Paula Moltzan Wins World Cup Giant Slalom in Sölden for the First Time

Paula Moltzan has confirmed Sölden’s special status in her career. The 32-year-old American won the giant slalom at the World Cup opener — her first race after switching to Van Deer and, at the same time, her 149th World Cup start. Today, she finally managed to reach the top step of the podium.

After the first run, Moltzan was in fifth place, but in the second run she managed to beat all her rivals. Albania’s Lara Colturi finished just one hundredth of a second behind the winner, while Germany’s Emma Aicher surprisingly took third place. For Aicher, this was her first giant-slalom podium.

• 1st place — Paula Moltzan, USA;
• 2nd place — Lara Colturi, Albania;
• 3rd place — Emma Aicher, Germany.

Before the start of the second run, it seemed that Mikaela Shiffrin was close to her first victory in Sölden since 2021. After the first run, the American led Moltzan by 0.59 seconds and looked the leading contender for victory. But in the decisive part of the race, conditions became noticeably more difficult, and Shiffrin was unable to maintain the necessary pace. She ultimately finished the day in seventh place.

“Right now, it feels like a fairy tale,” Moltzan said moments after crossing the finish line. “It’s just unreal, and I think it will take a little time to get used to it. I’ve been working towards my first victory for a very long time, but of course I didn’t expect it to happen in my first race on new skis. It just proves that we’re on the right track.”

The American admitted that she understood she would need to raise her game before the second run. “On the second course, I knew I had to push harder. Many people tend to back off when it gets dark, but I just wanted to give it everything I could. I took a risk, and it paid off,” Moltzan added.

Before today, Paula had reached the World Cup podium ten times in slalom and giant slalom, but had never won a race. In Sölden, that run ended with a minimal advantage over Colturi.

For Lara Colturi, this race was also her first after switching to HEAD. Her first run did not go particularly well: the Albanian skier posted only the sixth-fastest time. In the second run, however, she completely changed the course of the battle and produced the third-fastest time.

“I just saw at the start that it was windy and snowing, and I thought: ‘Oh, damn!’ But I told myself that I just had to enjoy what I had. It was really difficult: the visibility was very poor, and the course had already broken up,” Colturi said.

Despite the difficult conditions and her own concerns, Lara put together a strong run. She finished half a second ahead of Emma Aicher, but still fell just short of the first victory of her career — Colturi ultimately lost to Moltzan by one hundredth of a second.

“Honestly, it’s amazing,” the 22-year-old Aicher admitted. During the race, the German climbed from ninth place to third. “It’s always been difficult for me here in Sölden, so it’s really nice to realise that it’s possible,” she said after crossing the finish line.

Shiffrin had to compete when the weather and visibility were deteriorating rapidly. It grew darker and darker during the second run, and the American lost a great deal of time in the middle section of the course. “The second run was difficult. It was getting darker and darker, and I dealt with it as best I could, with a few mistakes,” Mikaela admitted.

Other strong competitors were unable to hold on to their positions either. Sweden’s Sara Hector finished fourth, while Switzerland’s Camille Rast took sixth place. Italy’s Asja Zenere finished between them: thanks to an excellent second run, in which she posted the second-fastest time, Zenere stopped just short of the podium and finished fifth.

Two returns from injury also deserved special attention. Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova returned to the start after an absence of 2.5 years. She qualified for the second run and ultimately finished 23rd.

An even more impressive surge was made by Polish skier Marina Gąsienica-Daniel. After a rather tentative first run, the second became a real gift for her: the athlete climbed 20 places and shared ninth position with Franziska Gritsch. For Gritsch, this was the best giant-slalom result of her career.

It was a difficult day for the reigning giant-slalom World Cup winner, Julia Scheib. The Austrian, who won in Sölden a year ago, began the race confidently and was ahead of her rivals on the first course’s two upper sections. She then made a mistake and failed to finish. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and Scheib will now prepare for the Killington event in November.

Thus, the opening of the women’s World Cup in Sölden brought several important developments at once: Moltzan’s first victory, Aicher’s debut giant-slalom podium, Colturi’s near-win and Vlhova’s return after a lengthy absence. For the American, however, the most interesting part is only just beginning.

Alpine Skiing World Cup (women). Sölden (Austria). Giant slalom. Final result after the combined times of the two runs. The results sheet lists: I — position, II — bib number, III — first name and surname, IV — country, V — first-run result, VI — first-run position, VII — second-run result, VIII — second-run position, IX — progress, X — combined result from the two runs, XI — gap to the leader.

Tomorrow, the men’s giant slalom will take place in Sölden. The first run will start at 12:00 Moscow time.

Photo: footage from the SRF Sport television channel. 20:22, 24.10.26.