The Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics are less than two weeks away, but before the top Alpine skiers go for gold in Milan Cortina, they’ll carve into Schladming, Austria for a pair of World Cup night races.

Marco Odermatt (SUI), Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA) and River Radamus (USA) are expected to start in the giant slalom, while Atle Lie McGrath (NOR), Paco Rassat (FRA) and Clement Noel (FRA) will hit the Planai piste for an evening slalom.

The events will simulcast on Peacock and NBC Sports Network.

With the Games right around the corner, here are the major storylines to look out for heading into Schladming.

Can Marco Odermatt shake off his shortcoming on the Strief?

One hardly ever witnesses an Alpine skier shed tears of sadness from finishing second in a World Cup race. Odermatt did just that in Kitzbuhel.

The king of men’s skiing set out to conquer the legendary Streif downhill, the one career accolade that’s eluded him. He fell short…again. This time by seven one-hundredths of a second. It will remain, at least for another year, the “biggest goal” he has left to accomplish in the sport.

The Olympic gold medalist cried as Giovanni Franzoni (ITA) celebrated atop the podium. Three days later, he’ll have the opportunity to rebound from the disappointment in Schladming — a venue where he’s won once and collected a third-place finish.

"Odi's" propensity for bouncing back after tough races is well documented. The last three times he DNF’d, he followed it up with a win, another win and a runner-up. Expect him to ski with poise and purpose in his final technical event before the Winter Games.

Is it time for a little R&R?

No, not that kind of R&R. Resting and relaxing in the world of Alpine comes after the Winter Olympics and after March for that matter (when the World Cup season concludes). 

River Radamus and Ryder Sarchett, aka River and Ryder, aka R&R, were the two American technical specialists selected to represent Team USA in Milan Cortina. First, they'll compete in Schladming.

Radamus boasts an Olympic pedigree, placing fourth in two events — including the giant slalom — at the Beijing Games in 2022. In his last four GS races this Cup season, the 27-year-old hasn’t finished worse than 7th. He’s finding consistency at the right time, which bodes well for an athlete with self-described “unfinished business.”

Sarchett, by contrast, possesses no Olympic experience and has just nine Cup starts to his name. His best result came in December in Val D’lsere, leap-frogging to 10th while wearing bib No. 52. 

The 22-year-old spent a lot of time as a kid free skiing, which often involved landing jumps and jibbing. He believes that enabled him to develop creativity, fluidity and instinctiveness, all traits that are important for effectively adapting to changing race conditions. In Schladming, the phenomenon pretty much is a given due to the limited visibility of a nighttime race and the dropping temperatures that affect the snow’s surface.

The 2024 junior world champion in GS could use a standout result as a confidence booster before his first Winter Games, and Schladming may be the ideal match for Sarchett’s style. 

Will the real slalom shady please stand up?

A Snoop Dogg reference probably would have been more appropriate since he’ll be the first-ever honorary coach of Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics, but like The Marshall Mathers LP — the album that features “The Real Slim Shady” — was Eminem’s career magnum opus, the Games may represent the same for the gold-medal winning slalom skier. Plane landed.

In eight Cup races this season, six different slalom technicians have won, and first and fifth place in the standings are separated by 43 points. For context, on the women’s side, Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) leads Camille Rast (SUI) (who’s in second) nearly by 300 points in the discipline.

Just when Atle Lie McGrath (NOR) looked to be pulling ahead of the pack, he DNF’d in Kitzbuhel, as veterans Manuel Feller (AUT) (the race’s winner) and Linus Strasser (GER) (who finished 3rd) reestablished themselves as legitimate threats.

Meanwhile, Pinheiro Braathen (BRA) leads in slalom points, Clement Noel (FRA) is the defending Olympic gold medalist in slalom, Loic Meillard (SUI) is the reigning slalom world champion, Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) captured the slalom Crystal Globe last season and Paco Rassat (FRA) seemingly has come out of nowhere to be one of the best slalom racers on the planet.

Slalom has been the most competitive discipline in Alpine skiing this season with the highest degree of parity. In Milan Cortina, the real slalom shady will stand up atop the podium, with Schladming serving as his preamble.