Early Signals from Pitztal: Ski Cross Giants Ready for a High-Stakes Olympic Winter

With the Olympic winter fast approaching, the world’s top ski cross teams are wrapping up their final preparation blocks — and the message from every camp is the same: this season is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in years. The first true form indicator came at the FIS races in Pitztal, where only two World Cup teams lined up: France and Austria.

France immediately stamped its authority, sweeping both the men’s and women’s podiums. Rising talent Alexis Jay, who “has progressed well this summer,” claimed the men’s victory ahead of last season’s fourth overall, Youri Duplessis Kergormard. “When he wants to ski fast, he can elevate his level,” said head coach Michel Lucatelli, adding that Youri remains the same all-in, attacking skier.

On the women’s side, second-year athlete Anouck Errard continued her impressive climb, taking the win ahead of veteran Marielle Berger Sabbatel, who enters what is expected to be her final season with “the same motivation as always and in great shape.” Team France is clearly ready for Val Thorens after a strong autumn: “We had really good training in Chile, then Saas Fee, Stelvio, and now Pitztal. Everything is going well,” Michel said, with one final joint test with Switzerland scheduled in St. Moritz.

Austria, meanwhile, arrived in Pitztal at reduced strength, still testing material and missing several key athletes as Rohrweck, Aujesky and Opetnik were sidelined with illness. But the weekend still delivered what head coach Thomas Zangerl wanted. Heat-to-heat racing against the powerful French squad was “a successful way to simulate race stress,” he said, noting that fighting for positions was more valuable than running from the front. There was also good news from the women’s side: with Katrin Ofner, Christina Födermayr and Sonja Gigler, Team Austria is complete again. “Thank God we have a women’s team again,” Zangerl added. Their final tune-up will also take place in St. Moritz alongside France and Switzerland.

Across the rest of the field, the major nations have been completing their own final prep. Team Canada, now back at full strength with Brittany Phelan, Hannah Schmidt, India Sherret and Carson Cook returning — only missing Olympic champion Marielle Thompson, who is still working on her ACL comeback — spent the summer in Chile before transitioning to a high-quality heat-training block with Germany in Yukon. “The Germans are looking fast! They try to go hard all the time — Canada is taking it slowly. December is what counts,” said head coach Stanley Hayer, praising the high level of competition created between the two nations. The setup allows last season’s contenders for the overall globe, Reece Howden and Florian Wilmsmann, to already get a feel for what lies ahead. “Wilmsmann is pretty fast and Reece is fast when he wants to be fast. Reece understands ski cross, thinks everything through, and is very tactical,” added Hayer. With seven men and seven women fighting for four Olympic quota spots each, he expects December to be “extremely competitive.” And he remains optimistic that Thompson will return in time to fight for her Olympic spot: “She knows how to deal with this — she’s been in that position before where time was getting short with an injury to get the qualification.”

Italy reports one of its smoothest preparation periods in years. After a full month in Chile followed by blocks in Saas Fee and Stelvio, the team logged around 30 high-quality days on snow. Simone Deromedis continues to push the pace while experimenting with tactical training from behind, and Jole Galli, after a successful comeback season, enters winter in even better condition than last year. The full Italian squad is healthy and ready for Val Thorens.

Switzerland has enjoyed an unusually uninterrupted training run at home in Saas Fee. “We were lucky — not one day lost to weather,” said head coach Enrico Vetsch, even joking that the perfect conditions meant fewer opportunities to train in the difficult weather that challenged the team last year. A major focus has been helping double world champion Ryan Regez rebuild confidence specifically in adverse conditions, a key weakness from last season. Regez and Alex Fiva continue to lead a large Swiss squad now bolstered by the return of Sixtine Cousin and Jonas Lenherr after long injuries. However, the team also absorbed two early setbacks, with Anna Dietrich and Alex Marro out for the season. Switzerland’s final pre-race test will come this week as they join Austria and France in St. Moritz.

As the teams now converge on Val Thorens for the opening World Cup, one thing is already clear: the Olympic season begins with momentum, depth, and a higher level across all major nations than we’ve seen in years.