The Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals - Today's Downhill Race

The Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals start today, March 22, with the Men's and Women's Downhill races on the brand new Challenger downhill course.

Dec 14, 2024; Beaver Creek, CO, USA; Lindsey Vonn of the United States races as a forerunner in the women's downhill race for the 2024 Stifel Birds of Prey Audi FIS alpine skiing World Cup at Birds of Prey. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

The Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals – Sun Valley, Idaho

Sun Valley, Idaho, the first destination ski resort in the United States, hosts the 2024/25 Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals beginning today, March 22. The elite ski racing season began in Sölden, Austria over four months ago, and will conclude with the much-anticipated Finals in this storied resort. Sun Valley was developed in the 1930s by W. Averell Harriman, the head of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Harriman envisioned a European-style resort that would attract travelers and celebrities to the pristine mountains of the western U.S. With a ski racing-rich tradition, Sun Valley has risen to the occasion of hosting the World Cup Finals - March 22-27. All the alpine races will take place on the International Trail on Bald Mountain. This marks the fourth time the United States has hosted this marquee event, following Vail, Colorado in 1994 and 1997, and Aspen, Colorado in 2017.

The Challenger Downhill

The action begins today with the Men’s and Women’s Downhill. Sun Valley, usually drenched in sunshine this time of year, has experienced atypical storms the last few days, which layered new snow on the icy downhill course. Consequently, the race has been postponed until this afternoon – 2:00 p.m. (MDT) for the Men and 3:00 p.m. (MDT) for the Women.

The Downhill races will run on Challenger – a new course designed and built specifically for these finals, which has never been raced before in competition. The Challenger downhill was designed for speed, and features technical turns that will thrill spectators from around the world.

The Challenger Downhill stretches 7,474 feet with a vertical drop of 2,736 feet. The course starts at 8,800 feet and dives into finish on lower Greyhawk 6,060 feet. The new course features several zones with colorful names. Racers fly off the Sawtooth Jump before screaming into Durrance Dive, where the course steepens through The Legends.

The course never flattens as racers must navigate Carol’s Wagon Wheel and the Steilhang Traverse before the treacherous Frontier Jump, which launches the skiers into the tricky and technical Sluice and Rudi’s Roll. The course finishes down Cowboy’s Corner and through Proctor Park to the Greyhawk finish line. Tom “Cowboy” Johnston designed the downhill and oversaw the building of this dynamic course. Skiers that tested the course averaged 70 miles an hour, and crossed the finish line in approximately 1 minute and 25 seconds.

Top Skiers Qualify for the World Cup Finals

After months of World Cup races, the top 25 men and top 25 women in each racing discipline will compete in these finals. The Women’s Downhill will field 26 racers as ther was a tie in this category. Beyond individual titles at stake in Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, and Slalon, four women’s and two men’s season-long Crystal Globe titles will come down to these races.

Nov 30, 2024; Killington, Vermont, USA; Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States in the first run of the women's giant slalom at the Stifel Killington Cup alpine skiing race at Killington Resort. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images / Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

Beyond the Globes and podiums, the racers will strive to improve their season-long points total to bolster their start positions for next season. They will also work on their form before an off-season where they will prepare for next year’s Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy.

Fourteen skiers will represent the U.S. Ski Team in these finals. Led by all-time World Cup wins record-holder Mikaela Shiffrin, six team members earned a podium finish in a World Cup race or at the World Championship this season. In addition to Shiffrin, Lauren Macuga, Paula Moltzan, Breezy Johnson won medals this season for the women.

Jared Goldberg and Ryan Cochran-Siegle earned podium finishes for the men in the World Cup this season. The U.S. presents a talented and prepared team to the finals, including the iconic Lindsey Vonn who has made a glorious return to World Cup racing since her retirement.

U.S. Skiers Racing in Today's Downhill

Women:
Johnson, Macuga, Vonn, Jacqueline Wiles
Men:
Cochran-Siegle, Bryce Bennett

World Cup Finals Schedule

Saturday, March 22 1 p.m. Men’s downhill 2:30 p.m. Women’s downhill Sunday, March 23 1 p.m. Women’s super-G 2:30 p.m. Men’s super-G Tuesday, March 25 1:30 a.m., first run, women’s giant slalom 2 p.m., second run, women’s giant slalom Wednesday, March 26 11:30 a.m., first run, men’s giant slalom 2 p.m., second run, men’s giant slalom Thursday, March 27 11 a.m., first run, women’s slalom Noon, first run, men’s slalom 2 p.m., second run, women’s slalom 3 p.m., second run, men’s slalom NBC will carry live coverage of the World Cup Finals across its various platforms, including NBC, Peacock, CNBC, and USA Network. Outside+ is also streaming all of the races live.

Saturday, March 22 1 p.m. on NBC, Peacock Sunday, March 23 1 p.m., NBC, Peacock 2:30 p.m. CNBC, Peacock Tuesday, March 25 2 p.m. USA Network Wednesday, March 26 2 p.m., USA Network Thursday, March 27 2 p.m., USA Network Saturday, March 29 2 p.m., NBC, Peacock (Times - MDT)

•

Alpine Superstar Mikaela Shiffrin Ready for a "Summer of Preparation"

•

U.S. Ski Team, Sun Valley, Shine at FIS Ski World Cup Finals

•

American Skiers Crowned World Champions in FIS Freestyle Skiing Event

•

Mikaela Shiffrin Caps World Cup Season with Slalom Victory

•

Three Ski Industry Professionals Tragically Killed by Avalanche - One Survivor