The brilliance of rising Swiss superstar Cami Rast was on full display Saturday, as the reigning slalom world champion powered to her first-career World Cup giant slalom victory in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, with an overall time of 2 minutes, 0.09 seconds. 

The win was historic for the 26-year-old, as well as emotional. 

“This week, in my hometown, there was a tragic accident,” Rast said post-race, in reference to the 40 people who died and 115 who were injured at a Crans-Montana bar fire on New Year’s Eve. “There was a tragic accident, and I think about all those families. We raced for them this weekend.”

Rast hails from Vétroz, a Swiss municipality that is about a 35-minute drive from the ski resort. Crans-Montana is scheduled to host the final World Cup events — a women’s super-G and men’s downhill on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 — before the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. 

It was Rast’s fifth podium in 10 starts this Cup campaign and fourth in a row. She hasn’t fallen outside of the top five in a race since before Thanksgiving and moved into 2nd place in GS points. 

Julia Scheib (AUT) narrowly missed out on her third consecutive GS win, claiming 2nd (+0.20). It was the fourth podium finish of the 2025-26 World Cup campaign for Scheib, who maintains her hold on the red bib in the discipline.

Paula Moltzan (USA) rebounded from a difficult weekend in Semmering, during which she DNF’d twice and hurt her back in a scary GS crash, securing 3rd (+0.47). It was Moltzan's second podium this season and the sixth of her career. 

"We're really lucky that the snow was really good today. It allowed you to control the skiing the way you wanted it," the 33-year-old remarked. "My body is definitely not at 100%, so putting together two runs that felt pretty good made me really happy."

Halfway through the 2025-26 Cup campaign, Moltzan has established herself as a serious medal contender for the United States in Milan Cortina. 

Speaking of a medal contender, Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) put together another strong giant slalom effort, finishing 5th (+1.05). The all-time leader in GS victories hasn’t quite found the dominance she’s accustomed to in the discipline since her 2014 crash in Killington, which resulted in a puncture wound and a bout with PTSD, but she continued to make solid progress on Saturday. Her last GS race win came in December of 2023.

The Americans in general shined in Kranjska Gora, as three racers placed in the top 10, four in the top 15 and five in the top 25. Nina O'Brien came in 8th, Elisabeth Bocock 14th and AJ Hurt 25th. It was the country’s best performance in a tech event since the season opener in Soelden, and the U.S. is now tied with Austria for the lead in the Nations Cup.

Alice Robinson (NZL) DNF'd for the second time in a week, falling to 3rd in giant slalom points behind Scheib and Rast. Heading into Semmering last Saturday, she led the category. A lot can change in seven days.

The action picks back up tomorrow in Kranjska Gora with a slalom race, as Shiffrin looks to extend her slalom win streak to seven (which would tie her personal best) and march closer to a season sweep.