2018 Olympian Harry Laidlaw will head into the 2023 FIS Alpine World Championships full of confidence, after recording his first ever European Cup podium in Folgaria, Italy.

The podium is the first ever Australian giant slalom European Cup medal, and the first of any kind since Jono Brauer finished first in January 2006 competing in slalom. 

Competing in two Europa Cup giant slalom's in the Italian resort, Laidlaw achieved his podium performance in the first race with a silver medal in the two run time of 1:53.90, 1.15 seconds behind event winner George Steffey of America. Also in action for Australia was Louis Muhlen-Schulte in 52nd and Hugh McAdam who did not qualify for the second run.

In the second race, Laidlaw finished in eighth, with McAdam not qualifying for the second run, and Muhlen-Schulte not able to complete his second run.

The results see Laidlaw move up to be ranked fourth on the European Cup giant slalom standings.

Later this week Laidlaw, Muhlen-Schulte and McAdam will compete in the parallel, giant slalom and slalom events at the World Championships in Courchevel and Meribel, France.

The 47th FIS Alpine Ski World Championships start on Monday with a small but determined Australian contingent ready to hit the French resorts of Courchevel and Meribel.

Triple-Olympian Greta Small will start her campaign on day one in the alpine combined event, and race the speed events over the course of the opening week.

Going into her fifth World Championships, the 27-year-old has lost none of her passion despite first racing the event as a teenager.

“It has given me a chance to reflect on what I’ve achieved,” said Small. “Going to my first World Championships at just 17 years old and now, ten years later I’m still here chasing my dreams.

“I remember how excited and proud I was to race in Schladming 2013, and I’m going to bring that same energy into Meribel 2023.”

Going into his third World Championships, Harry Laidlaw will be looking to continue the form he has shown already this season.

Currently ranked inside the top five on the Europa Cup standings, Laidlaw is knocking on the door of World Cup points having missed the top 30 by just 0.21s in Schladming last week.

Joining Laidlaw in the men’s technical races is Beijing Olympian Louis Muhlen-Shulte who has also earned some encouraging results on the highly-competitive slalom World Cup circuit.

“This is my first World Championships, so I am very excited about that,” said the 24-year-old. “I have made a lot of changes and progress in my slalom skiing and I am sorting out a few things on the GS side.

“I feel that competing in Beijing at the Olympics in 2022 definitely gives me more experience to draw from, as well as all the World Cup events I have competed in this season.

“I am constantly gaining more knowledge and a better understanding of how to do my best on any given day.”
The FIS Alpine World Championships run from Monday 6 to Sunday 19 February. Predominantly, the women’s events will be held in Meribel and the men’s at Courchevel, with both venues sharing the parallel events.

Click here for the World Championships schedule and results

Article courtesy of Snow Australia

Harry Laidlaw and Louis Muhlen-Schulte have returned to competition, taking part in the first FIS Alpine World Cup events of 2023.

Muhlen-Schulte was the first to compete, racing in a slalom event on January 4 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, finishing in 51st place, missing out on the top-30 to compete in the final run.

At the World Cup event over the weekend in n Adelboden, Switzerland, Laidlaw was first up in the giant slalom, with the 2018 Olympian finishing in 41st.

In the slalom in Adelboden, Muhlen-Schulte recorded a did not finish on the first run.

Thee time Olympian Greta Small will compete in her first World Cup events of 2023 in St Anton, Austria, with a downhill and super-g to take place next weekend.

Harry Laidlaw produced a pair of extremely impressive European Cup giant slalom results last week in Zinal, Austria.

The 2018 Olympian narrowly missed the podium on both days, finishing in fifth place on day one, and improved one spot higher to finish fourth on day two, just 0.5 second behind third place, giving Laidlaw his third top-10 European Cup performance for the month.

Laidlaw is currently at the World Cup in Alta Badia, Italy, for a double giant slalom event. In the first event overnight, he did not finish his first run, and will be looking to improve in the second event which will take place tonight.

Louis Muhlen-Schulte also competed in the Zinal giant slalom races, with his best result being a 25th place finish on day two. The 2022 Olympian also competed in the Italian National Championships Slalom event overnight, finishing in eighth. Muhlen-Schulte will compete in the World Cup slalom event in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, on December 22.

Greta Small was in action in Switzerland competing in the women's speed events at St Moritz. The three-time Olympian had her best performance in the second downhill, finishing in 45th place.

The World Cup Alpine tour returned to Europe over the weekend, with Louis Muhlen-Schulte and Harry Laidlaw in action for Australia.

Muhlen-Schulte made his first World Cup start of the season finishing in 48th place in the slalom.

In the giant slalom, Laidlaw was unable to finish the first run, recording a DNF.

The next men's technical events on the World Cup tour are a double giant slalom event in Alta Badia, Italy, on December 18-19, with a slalom event at Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, on December 22.

Last weekend saw the return to action for Australia’s top alpine skiers who were competing in World Cup and Europa Cup events in Canada and Europe, respectively.

In cold and icy conditions, Lake Louise (CAN) hosted three women's speed events, with three time Olympian Greta Small competing in two downhill and one super-g.

The weekend was dominated by downhill queen Sofia Goggia of Italy, who scored back-to-back downhill wins, and Suisse skier Corinne Suter, winner of the super-g and twice on the podium in the downhills. Small finished twice in top-40, finishing 40th and 42nd in the two downhill events, and 39th in the super-g.

In Gurgl, Austria, Harry Laidlaw and Louis Muhlen-Schulte were in the starting gate of two Europa Cup giant slalom races, as they continue their preparation ahead of the World Cup events in Val d'Isere, France, later in the month.

Laidlaw finished in the top-ten in the first of the two giant slaloms, just 0.27 from a podium position, scoring 26 Cup points, while Muhlen finished in 33rd position. The second giant slalom event was unlucky for the two Aussies skiers, with both registering DNF results in the first run.

Laidlaw and Muhlen-Schulte will travel to Val d'Isere next, where two technical races are scheduled for the 10-11 December. Laidlaw will compete in the giant slalom, while Muhlen will focus on the slalom.

Article courtesy: Snow Australia

The Men's Giant Slalom kicked off the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season this weekend in Soelden, Austria. Harry Laidlaw proudly represented Australia in an event typically dominated by European and Scandinavian athletes.

The 26-year-old has spent the majority of his time training with his Austrian-based Global Racing team in the northern hemisphere in the run-up to the season opener. 

“My domestic season went really well, I spent most of the southern season in Europe as my team Global Racing is based over here. We were a little nervous at the beginning with how little snow the glaciers had but in the end, we were super lucky with the conditions," Laidlaw said.

“This year I was lucky enough to get more support from my main sponsor Volkl with factory service which has been huge with getting the equipment called for the season.”

For those who wonder why Australian professional alpine skiers prefer to train in the northern hemisphere rather than the southern, Laidlaw compares it to how Australians love their NRL and AFL.

“Training and racing in Austria is a whole different type of energy, the best way to explain it would be like playing AFL or NRL in their major cities," he said "It's their main sport so there is more excitement and enthusiasm around alpine skiing.”

Laidlaw put down a clean first run in Soelden, finishing with a time of 1.03.21 to place 42nd in the World Cup opener, his second best FIS World Cup result. Marco Odermatt of Switzerland won the gold, ahead of Slovenia's Zan Kranjec in second and Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen in third.

Heading into a new season, Laidlaw is encouraged by his new world ranking of 31st which he achieved last season. Furthermore, the alpine skier has won three consecutive North American Cup victories, making him the first Australian Alpine skier to do so.

“Winning back-to-back Norams gives me a lot of confidence going into this season, I've figured out my race day mindset and the headspace I need to be in to do well.”

Looking at the rest of the World cup season ahead Laidlaw has set his sights on moving up the world rankings.

“My goal is to be a real competitor in the World Cup, to be ranked within the top 30 and build off that.”

See all FIS Alpine Soeldon World Cup results HERE

The next FIS World Cup event for the men will be held at Lech / Zuers Austria on the 12th & 13th of November. See the full calendar HERE

Source: snow.org.au

IMAGE - Harry Laidlaw Instagram