Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)

Born: March 13, 1995
At 21 years old, Mikaela Shiffrin is one of the most successful American skiers of all time with 28 World Cup wins. In February, she became the first woman to win three consecutive World Championship slalom races since Germany’s Christel Cranz in 1939. Shiffrin is the reigning World and Olympic champion in slalom, and won the World Cup slalom globe three consecutive times from 2013-2015, becoming the first U.S. slalom World Cup champion since Tamara McKinney in 1983-84. This season, she has won five of the six World Cup slalom races. In giant slalom, Shiffrin has claimed a total of eight podium finishes including three victories in her career, two of which came this season. She currently leads the overall World Cup standings with 1203 points and the slalom standings with 660 points. She’ll celebrate her 22nd birthday on March 13.

Veronika Velez Zuzulova (SVK)

Born: July 15, 1984
Velez Zuzulova is one of the oldest athletes on the circuit at age 33. The Slovakian has 30 World Cup podiums to her name including five victories. She won the Snow Queen slalom race in Zagreb, Croatia, this year. Velez Zuzulova is a true veteran of the sport, having made her World Cup debut in 2000 at the age of 16. She is married to French national team coach Romain Velez and is coached by her father Timotej Zuzula. She is ranked second in the slalom standings with 515 points.

Wendy Holdener (SUI)

Born: May 12, 1993
Holdener has stood on the podium after every slalom she has finished this season including second-place finishes in Maribor, Slovenia, and Levi, Finland, just behind Mikaela Shiffrin. The Swiss athlete has two World Cup wins to her name: last season’s city event in Stockholm, Sweden, and the alpine combined in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, last March. The Swiss athlete was also crowned 2017 Alpine Combined World Champion in February and finished second in the World Championship slalom. Holdener finished third in the 2015-16 slalom standings and won the alpine combined discipline globe. She is currently ranked third in the slalom standings with 415 points.

Frida Hansdotter (SWE)

Born: Dec. 13, 1985
The Swedish slalom ace has 25 World Cup podiums to her name and four victories. In the 2015-16 season, she won the World Cup slalom globe. Most recently, she won the night slalom in Flachau, Austria, in Jan. 2017. Hansdotter has competed in two Olympic Games and five World Championships. She skied to second place in slalom at the 2015 Vail/ Beaver Creek World Championships. She ranks fourth in slalom this season with 372 points.

Nina Loeseth (NOR)

Born: Feb. 27, 1989
This Attacking Viking leads the Norwegian women’s tech team. She has been on the World Cup podium seven times including one win in slalom at Santa Caterina last year. Most recently, Loeseth earned third place at the city event in Stockholm, Sweden. The Norwegian has competed in five World Championships and the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. She currently ranks fifth in the slalom standings with 362 points.

Petra Vlhova (SVK)

Born: June 13, 1995
Vlhova had a breakout season in 2015-16 season when she won the slalom in Are, Sweden. Since then, she has been on the podium four times – most recently in Zagreb, Croatia, where she earned second place. The Slovakian is ranked sixth in the slalom standings with 311 points. Her coach, Livio Magoni, formerly worked with living legend Tina Maze of Slovenia.

Sarka Strachova (CZE)

Born: Feb. 11, 1985
Strachova is a slalom specialist and consistent presence in the World Cup top 10. She currently ranks seventh in the slalom standings with 282 points and has one podium finish this season –a third-place result in Zagreb, Croatia. The Czech national has won two World Cups in her career, back-to-back slalom races in Aspen, Colo., in 2008 and 2009. Strachova was the 2007 World Champion in slalom.

Lila Lapanja (USA)

Born: Dec. 3, 1994
Up-and-coming 22-year-old Lapanja of the U.S. Ski Team scored her first World Cup points, placing 23rd in Flachau, Austria, in 2016 after coming back from a significant injury in 2015. Lapanja had a standout junior career and is now a regular on the World Cup circuit. Lapanja’s career highlights include being a two-time NorAm Slalom Champion, two-time U.S. Alpine Championship medalist and named to the 2015 World Championship team.

Tessa Worley (FRA)

Born: Oct. 4, 1989
After a few years working her way back to the top following a devastating knee injury, Worley has found her groove again in giant slalom. The Frenchwoman has won three of the seven giant slalom races this season and has three second-place finishes in addition to her victories. In total, she has won 11 World Cups in her career, and was the 2013 World Champion in giant slalom. This season, she regained her Giant Slalom World Champion title, which she had also won in 2013. She leads the 2016-17 giant slalom standings with 580 points, just ahead of American Mikaela Shiffrin.

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)

Born: March 13, 1995
At 21 years old, Mikaela Shiffrin is one of the most successful American skiers of all time with 28 World Cup wins. Shiffrin is the reigning World and Olympic champion in slalom, and won the World Cup slalom globe three consecutive times from 2013-2015, becoming the first U.S. slalom World Cup champion since Tamara McKinney in 1983-84. She earned a silver medal in the 2017 World Championship GS in St. Moritz, Switzerland. This season, she has won five of the six World Cup slalom races. In giant slalom, Shiffrin has claimed a total of eight podium finishes including three victories in her career, two of which came this season. She currently leads the overall World Cup standings with 1203 points and the slalom standings with 660 points. She’ll celebrate her 22nd birthday on March 13.

Lara Gut (SUI)

Born: April 27, 1991
Gut suffered a season-ending ACL and meniscus tear in St. Moritz this February during training and will not compete at Squaw Valley. Last year’s World Cup overall globe winner sits third in the giant slalom standings with 360 points. The Swiss athlete has won three World Cup races this season including the first World Cup giant slalom race of the competition year in Soelden, Austria. Gut has 23 World Cup victories to her name, including four in giant slalom. Her strength lies in the speed events, super-G and downhill, and she is often considered one of Lindsey Vonn’s biggest rivals. Gut currently sits in second place in the overall standings behind Shiffrin with 1023 points.

Sofia Goggia (ITA)

Born: Nov. 15, 1992
The Italian giant slalom team has been dominant all season, often landing several athletes in the top 10. Goggia has earned nine World Cup podiums, all in the 2016-17 season, starting with the Killington, Vt., World Cup where she was third in the giant slalom. Since then, she has podiumed in every discipline except slalom, making her the first Italian woman to do so in one season. She has never won a World Cup race. Goggia earned a bronze medal in the 2017 World Championship giant slalom race. She is currently ranked fourth in giant slalom with 289 points, and fourth in the overall standings with 789 points.

Marta Bassino (ITA)

Born: Feb. 27, 1996
21-year-old Bassino has been on the World Cup podium twice in her career. The Italian was third at the 2016-17 World Cup opener in Soelden, Austria, as well as third in the giant slalom in Kronplatz, Italy. She is currently ranked fifth in the giant slalom standings with 265 points thanks to top-5 finishes in Killington, Vt., Sestriere, Italy, and Semmering, Austria. Bassino is a relative newcomer to the World Cup circuit, having made her debut in March 2014 when she finished 19th in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

Milestones

Alpine World Cup ski racing returns to Squaw Valley for the first time in nearly 50 years. The event will also mark the return of World Cup ski racing to California for the first time in 19 years. The addition of Squaw Valley and Killington, VT to the calendar will total 16 World Cup events hosted in the U.S. in the 2016-17 race season, the second highest ever.

History

The World Cup will bring Olympic champions like Mikaela Shiffrin and Squaw Valley’s own Julia Mancuso to compete on the legendary Red Dog run, which also played host to the ladies’ slalom and giant slalom events at the 1969 World Cup and 1960 Winter Olympics.
Built on the legacy of the 1960 Winter Olympics hosted at Squaw Valley, the resort has since reared celebrated athletes such as Jonny Moseley, Julia Mancuso, Travis Ganong, Marco Sullivan, JT Holmes, Michelle Parker, Cody Townsend, Jeremy Jones, Ralph Backstrom, Nate Holland, and Errol Kerr.
With the 2017 season culminating in the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals in Aspen, Colorado, the USSA had a unique opportunity to schedule an additional women’s World Cup weekend in the U.S. following Olympic test events in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Course Profile

The Red Dog Giant slalom course begins at 7,520 feet at the top of Snow King Peak, descending 1,267 feet before the finish at 6,252 feet at the base area of Squaw Valley. The slalom course will be sited on the lower portion of the same course, dropping 656 vertical feet from its start on Lower Dog Leg. Both courses feature challenging steeps and fall-away pitches on the notorious “Dog Leg” section of the course, the lower part of which lies in plain sight of the finish and spectator viewing area. Click here for course maps.

Attendance

The weekend-long events will welcome thousands of spectators and fans to North Lake Tahoe. The entire community will play host to ski racing enthusiasts, aspiring young skiers and media from around the world.

Viewing

The Red Dog Race Course is unique in that the most challenging pitches of the entire course happen within view of the finish area. The finish area has the best viewing, with additional viewing on the jumbo screen. Tickets are currently on sale here and free standing room viewing will be available near the finish arena. Free skier spectator viewing is also available on looker’s right of the Red Dog course, accessed via Far East Express. Live stream viewing will also be available at dining locations in The Village at Squaw Valley including KT Base Bar Sun Deck and Rocker@Squaw. The event will air on NBC Sports Network.