The women will take over historic Aspen, Colorado for the first time in two years on Thanksgiving weekend for the Nature Valley Aspen Winternational. They’ll kick off the only Audi FIS World Cup stop in the U.S. with a pair of tech races—giant slalom on Saturday, November 29 and slalom on Sunday, November 30.
Mikaela Shiffrin will be looking for redemption this weekend at the Winternational after a disappointing 11th place finish in Levi, Finland. “I'm really psyched for Aspen because I don't think I skied nearly to my potential in Levi,” Shiffrin told Ski Racing. “I’m going back to the drawing board basically and getting back to racing because I love to race, not because I'm Olympic champion.”
“Mikaela loves being in Aspen and really likes the Aspen GS hill,” confirmed women’s tech coach Roland Pfeifer, when asked about Shiffrin's progress. “She is skiing well.”
Shiffrin trains GS on the Aspen hill prior to this weekend's Aspen Winternational (photo: Jeff Hanle/Aspen Snowmass).
Julia Mancuso will be another one to watch in the giant slalom, having been training in Colorado since early November. “Racing in Aspen is great. They do a great job and the community really supports the races and loves having us there,” said Mancuso. “I'm excited to be back. We trained last weekend and the hill is in great shape!”
Saturday’s American giant slalom starters will be Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA), Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO), Paula Moltzan (Lakeville, MN), Megan McJames (Park City, UT) and Anna Marno (Steamboat Springs, CO). Sunday’s slalom starters include Shiffrin, Moltzan, Resi Stiegler (Jackson Hole, WY) and Hailey Duke (Boise, ID).
Admission is free, or watch the action on NBC, NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports. NBCSN will air giant slalom coverage at 5:30 p.m. ET on November 29. NBC will have the slalom on November 30 at 3 p.m. ET.
A complete Nature Valley Aspen Winternational schedule can be found at www.aspensnowmass.com.
