In her second World Cup appearance of the season, Madi Hoffman claimed 36th place in the slalom event in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, an improvement on her first World Cup race of the season 42nd‑place finish last week.
 
Competing in a field of 66 athletes, Hoffman crossed the line in a time of 52.79 seconds, edging closer to the top‑30 cutoff required to qualify for the second run. She finished 3.99 seconds behind first‑run leader and American ski legend Mikaela Shiffrin.
 
In the second run, Shiffrin went on to secure the 108th World Cup victory of her remarkable career.

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.

Unfortunately Madi Hoffman has confirmed her northern winter season has come to an end, with the 24-year-old injuring both knees last week in Italy.

The injury comes just after Hoffman had a great week racing in Panorama, Canada, where she took gold, silver, and bronze medals in Nor-Am Cup events.

Madi Hoffman has had a successful return to the Nor-Am circuit, with a podium performance in three of the four events in Panorama Resort in BC, Canada.
 
First up in the Canadian resort were two slalom events, with Hoffman placing third in the first event, and second on day two.
 
In the first day of giant slalom competition, Hoffman finished in first place to claim the third Nor-Am victory of her career.
 
Unfortunately in the second giant slalom event, Hoffman recorded a DNF.

IMAGE - Madi Hoffman in action in Canada
© Janice Morgan

The World Cup Alpine Skiing tour has now moved to the USA, with events in Killington for the women and then Beaver Creek for both the men and women
 
First up was a double World Cup competition in Killington, featuring a giant slalom and slalom event with Madi Hoffman in action.
 
Hoffman placed 44th in the giant slalom in a time of 1:00.36 seconds, just missing out on the top-30 second run by 1.11 seconds.

American Mikaela Shiffrin’s bid to become the first alpine skier to win 100 World Cup events looked set to take place on home soil after winning the first run in a time of 55.78 seconds, before spectacularly crashed out on the second run, with Sara Hector of Sweden recording the win.
 
In the slalom event, Hoffman recorded a did not finish in the first run after missing a turn half way down the course. Victory over the two runs later went to Camille Rast of Switzerland.
 
The next World Cup is for the men in Beaver Creek, with Louis Muhlen-Schulte competing in the Giant Slalom on December 8th.
 
Greta Small will open her season in Beaver Creek the following week, with a downhill on December 14 and Super G on December 15.

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.

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.

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.

Alpine skier Madi Hoffman has started the season in style in Levi, Finland, becoming the first Australian to record World Cup points in the slalom event since 2002, when Olympic bronze medallist Zali Steggall placed 18th in the final World Cup event of her legendary career.

On Saturday in the first of two World Cup slalom events in Levi, Hoffman had a great first run completing the course in a time of 56.62 seconds in 25th place. In the second run Hoffman again had the 25th fastest run, finishing her run in 59.38 second, giving her a two tun total time of 1 minute 56 seconds, finishing 25th overall, 5.41 seconds behind event winner and 2022 Olympic slalom gold medallist Petra Vlhova of Slovakia.

The performance was even more impressive, considering it was just the third World Cup start of her career, with World Cup points only awarded to athletes who finish in the top-30 of the field of 85 skiers on the weekend.

Speaking in the finish area after the event to two-time Olympic medallist Lydia Lassila who now lives in the Finnish ski resort, Hotham was thrilled with her start to the season.

"First points so very excited" said the 23-year-old.

"This lets me know that my normal (racing) is good enough and now have the foundation to push even harder."

"The girls put down a clinic at the end, so I have some good visuals for tomorrow"

"It has definitely pumped me up for the rest of the season."

In the second World event on Sunday, Hoffman finished in 46th place, 3.58 seconds behind first place. Taking the win on Sunday was the “GOAT” of ski racing, Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA, who recorded the 89th World Cup victory of her career.

Hoffman and her team are now finalising her schedule for December, determining which World Cup and Europa Cups she will race in before Christmas.