Levi prepares for World Cup race amid snow wait, without Shiffrin and Vlhova

Less than two weeks remain before the start of the slalom season in Levi (Finland), but the Arctic resort has so far faced serious problems preparing the courses. Much of the snow stockpiled in spring disappeared during an exceptionally hot summer. The warm autumn also prevented a full snow cover from being prepared in time.

Training is currently taking place on gentle sections covered entirely with artificial snow. Judging by the image from the webcam in Levi, conditions are far from ideal: icy patches and bare spots can be seen on the course. The organisers of the World Cup event are hoping the weather will help improve the situation. Sub-zero temperatures are expected at night over the next few days, while daytime temperatures will rise to around +3°. This will make it possible to step up preparations on the slopes.

This year, the women's slalom in Levi will be held without Mikaela Shiffrin for the first time since 2015. The American has won nine times at the Finnish resort, including victories here in each of the past three years. Before the season even began, the world's most successful slalom skier announced that she would miss not only the races in Levi, but also those in Gurgl.

A year ago, Shiffrin began the season with two slalom victories: first on the Finnish resort's course and then in Gurgl. This season, she intends to return to the discipline only in Killington at the end of November. Mikaela has also won repeatedly at the American resort, but in 2024 she suffered an injury there after falling in the giant slalom.

Shiffrin is planning to travel to the United States shortly. It appears that she will focus mainly on giant slalom and super-G in training. This year's World Cup event in Killington (Vermont) will take place on 28 and 29 November. A year ago, women's World Cup races were not held there because of a lift reconstruction project. In 2024, Mikaela fell in the giant slalom at her home resort and did not compete for two months afterwards.

Another "queen of Levi" - Petra Vlhová - will also not start in her usual role as the main favourite. The Slovak alpine skier has won races on the Arctic resort's course six times during her career. Her most recent success there came in November 2023, two months before a serious injury in Jasná, after which the athlete required a lengthy break.

Vlhová is currently training in Pitztal and hopes to achieve a good result on one of her favourite courses. Her performance in Sölden was not quite what she or her fans had hoped for: Petra finished 23rd at the season opener. At the same time, it was her first giant slalom since her fall in January 2024.

Even without Shiffrin, the battle for the medals in Levi promises to be extremely close. The contenders include athletes who have already made their mark at the start of the season, as well as experienced World Cup competitors:

• Lara Colturi, who produced an excellent result in Sölden;
• Emma Aicher;
• Camille Rast and Wendy Holdener;
• Katharina Truppe;
• Anna Swenn-Larsson;
• Paula Moltzan, who won the first World Cup event of the season.

All that remains is to hope that the weather in Levi will not let the organisers down and will allow full races to go ahead. The first women's slalom of the season will take place in Finland on 14 November, with the men competing on the Levi Black course the following day.

Photo: Levi website; FIS press service

15:07 02.11.26