Mikaela Shiffrin Announces Shift to Super-G and Giant Slalom for 26/27 Season
With the 2026/27 World Cup season just around the corner, the greatest ski racer of all time (the G.O.A.T., if you will) took to Instagram and YouTube to address any questions and rumors about her plans for the season.
For the last 16 years, Mikaela Shiffrin has dominated World Cup Alpine ski racing in the slalom discipline. As of the end of the 2025/26 season, Shiffrin has 73 wins and 99 podiums in World Cup Slalom races, and has won eight overall Crystal Globes in slalom. She also holds the record for most wins at a single venue at Killington (6) and Levi (9). There’s no doubt that slalom races are Shiffrin’s bread and butter.
However, this season, Shiffrin has decided to focus most of her energy on super-G and giant slalom, she recently announced.
The American skier has found plenty of success in super-G and giant slalom in the past, with three overall Crystal Globes between the two disciplines and 22 World Cup giant slalom wins, but the training, race schedules, and skills do differ between disciplines, and after a lengthy and successful career in slalom, Shiffrin is looking for some “space to explore.”
Tap or click below to listen to Shiffrin explain the decision.
Where many might have experienced burnout, Shiffrin noted in both her Instagram post and YouTube video how much joy she still gets from skiing. “I ADORE the process of getting better. I love training more than racing. I love trying to figure out a turn. ” I love when something isn’t working and then, little by little, you understand it,” she wrote. “That curiosity has been the driving force behind my motivation for all these years.” And right now, I feel that curiosity with GS and super-G.”
The shift to GS and super-G doesn’t mean Shiffrin is done with slalom, nor is she making it because slalom has become “too easy,” as her post notes.
Instead, focusing on super-G and GS will allow her more time at home during the season and build more intentional training and recovery blocks. In total, there are 11 GS races, 7 super-G races, and 10 slalom races in the World Cup season, and 8 events where Shiffrin could race two out of three disciplines.
Shiffrin still plans to race some slalom this season, starting at Killington in November, in hopes of maintaining her ranking in the discipline and keeping her options open. She will not race at Levi or Gurgl earlier in the month.
Following Killington, World Cup GS and super-G races take place at Tremblant, Beaver Creek, and St. Moritz, with the next chance for Shiffrin to race slalom and GS or super-G at one event taking place in December at Dachstein West/Gosau.
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