Because the course changes as it is skied. In slalom, ruts form in the turning areas within a dozen runs, altering the effective line and destabilising later starters. In speed events, sun softens the snow and cloud flattens the light. The World Cup rules therefore let the leading racers on each discipline's start list draw among themselves for the earliest bibs, with everyone else following in ranking order.
They are disqualified, and the time is deleted from the results regardless of how fast the run was. Both ski tips and both feet must pass between the two poles of a gate; straddling — putting one ski on each side of a turning pole — counts as a miss.
Pick two names from this sport’s all-time list. The larger number in each shared stat is highlighted.
| Stat | Mikaela Shiffrin | Ingemar Stenmark |
|---|
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Because the course changes as it is skied. In slalom, ruts form in the turning areas within a dozen runs, altering the effective line and destabilising later starters. In speed events, sun softens the snow and cloud flattens the light. The World Cup rules therefore let the leading racers on each discipline's start list draw among themselves for the earliest bibs, with everyone else following in ranking order.
They are disqualified, and the time is deleted from the results regardless of how fast the run was. Both ski tips and both feet must pass between the two poles of a gate; straddling — putting one ski on each side of a turning pole — counts as a miss.
It combines everything difficult in one course. The Streif runs 3,312 metres with 860 metres of vertical drop and opens with the Mausefalle, where the gradient exceeds 85 percent and racers are airborne for up to 80 metres within seconds of leaving the start hut.
On raw numbers it is Mikaela Shiffrin, who holds the all-time World Cup victory record for either sex — she reached 100 wins at Sestriere in February 2025 — along with the single-season records for wins (17) and points (2,204), five overall Crystal Globes and eight world championship golds.
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