St. Moritz hosts 2026 Ski Cross Junior World Championships

The Ski Cross FIS Junior World Championships are taking place in the storied St. Moritz area of Switzerland. The course is set for a thrilling two days of high-paced racing.

Qualifying kicked off the festivities on Thursday. The men and women will race for the individual championship titles on March 20 before joining forces for a mixed team event on March 21.

It’s a deep field, with multiple skiers on the start list bringing senior-level World Cup experience.

Chiara Von Moos (SUI) excelled on home snow, posting the fastest qualifying time on the women’s side. Von Moos won the small final at the 2025 World Championships, finishing fifth overall. She has four senior World Cup starts this season, finishing in the top 20 each time.

She will be one to watch on Friday, though she’ll face plenty of talented competition.

Morgan Shute (USA) is a standout from the U.S. team and will be in contention for the podium. She qualified with the third-fastest time and took bronze at the 2025 World Championships. With nine senior World Cup starts under her belt, the 19-year-old has plenty of experience to compete for medals.

Last year’s gold medalist Veronika Redder (GER) and silver medalist Leonie Bachl-Staudinger (GER) are no longer age-eligible for this year’s competition.

Roxy Coatesworth (CAN) qualified second, while Leonie Lussnig (AUT) posted the fourth-fastest time.

They were followed by a strong group of Swiss skiers hoping to capitalize on home-snow advantage. Leena Thommen (SUI), Jessica Svenja Klein (SUI), and Valentine Lagger (SUI) qualified fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively.

Lagger finished fourth at the 2025 Junior World Championships.

Each skier will be seeded into heats, with the top two finishers in each advancing to the quarterfinals, then semifinals, and so on. The men will follow the same format.

On the men’s side, Niklas Hoeller (GER) led the way in qualifying. Hoeller also won a European Cup race in Sweden earlier this season.

Noe Mari (FRA) secured the second-fastest time. He finished 11th at the 2025 Junior World Championships.

Hoeller’s teammate Sebastian Machl (GER) took third in qualifying. He also won bronze at the 2025 Junior World Championships and will be a leading contender for gold.

Noa Galliano (SUI) was the top Swiss qualifier in fourth, after finishing 12th at the 2025 edition.

Max Wizemann (GER) qualified fifth, giving the deep German team another strong medal chance. Paolo Piccolo (ITA) also impressed in qualifying and will look to improve on his fourth-place finish at the 2025 Junior Worlds.

The 2025 Junior World Champion Sebastian Engelbrekts (SWE) is no longer age-eligible this year. Silver medalist Nico Offenwanger (GER) is not on the start list this week.

Catch the action on FIS TV, with individual races starting at 10:20 local time on March 20. Check HERE for results and start lists.