{"id":2449657,"date":"2019-10-08T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/shiffrins-wins-chinas-debut-set-to-star-in-skiing-season\/"},"modified":"2019-10-08T22:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-09T04:00:00","slug":"shiffrins-wins-chinas-debut-set-to-star-in-skiing-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/shiffrins-wins-chinas-debut-set-to-star-in-skiing-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Shiffrin\u2019s wins, China\u2019s debut set to star in skiing season"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.888\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-314040-286\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Gabriele Facciotti \/ AP File | AP | Mikaela Shiffrin of Eagle-Vail competes during the women's super G race at the Alpine ski World Cup finals, in Soldeu, Andorra in March. A new Alpine ski season starts this month with Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, and Aksel Lund Svindal all retired.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><strong>Mikaela Shiffrin of Eagle-Vail competes during the women&#8217;s super G race at the Alpine ski World Cup finals, in Soldeu, Andorra in March. A new Alpine ski season starts this month with Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, and Aksel Lund Svindal all retired.<\/strong><br \/>Gabriele Facciotti \/ AP File | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Mikaela Shiffrin of Eagle-Vail competes during the women's super G race at the Alpine ski World Cup finals, in Soldeu, Andorra in March. A new Alpine ski season starts this month with Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, and Aksel Lund Svindal all retired.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Alessandro Trovati \/ AP File | AP | Austria's Marcel Hirscher, left, and the United States' Mikaela Shiffrin hold the World Cup overall trophies, at the Alpine ski finals in Soldeu, Andorra in March.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Austria&#8217;s Marcel Hirscher, left, and the United States&#8217; Mikaela Shiffrin hold the World Cup overall trophies, at the Alpine ski finals in Soldeu, Andorra in March.<\/strong><br \/>Alessandro Trovati \/ AP File | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-1.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Austria's Marcel Hirscher, left, and the United States' Mikaela Shiffrin hold the World Cup overall trophies, at the Alpine ski finals in Soldeu, Andorra in March.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | FILE - In this Sunday, March 17, 2019 file photo, Austria's Marcel Hirscher, left, and United States' Mikaela Shiffrin hold the World Cup overall trophies, at the alpine ski finals in Soldeu, Andorra. A new Alpine ski season starts this month, Oct. 2019, with Mikaela Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, and Aksel Lund Svindal all retired. (AP Photo\/Alessandro Trovati, File)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"5.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"22\">\n<p><strong>FILE &#8211; In this Sunday, March 17, 2019 file photo, Austria&#8217;s Marcel Hirscher, left, and United States&#8217; Mikaela Shiffrin hold the World Cup overall trophies, at the alpine ski finals in Soldeu, Andorra. A new Alpine ski season starts this month, Oct. 2019, with Mikaela Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, and Aksel Lund Svindal all retired. (AP Photo\/Alessandro Trovati, File)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-2.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"FILE - In this Sunday, March 17, 2019 file photo, Austria's Marcel Hirscher, left, and United States' Mikaela Shiffrin hold the World Cup overall trophies, at the alpine ski finals in Soldeu, Andorra. A new Alpine ski season starts this month, Oct. 2019, with Mikaela Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, and Aksel Lund Svindal all retired. (AP Photo\/Alessandro Trovati, File)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | FILE - In this Thursday, March 14, 2019 file photo, United States' Mikaela Shiffrin competes during the women's super G race at the alpine ski World Cup finals, in Soldeu, Andorra. A new Alpine ski season starts this month, Oct. 2019, with Mikaela Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, and Aksel Lund Svindal all retired. (AP Photo\/Gabriele Facciotti, File)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"4.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"20\">\n<p><strong>FILE &#8211; In this Thursday, March 14, 2019 file photo, United States&#8217; Mikaela Shiffrin competes during the women&#8217;s super G race at the alpine ski World Cup finals, in Soldeu, Andorra. A new Alpine ski season starts this month, Oct. 2019, with Mikaela Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, and Aksel Lund Svindal all retired. (AP Photo\/Gabriele Facciotti, File)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/WCup_New_Season_14926-48da0-3.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"FILE - In this Thursday, March 14, 2019 file photo, United States' Mikaela Shiffrin competes during the women's super G race at the alpine ski World Cup finals, in Soldeu, Andorra. A new Alpine ski season starts this month, Oct. 2019, with Mikaela Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, and Aksel Lund Svindal all retired. (AP Photo\/Gabriele Facciotti, File)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/shiffrins-wins-chinas-debut-set-to-star-in-skiing-season\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/shiffrins-wins-chinas-debut-set-to-star-in-skiing-season\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">ZURICH \u2014 While Mikaela Shiffrin is the expected superstar of a new Alpine ski season, China\u2019s debut race can be the surprise success.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The World Cup record book is at Shiffrin\u2019s mercy before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics based on the pace of her 17 wins last season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Skiing looks to the American star in a season without a major championship, and after three of its four biggest names retired.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There\u2019s no Lindsey Vonn, no Marcel Hirscher, no Aksel Lund Svindal \u2014 all Olympic and overall World Cup champions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThree names in that category is a big loss,\u201d acknowledged Atle Skaardal, who as women\u2019s race director watched Vonn\u2019s great career and Shiffrin\u2019s emergence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe are confident that new names will step up,\u201d Skaardal told The Associated Press at a World Cup pre-season meeting Friday. \u201cThe sport is bigger than a single person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The World Cup circuit takes a leap forward by going to China for the first time in its 53-year history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Expectations were initially not high for an Olympic downhill course 90 kilometers (55 miles) from Beijing. The area has few mountains and little natural snow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think we are going to see the ski world will be surprised,\u201d said Bernhard Russi, the master architect of Olympic slopes and the 1972 downhill gold medalist in Japan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The men\u2019s races at Yanqing in February will be a highlight of a season starting Oct. 26 in Soelden, Austria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">SHIFFRIN\u2019S WORLD<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Shiffrin\u2019s 2018-19 season was remarkable. Her third straight overall World Cup title was a procession of 17 wins in 26 races. She added two gold medals and a bronze at the biennial world championships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Only careful management of Shiffrin\u2019s race schedule saved the all-time World Cup points record set by Tina Maze in 2014. That 2,414 tally seems within sight in a 42-race schedule.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Still, it\u2019s not her main target, the U.S. team\u2019s Alpine director Jesse Hunt told The AP. \u201cHer goal is to win races, and she is comfortable with the workload.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Shiffrin now has 60 World Cup wins, fifth most all-time. It\u2019s likely only Vonn (82) and Ingmar Stenmark (86) will be left to chase next season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Greatness is best seen in a rivalry, and Shiffrin now has that with Petra Vlhova.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Slovak racer, aged 24 like Shiffrin, won five World Cup races last season and took three medals home from the worlds, including giant slalom gold.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think it\u2019s a very healthy one,\u201d Skaardal said of their duel. \u201cThey have a huge respect for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">AFTER MARCEL<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Men\u2019s skiing had the same World Cup champion for eight seasons. Hirscher opted last month to stop in peak condition at age 30 to enjoy family life in Austria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The two rivals who most often shared Hirscher\u2019s slalom and giant slalom podiums start favored to succeed him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Alexis Pinturault and Henrik Kristoffersen are suited by a 46-event World Cup program weighted against speed racers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Pinturault posted a video message to Hirscher last month, acknowledging: \u201cBecause of you and thanks to you I became a much better athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The 28-year-old Frenchman has prepared with the kind of bigger entourage designed for a champion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cHe has to have a good start to the season,\u201d said Didier Defago, the 2010 Olympic downhill champion, who predicts the same extra pressure on Kristoffersen now both are expected to achieve more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">BREAKOUT STARS?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With 12 men\u2019s slaloms, Pinturault could be denied points by his teammate Clement Noel, part of a taller new generation of racers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Noel, the 2018 junior world champion, won three times last season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Swiss prospect Marco Odermatt won three junior world titles in 2018, and was on the podium at two World Cup giant slaloms in March.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Another junior world champion, Alice Robinson of New Zealand, was 17 when finishing runner-up to Shiffrin at the final World Cup giant slalom in March.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">AMERICAN OUTLOOK<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With Vonn retired and Laurenne Ross taking a year off after injuries, the U.S. gets two healthy racers back in the speed team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Alice McKennis, third in her previous downhill 18 months ago, and Jacqueline Wiles both missed last season, U.S. Alpine director Jesse Hunt noted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Veteran Ted Ligety will help mentor a men\u2019s roster getting overdue reinforcement in technical races.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">River Radamus and Luke Winters, junior world medalists who have won on the second-tier North American circuit, are tabbed to step up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThey need to make that jump this year,\u201d said Hunt, targeting top-15 finishes initially.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In downhill, Bryce Bennett is aiming for the podium after a run of top-5 places.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">LACK OF SPEED<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The International Ski Federation is concerned about too few racers in women\u2019s World Cup downhills. The problem runs deeper in youth racing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Women\u2019s race director Peter Gerdol, in his debut season, aims for fewer injuries on safer courses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Race organizers will cut the height and length of jumps \u2014 \u201cto let the racers get a little bit more confident. Then we can build it up again,\u201d Gerdol said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">CHINA\u2019S PLAN<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Some thought China\u2019s 2022 Olympics bid was a test for the 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Instead, European candidates melted away and Beijing is now less than 2 \u00bd years from hosting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Artificial snow will start to be sprayed next month on the slope staging men\u2019s downhill and super-G World Cup races on Feb. 15-16.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A second Olympic slope, being built nearby for slalom and giant slalom, is still \u201ca construction site\u201d this season, Skaardal said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Defago, the assistant to course designer Russi, describes a challenging course with \u201cfour big jumps, two steep parts, a dramatic passage at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It should time at around 1 minute, 55 seconds and be more testing like the 2014 Sochi Olympic course than the 2018 one in Pyeongchang.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The women have their speed test races at Yanqing in 2021.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/shiffrins-wins-chinas-debut-set-to-star-in-skiing-season\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mikaela Shiffrin of Eagle-Vail competes during the women&#8217;s super G race at the Alpine ski World Cup finals, in Soldeu, Andorra in March. A new Alpine ski season starts this month with Shiffrin the expected superstar and China poised to be a surprise success. Shiffrin is the sport\u2019s most bankable star after Lindsey Vonn, Marcel [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2449657","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-28 00:29:22","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449657\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}