool to make history for Australia," said the 25-year-old Muhlen-Schulte from Melbourne.

"I hope though that it's just the start and between Harry, myself and all the other Aussies we can really start to put Australia on the map in the world of skiing!"

"I honestly had no idea how many guys were going out first run, I tend to just stick to my game plan and focus on that. So I was pretty surprised, I guess I had a good game plan coming into it."

"It's honestly super cool, watching Madi crush it on the woman's side and then Harry and I starting to put things together on then men's side it's awesome to be a part of and show the world of skiing what Australia can do. It's for sure a long way from where we all started racing Australian championships and small races, but I think it shows how if you stick to your goals and work hard it doesn't matter where you start!"

The next World Cup for Muhlen-Schulte and Laidlaw will be the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on March 9.

The men's World Cup tour has now moved to the USA, with Olympians Harry Laidlaw and Louis Muhlen-Schulte competing in the giant slalom event at the Palisades resort in Lake Tahoe.

In the first run, both skiers missed out on the top-30 to advance to the final run, Laidlaw was 36th and Muhlen-Schulte 47th.

Marco Odermatt of Switzerland recorded the win, with Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway in second, and River Radamus of the USA in third.

A double World Cup will take place next in Aspen on March 1 and 2.

Australian alpine skier Harry Laidlaw has shown he can match it with the best, reaching the top-30 and second run in the World Cup giant slalom event in Bankso, Bulgaria, for the first time in his ski racing career.

Laidlaw finished the first run in impressive fashion to place 24th in a time of 1:12.99 seconds. In making the top-30 qualifying level, the 27yo earnt himself a second run in the event, becoming the first Australian male to achieve this feat at World Cup level in a giant slalom race.

In the second run, Laidlaw showed great technical skill and speed and appeared set to be the first Australian to claim World Cup ranking points in the giant slalom, but unfortunately crashed out in the final sector of the course.

“Whenever I push out of the start gate, I push to be competitive and this culture has been ingrained in us within this special team at Global Racing” said the 2018 Olympian.

“It hurts not putting two runs together but proud to have pushed the way I did.”

“More to come and grateful to be racing.”

2022 Olympian Louis Muhlen-Schulte finished in 41st place, his best ever World Cup finish in a giant slalom.

Alpine skiing Olympians Louis Muhlen-Schulte and Harry Laidlaw both competed in the Schladming World Cup giant slalom under lights in Austria last week.

Muhlen-Schulte was the only finisher, crossing the line in a time of 1:08.36 seconds in 53rd position missing out on advancing to the top-30 second run.

Harry Laidlaw unfortunately did not get through the course when after making a promising start in the top section, his ski released later during his run.

Over the past week Madi Hoffman has had three World Cup starts in two different countries, with her best result coming the giant slalom in Jasna, Slovakia.

First up was the night slalom event in Flachau, Austria, with Hoffman recording a did not finish in the first run.

Next the women's tour moved to Jasna, Slovakia, for a double event weekend featuring giant slalom and slalom.

In the giant slalom, Hoffman finished in 51st place and in the slalom did not finish her first run.

Legendary US skier Mikael Shiffrin further extended her record for most ever wins by an alpine skier, with victories in both slalom events taking her career total to 95 victories, with Sara Hector winning the giant slalom.

This week Olympians Harry Laidlaw and Louis Muhlen-Schulte will be competing in the World Cup giant slalom in Schladming, Austria, with the event to take place on January 23.

Unfortunately three time Olympian Greta Small is set for a stint on the sidelines after injuring her arm last week.

Three-time Olympian Greta Small took part in her first World Cups events of the new year, competing in two super-g and one downhill in Altenmark-Zauchensee, Austria.

First up was a super-g, with Small finishing in 54th place. In the downhill on day two Small finished 43rd, and in the third and final event on Sunday, Small recorded a did not finish in the second super-g at the Austrian resort.

One week earlier in Adelboden, Switzerland, 2018 Olympian Harry Laidlaw made a successful return to competition in his first event of the season after recovering from injury , finishing in 38th place in the World Cup giant slalom race.

The result is just one place behind his best World Cup finish of 37th which he achieved in January 2023 in Schladming, Austria.

Joining Laidlaw in the Adelboden giant slalom event was Louis Muhlen-Schulte, with the 2022 Olympian finishing in 45th place.

Technical event skier Madi Hoffman competed in a number of World Cup events over the Christmas-New Year period. First was a 37th place finish in the slalom in Courchevel, France, on December 21, followed by a 50th place in a World Cup giant slalom in Lienz, Austria a week later.

In the new year Hoffman raced in the World Cup at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, but did not finish in the slalom.

Greta Small and Louis Muhlen-Schulte have both competed in World Cup events in Europe over the past few days, with Madison Hoffman in action on the European Cup circuit.

Three-time Olympian Greta Small took part in the downhill event in Val d’Isere, France, finishing in 48th place.

The next women’s World Cup speed events take in place in the new year on January 13-14 in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria.

In the first of two giant slalom World Cup’s in Alta Badia Italy, 2022 Olympian Muhlen-Schulte finished the first run in 51st place, missing on the top-30 needed for the second run.

A second giant slalom event will take place tonight in Alta Badia Italy tonight featuring Muhlen-Schulte.

Madison Hoffman competed in two slalom European Cup events at Valle Aurina/Ahrntal in the South Tirol in Italy.

On day one Hoffman finished in 38th place, and then improved in the second event placing 27th.

Hoffman will compete in the World Cup slalom in Courchevel, France, on December 21.

2018 Olympian Harry Laidlaw is also nearing a return to competition after injury interrupted his start to the northern hemisphere winter.