Gurgl: Shiffrin in Full Command as Colturi Confirms Rising Status

The Kirchenkar snow didn't lie. Just like in Levi last week, just like last year on this same slope, Mikaela Shiffrin and Lara Colturi finished in that order: first and second, with a gap between them that speaks as much to one's dominance as to the other's composure.
1:48.11 for the American, 1:49.34 for the Albanian—a 1.23-second difference after two runs led wire-to-wire by Shiffrin. Third, Camille Rast completed a podium that exactly replicated 2024's Gurgl result, while Wendy Holdener, second after the first run, slipped to fourth after some hesitation in the steep.

This marks Shiffrin's third consecutive Gurgl victory—a hill she's clearly beginning to consider home territory. The race was decided in the first run: with 54.22, she posted a 0.31-second advantage over Colturi, then sealed the job in the late afternoon light with the fastest second-run time (53.89). "I had to push really hard, but it was really nice with the sun on the second run," she said after the race.

Colturi, the Patient Heir

Three races, three podiums behind Shiffrin. At 19, the Italian skiing for Albania is methodically building her status as the American's primary rival. Daughter of Daniela Ceccarelli, 2002 Olympic super-G champion, she has already proven her ability to string together high-level performances.

Gurgl 2024 (2nd), Levi 2025 (2nd), Gurgl 2025 (2nd): the consistency of a slalom specialist no longer hunting isolated breakthroughs but the steadiness that leads to globes. "She is just amazing," Colturi said of Shiffrin. "Our goals, from me and all the others, is just to ski like her, to be perfect like her. But it's really difficult."

After Levi: Confirmation and Depth

The Levi-Gurgl block confirmed what was already apparent: the 2025-2026 slalom season operates at two speeds. On one side, Shiffrin and Colturi establish a clear and stable hierarchy at the top. On the other, a dense pack where positions are decided by hundredths and where the slightest error proves costly.

Camille Rast, reigning world champion, finished third at 1.41. Holdener fourth at 1.59, Paula Moltzan fifth at 1.74. Katharina Truppe, starting with bib 15, posted a strong sixth at 2.05, best Austrian of the day before the home crowd. Lena Dürr, Sara Hector, Emma Aicher, and Anna Swenn-Larsson complete a top 10 showing continuity with Levi.

Further down, expected names disappeared in the first run: Katharina Liensberger, Mélanie Meillard, Cornelia Öhlund, Neja Dvornik, Ali Nullmeyer. Twenty-seven first-run DNFs, then four more—including Zrinka Ljutic, last season's slalom globe winner, who went out in run two.

The Kirchenkar left no room for approximation. Very hard snow, tight setting (62 gates in run one, 64 in run two), cold temperatures despite sunshine: the combination produced exactly the kind of selection this hill has promised since its creation.

An Overall Picture Taking Shape

After three races—a giant slalom in Sölden, two slaloms in Levi and Gurgl—the World Cup overall standings are beginning to take shape. Shiffrin leads with 250 points ahead of Colturi (196) and Moltzan (175). In the slalom standings, the gap is already substantial: 200 points for Shiffrin, 160 for Colturi, 95 for Moltzan.

The American has won her first two slaloms of the season authoritatively—1.66 seconds ahead in Levi, 1.23 in Gurgl—and heads to Colorado with a comfortable cushion. But the season is long, and Shiffrin herself has announced she'll reduce her schedule this Olympic year, focusing on slalom, giant slalom, and perhaps super-G.

This strategy opens a window for her rivals. Colturi, with her remarkable consistency, is beginning to look like a serious candidate for the slalom globe. Moltzan, third overall after an exceptional start (second in Sölden's GS, fourth in Levi, fifth in Gurgl), confirms her upward trajectory.

Behind this trio, the battle promises to be tight. Emma Aicher (fourth in slalom standings with 89 points after her Levi podium), Lena Dürr (86 points), Camille Rast (76 points), and Katharina Truppe (68 points) form a compact group where each race will reshuffle the cards.

What Gurgl Says

The Kirchenkar posed a simple question: Levi extension or open laboratory? After two consecutive women's editions with the same podium (Shiffrin-Colturi-Rast in 2024 and 2025), the answer seems clear: this hill rewards the same typology of skiers as Levi—those capable of stringing together two full runs on predictable ice.

No revolution, then, but confirmation. The 2025-2026 Olympic slalom season is building around a stable core: Shiffrin as the structural reference, Colturi as natural heir apparent, a group of chasers capable of reaching the podium on their day, and a field where the slightest error becomes prohibitive.

Next Stop: Copper Mountain

The circuit immediately returns to North America. Copper Mountain, Colorado, will host the women on November 29-30 with a giant slalom followed by a slalom. For Shiffrin, it's a rare opportunity: skiing "at home" for the first time in over a decade, since the calendar replaced Aspen with Copper.

"I have to get some GS training again. I'm really excited to go to Copper," she said after her victory. "I stay in my own bed for the first time during the season."

For Colturi, Moltzan, Rast, and the others, Copper represents an immediate chance to close the gap before winter enters its densest phase. Gurgl laid down the first lines of force. Copper will confirm them—or shake them up.