Madi Hoffman continued her return from injury last week, competing in her first World Cup of the season, a slalom event in Flachau, Austria.
 
In a field of 76 skiers, Hoffman finished the first run in 42nd place, missing the top-30 for the second run. Phoebe Heaydon also competed for Australia, but was unable to finish her run.
 
Taking victory was legendary American skier Mikaele Shiffrin, the 107th World Cup win of her career.
 
Also competing for Australia in World Cup Alpine events  last week was Greta Small who competed in Tarvisio, Italy, finishing 48th in the downhill and 53rd in the super-g.
 
Hugh McAdam took part in World Cup slalom events in Wengen and Adelboden in Switzerland but was unable to complete his run at both events.

Updates on OWIA alpine skiing athletes and World Cup performances from Snow Australia National Team members.
 
Madi Hoffman made a successful return from a knee injury sustained over 12 months ago in the Nor-Am Cup slalom events in Mont Saint-Sauveur, Canada, finishing 12th on both days of competition. Hoffman is scheduled to make her World Cup return along with Snow Australia national team member Phoebe Heaydon in the slalom event in Flachau, Austria, on January 13.
 
Harry Laidlaw had a busy week competing in four giant slalom events. First up were the Nor-Am cup events in Tremblant, Canada, where he was 22nd on day one and 17th on day two. He then headed to Burke Mountain in the USA for two FIS events, where Laidlaw was victorious on both days.
 
Greta Small competed in the World Cup event in Zauchensee, Austria, where she finished in 55th place. Next up for Small is the World Cup in Tarvisio, Italy, with a downhill on January 17th and super-g on January 18th.
 
Snow Australia national team member Hugh McAdam has competed in two World Cup events in the past week in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, and Adelboden, Switzerland, but was unable to finish in both events. McAdam will compete in the slalom in Wengen, Switzerland, on January 18th.

2022 Olympian Louis Muhneln-Schulte unfortunately suffered a season ending knee injury at the European Cup giant slalom event in Valloire, France.
 
Muhlen-Schulte was on track for another strong season as the highest ranked Australian male on the FIS Point List and had come close to making the top-30 in World Cup events in Soelden and Copper Mountain.

See Muhlen-Schulte’s Instagram post for full details on the injury and to wish him all the best.

Courchevel World Cup Slalom
Sophie Mahon was the only Australian to compete in World Cup competition this week in the slalom in Courchevel, France, finishing 49th in an event that was won by legendary American Mikaela Shiffrin in the 105th World Cup victory of her career. .
 
Hugh McAdam will compete in the Slalom World Cup tonight in Alta Badia, Italy.

Three-time Olympian Greta Small made a strong return to competition at the 2025 World Championships after a season-ending knee injury last February. Small contested the downhill on day one, finishing 57th, in a race won by U.S. legend Lindsey Vonn, who claimed her first World Cup victory since returning after a five year break at the age of 41.
 
2022 Olympian Louis Muhlen-Schulte lined up in the World Cup giant slalom in Val d’Isère, France, but was unable to complete his run after losing a ski just past the halfway mark. Victory went to Timon Haugan of Norway.
 
Looking ahead, Sophie Mahon will compete in Courchevel, France, on December 16. Small will remain in St Moritz for a European Cup Downhill on December 17 and 18.
 
Muhlen-Schulte and Harry Laidlaw will compete in the European Cup giant slalom events in Valloire, France, on February 16 and 17.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT- FIS/Simon Hausberger

2022 Olympian Louis Muhlen-Schulte competed in his second World Cup giant slalom event in Colorado, racing on the legendary Birds of Prey course at Beaver Creek.
 
Muhlen-Schulte completed his first run in 1:11.33, placing 39th, just 2.53 seconds behind first-run leader and Swiss superstar Marco Odermatt.
 
Odermatt maintained his lead in the second run to claim his second victory at Beaver Creek, following his downhill win two days earlier. Alex Vinatzer of Italy secured second place, while Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway finished third.
 
Next up, Muhlen-Schulte heads back to Europe for the upcoming World Cup event in Val d’Isère, France.
 
Great Small eyeing World Cup return in St Moritz
Three-time Olympian Greta Small is set to make her comeback next weekend in St. Moritz, Switzerland, competing in the women’s speed events after a season-ending knee injury at the 2025 Alpine Skiing World Championships. The World Cup schedule in St Moritz will feature two downhill races and one super-G event.

2022 Olympian Louis Muhlen-Schulte achieved his best result of the season, finishing 34th in the World Cup giant slalom at Copper Mountain, USA.
 
Muhlen-Schulte finished in a time of 1:16.46 in his first run, narrowly missing the cut for the second run by just 0.14 seconds, and finishing 3.19 seconds behind first-run leader Stefan Brennsteiner of Austria.
 
In the final standings, Brennsteiner held his lead to claim the first World Cup victory of his career, with Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen in second and Croatia’s Filip Zubcic third.
 
Muhlen-Schulte will remain in Colorado for another giant slalom event in Beaver Creek on December 7.

The Alpine Skiing World Cup moved from Finland to Austria over the weekend, with Louis Muhlen-Schulte, Hugh McAdam, and Sophie Mahon representing Australia in the slalom event at the Tirolian resort of Gurgl.
 
In the women’s competition, Mahon, in only her second World Cup start, finished the opening run in 43rd place, trailing by 5.86 seconds behind American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, who dominated both runs on the day to claim her 103rd career World Cup victory.
 
Among the men, 2022 Olympian Muhlen-Schulte crossed the line in 45th place, 3.65 seconds behind first-run leader Atle Lie McGrath of Norway, while Hugh McAdam recorded a did not finish.
 
The second run featured the top 30 skiers from the opening run, with Frenchman Paco Rassat storming from 14th place to secure his first World Cup win.
 
The FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup tour moves to North America, with races at Copper Mountain and Beaver Creek in Colorado, USA, and then Tremblant in Quebec, Canada.

The opening FIS World Cup slalom events of the season took place over the weekend in Levi, Finland, with four Australian athletes representing their country on the world stage.

Making their World Cup debuts were Phoebe Heaydon and Sophie Mahon in the women’s competition, while 2022 Olympian Louis Muhlen-Schulte and Hugh McAdam lined up in the men’s event.
 
Women’s Slalom
In a competitive field of 84 skiers, Heaydon delivered the best Australian result in the first run, finishing 63rd, while Mahon placed 69th. In first place was American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin claiming her 102nd World Cup victory, followed by Lara Colturi of Albania and Emma Aicher of Germany.

Heaydon described her debut as a lifelong dream realised:

“It feels like a dream come true to make my World Cup debut. It’s something every ski racer dreams of achieving. I’m proud I’ve gotten to this level, but racing my first one has only made me more determined to continue to get better.

“It’s taken an extreme amount of hard work, dedication, and countless sacrifices to get to this level. There is not only the physical demand of the sport but also the mental aspect that has been pivotal in getting me to the World Cup stage.

Mahon echoed the excitement:

“It feels amazing to have made my World Cup debut in Levi representing Australia. I am so proud of all the work my team and I have put in to get to racing on this stage. It’s truly a dream come true to get to this point in my career.

“With my first World Cup completed, I’m really excited for what lies ahead. I will be competing at the World Cup in Gurgl, Austria, next week. I’m looking forward to bringing more confidence into each race and continuing to build to be competitive in these fields.

Men’s Slalom
In the men’s event, Hugh McAdam finished 62nd in a field of 81 skiers, while Muhlen-Schulte recorded a Did Not Finish.

The podium was headed by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Brazil in his country’s first ever World Cup victory with Clement Noel of France and Eduard Hallberg of Finland rounding out the top three.

The World Cup Alpine tour now heads to Austria, with Louis Muhlen-Schulte and Sophie Mahon set to compete in the slalom event in Gurgl, on November 23–24.
 

 

Louis Muhlen-Schulte launched his 2025/26 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup campaign with an encouraging 35th place performance in the giant slalom on the Rettenbach Glacier in Sölden, Austria, his highest place finish in the traditional Alpine season opener.
 
Competing under snowy skies with  limited visibility on a deteriorating race course against a world-class field of 75 skiers, the 2022 Olympian posted a time of 1:01.17 in the first run, narrowly missing qualification for the top-30 second run by just 0.55 seconds.
 
Swiss superstar Marco Odermatt claimed victory, with Austria’s Marco Schwarz and Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath rounding out the podium.
 
Reflecting on his performance, the 27-year-old from Melbourne said after the race:
 
“Not a bad start to the race season. Definitely would have loved to be on the right side of the top-30, but I was happy with the skiing and considering my shortened preparation I'll take the close race.
 
“Not only has my skiing progressed a lot since the last Olympic cycle but also me personally as an athlete. How I overcome obstacles and generally deal with the struggles of a racer I think I have a much more calm balanced approach now.
 
“The next stop for me will be the slalom World Cup opener in Levi. I think now I have a bit more time to prep so the plan is to keep building strength back in my ankle then build up the slalom skiing so I can head into that race feeling a little more prepared and ready to race. But otherwise the mental approach remains the same. I want to be fighting in the second run that's where I know I can be.”
 
The first slalom World Cup event of the season will take place on November 15 and 16 in Levi, Finland.

The final World Cup events of the season have taken place for Louis Muhlen-Schulte, with giant slalom and slalom races in Hafjell, Norway.
 
First up for the 2022 Olympian was the giant slalom, with Muhlen-Schulte finishing in 47th place in the first run finishing in a time of 1:12.47, 3.07 seconds behind event winner Loic Meillard of Switzerland, who led a Swiss clean sweep with Marco Odermatt and Thomas Tumlber also on the podium.
 
In the slalom, Muhlen-Schulte was 48th in a time of 1:05.27, 4.81 seconds behind Meillard who made it back-to-back victories over the weekend.
 
The World Cup finals for Alpine Skiing will take place in Sun Valley, Idaho, USA, from March 22 to 27.