Austrian Julia Scheib emerged victorious in the opening event of the 2025-26 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season in Soelden, Austria with a dominant pair of runs. 

Paula Moltzan, the American technical specialist, claimed second place, while last year’s victor, Lara Gut-Behrami, finished third. 

The 101-time World Cup winner (and record holder) Mikaela Shiffrin barely missed the podium, nabbing fourth.

Moltzan, an Olympian and world champion, came into the 2025-26 campaign as the highest ranked American Alpine skier in the giant slalom discipline. She proved why. The 31-year-old had the second-fastest times in both of her runs, displaying a consistency that is difficult to find in early-season races. The runner-up finish was her best giant slalom result in World Cup competition and sixth overall Cup podium.

Although Scheib ended the Austrian giant slalom drought in front of her home crowd, delivering the country its first World Cup victory in the discipline since 2016, this day belonged to the U.S. Alpine Ski Team. 

In a field of 65 competitors, two Americans finished in the top four, three in the top six, and five in the top 13. According to Steve Schlanger, Peacock’s lead play-by-play announcer, it was the first time in three decades that six skiers representing the red, white and blue qualified for the second run in Soelden. 

In case there’s still any doubt about the U.S.' dominance, Nina O’Brien, Moltzan and AJ Hurt ranked first, second and third respectively out of all second runs in the competition. Needless to say, the depth of the American squad was on full display.

“The women’s U.S. team is stacked,” Shiffrin said in a press conference a couple days before Soelden. “We have a lot of women, more than I’ve ever experienced with my teammates, that really have [Olympic] medal potential.”

U.S. competitors who finished in the top 20 in Soelden:

Beyond Crystal Globe implications, World Cup results are especially important heading into an Olympic year. Alpine skiers collect points based on where they rank in individual Cup races, and the amount they accumulate over the course of the Olympic Qualification period (which in this case is from July 1, 2024 - Jan. 18 2026) determines how many athletes the U.S. are able to send to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Today, the Americans racked up 224 points total, over 100 points better than the next best country (Norway had 119). It was an important first step in the team’s race to Milan Cortina.

On Sunday, it’ll be the men’s turn to shred in Soelden, with River Radamus headlining the U.S. field. Four-time defending overall World Cup champion Marco Odermatt (SUI), Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR), the electric Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA) and more also will be in action. 

The event begins at 5:00 a.m. ET, which streams live on Peacock.