Men’s World Cup tour resumes with titles & history on the line

It is a great time to be an Alpine ski racing fan. As if the excitement and drama of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games was not enough, the Audi FIS men’s World Cup action resumes on Saturday, with the battles for just about all of the sport’s revered Crystal Globes set to go down to the wire.

As has long been the case, Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli) – who has all but nailed down his fifth consecutive Overall title –  will be a central figure. But, despite his vast 587 point lead in the race for the coveted Big Crystal Globe, there is no certainty that the Swiss great will have it all his own way as the races for the individual discipline crowns heat up.

Franjo von Allmen (SUI/Head) and Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA/Atomic) were two of those to outshine Odermatt in Bormio and the recently crowned Olympic champions will once again be eying up historic opportunities.

Pinheiro Braathen is also a key figure in the one Crystal Globe race that Odermatt has no chance in, the Brazilian one of four skiers within 53 points of each other at the top of the Slalom standings. That battle is guaranteed to thrill right to the final day of the season.

First up though, the speedsters take centre stage.

Downhill: Can von Allmen shock Odermatt once more?

Downhill standings – Top 3
1️⃣ Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli) – 510 points
2️⃣ Franjo von Allmen (SUI/Head) – 395
3️⃣ Dominik Paris (ITA/Nordica) – 296

Odermatt might boast a healthy looking lead in the Downhill Crystal Globe standings but the Stöckli skier knows he will have to be at his sharpest to hold off a charging compatriot.

Saturday morning’s Garmisch-Partenkirchen Downhill (starting at 11:45 CET) is the first of three opportunities for von Allmen to continue his race into the record books. The 24-year-old has not only won two of the past four World Cup Downhills, he also has an exemplary record when the pressure is at its most extreme. Victorious over Odermatt in the Downhill World Championship in Saalbach last year, and unstoppable in both the Olympic Downhill and Super G earlier this month, von Allmen poses a real threat to Odermatt’s plans for a third successive Downhill title.

Veteran Dominik Paris (ITA/Nordica) has an outside chance of getting in on the action, but will need the cards to fall heavily in his favour, as would his young teammate Giovanni Franzoni (ITA/Rossignol).

Remaining World Cup Downhill races:

• Saturday 28 February 11:45 CET – Garmisch-Partenkirchen

• Saturday 14 March 11:00 CET – Courchevel

• Saturday 21 March 10:45 CET – Lillehammer

Super G: Austrians clinging on to Odi’s skis

Super G standings – Top 3
1️⃣ Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli) – 425 points
2️⃣ Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT/Head) – 267
3️⃣ Stefan Babinsky (AUT/Atomic) – 243

 If Odermatt’s Downhill lead is commanding, his advantage in the Super G is frightening. If you are Austrian.

Raphael Haaser (AUT/Atomic) completes the trio of men in white and red looking for a miracle over the final three races of the Super G season. But recent history suggests they will be lucky to get one.

With 17 World Cup Super G wins to his name, the 28-year-old Odermatt is already second on the all-time men’s winners list, and he is closing in fast on Austrian legend Herman Maier (24 wins). Seven wins in the past two-and-three-quarter seasons has already delivered three successive Super G Crystal Globes and a third win of this season would surely secure a fourth.

Second and first in the opening two races, Kriechmayr needs to get back to his early season form to have a chance of challenging. While whatever happens, Babinsky, who started the season without a World Cup podium to his name, is heading for his best ever finish in a Crystal Globe race.

Remaining World Cup Super G races:

• Sunday 1 March 11:45 CET – Garmisch-Partenkirchen

• Sunday 15 March 10:45 CET – Courchevel

• Sunday 22 March 12:30 CET – Lillehammer

Slalom: Thrillingly tight race ready to explode

Slalom Standings – Top 3

1️⃣ Atle Lie McGrath (NOR/Head) – 452 points
2️⃣ Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (NRA/Atomic) – 451
3️⃣ Clement Noël (FRA/Dynastar) – 435

We have listed the top three here, but we could have continued a whole lot further. Timon Haugan (NOR/ Van Deer) in fourth (399), Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR/Van Deer) in fifth (373), Paco Rassat (FRA/Head) in sixth (358) and even Loic Meillard (SUI/Rossignol) back in seventh (312) all have a chance of snatching the most hotly contested prize of all.

The storylines are over-flowing everywhere you look. Can narrow leader McGrath overcome the devastation of missing out on an Olympic medal, and create a new narrative for his season? Could Brazil win a first ever Crystal Globe, thanks to its pioneering star, Pinheiro Braathen? Will Noël grab a first ever Globe or might his young teammate Rassat pip him to it?

All that is before newly crowned Olympic champion Meillard has entered the mix, or indeed ‘Attacking Vikings’ Haugan and Kristoffersen have laid down their challenges.

One thing is for certain, you do not want to miss the final two Slalom races of this season.

Remaining World Cup Slalom races:

• Sunday 8 March 09:30/12:30 CET – Kranjska Gora

• Sunday 25 March 10:30/13:30 CET – Lillehammer

Giant Slalom: Odi out to hold off Olympic champ

Giant Slalom Standings – Top 3
1️⃣ Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli) – 450 points
2️⃣ Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (NRA/Atomic) – 347
3️⃣ Loic Meillard (SUI/Rossignol) – 326

Second in each of the three most recent World Cup races, and winner of the Olympic gold in Bormio, Pinheiro Braathen is a man possessed on GS skis right now. With just two races to make-up a 103-point deficit to Odermatt, the Brazilian will need every hundredth-of-a-second to go his way.

For the fifth season in a row, Odermatt has been largely untouchable in a discipline he has made his own. Fifteen wins in his last 26 World Cup GS races is quite something. But after two silvers (GS and Team Combined) a bronze (Super G) and a fourth place finish in the Downhill, Odermatt may be feeling some pressure to head to the beach in the style he has become accustomed to.

Further back, Stefan Brennsteiner (AUT/Fischer) will be looking to snatch a first ever Crystal Globe race podium spot in his 11^th season on tour. The 34-year-old won his first ever World Cup races in the Copper Mountain GS in November 2025 and lies just four points behind Meillard in third place in the standings.

Remaining World Cup Giant Slalom races:

• Saturday 7 March 09:30/12:30 CET – Kranjska Gora

• Saturday 24 March 09:30/12:30 CET – Lillehammer