After Solden: Levi Is Next, Shiffrin Skips Slalom, and a New Man Takes Charge of the Mens World Cup

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What happened at Solden, in one paragraph?

Solden opened the 2026-27 Alpine World Cup with two very different stories. On Saturday, Paula Moltzan, 32, won her first World Cup race, beating Lara Colturi by 0.01 seconds in the women's giant slalom, after sitting fifth after run one. Mikaela Shiffrin led after run one, then dropped to seventh after the second run in foggy, darkening conditions. On Sunday, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the men's giant slalom in 1:44.72, ahead of Loic Meillard by 0.48 and Marco Odermatt by 0.49, after Odermatt posted the fastest second run. Those two results set the early standings, and they also set up the next question: what happens when the tour moves north to Levi?

Who leads the standings after Solden?

Only one race has been run in each gender, so the standings are simple, but they already tell a story. Moltzan leads the women's overall standings after her first win. Braathen leads the men's overall standings after his Solden win, which also defended his giant slalom globe from last season.

Moltzan's win is the kind of story that changes a season. She debuted in the World Cup in 2012, was dropped from the US Ski Team ten years ago, had ten second and third place finishes before Saturday, and won an Olympic bronze medal in the team combined last February. She changed to Van Deer skis, and she is now the oldest woman to win a first World Cup race. Her quote after the win was simple: it feels like a fairytale right now, pretty unreal.

Shiffrin's seventh place is not a crisis, but it is a reminder that her season is built differently this year. She has 110 World Cup wins, the most in history, and she is chasing a record-extending 111th. Solden was her giant slalom opener, not her main event. The slalom story, which is where she has 73 wins, comes later, and on a different schedule from usual.

Who is the new man in charge of the men's World Cup?

Raimund Plancker has been named FIS chief race director for the men's Alpine World Cup, according to an FIS press release reported on October 26. He takes over from outgoing chief race director Markus Waldner, who will support the transition. Plancker's first official assignment will be in Levi on November 15, the men's slalom.

Plancker said he is proud and honoured to take on the responsibility, and that he is only doing so because he will work hand in hand with an incredible team of professionals. He also said that over the last four years with FIS, he has learned a lot and seen the sport change and grow, and that he believes the team is on track to take Alpine skiing even further.

Why does a race director change matter to fans? The chief race director is the person who makes the calls on course safety, start times, delays and cancellations, and who works with the jury on race day. In a season that starts with wind-shortened courses, as Solden's men's race did, and with weather always a factor in Levi and Gurgl, the race director is one of the most important people on the mountain, even though fans rarely see him. Plancker's first test will be Levi, where early season snow and light are always tight.

When is Levi, and who is racing there?

Levi in Finland hosts the slalom openers. The women's slalom is on Saturday, November 14, and the men's slalom is on Sunday, November 15. Levi is a night race venue in the far north, with floodlights and a short, steep course that rewards quick turns and clean skiing.

Braathen won last season's Levi slalom, which means he arrives in Levi as both the Solden giant slalom winner and the defending Levi slalom winner. That is a strong position, but slalom and giant slalom are different disciplines, and Levi's field will include the world's best slalom specialists who did not race at Solden.

For the women, Levi is wide open because Shiffrin is not racing. Shiffrin has won nine times at Levi, more than anywhere else except Killington, and her absence changes the race completely. Emma Aicher, who finished third at Solden and second overall last season, becomes an early favourite. Camille Rast, third overall last season, and Alice Robinson, who is looking for a first overall globe, are also in the frame. Petra Vlhova, the 2022 Olympic slalom champion, finished 23rd at Solden in her return after 1,008 days out with injury, and Levi will be a better test of where she really is.

Why is Shiffrin skipping Levi and Gurgl?

Shiffrin is calling this her exploration season. She plans to skip the early slaloms at Levi and Gurgl, then race her first slalom of the season at Killington, Vermont, on November 29. She wants more time to work on giant slalom and super-G, with fewer switches between disciplines, and she has said her total number of starts may look much the same, just distributed differently.

Her own words, as reported by Ski Racing Media, explain the thinking: she is not trying to do less because she cares less, she is trying to do something different because she still cares so much. She has been doing this for 16 years, and her focus has always been around slalom and giant slalom, with some speed events. This season, she wants more freedom to follow what inspires her to lock in.

The practical effect is on the overall title race. Shiffrin won last season's overall title with 1,410 points, ahead of Aicher on 1,323, a gap of 87 points. Shiffrin earned 980 of her points in slalom last season. If she skips Levi and Gurgl, she gives up up to 200 points that Aicher, Rast and others can collect. Shiffrin herself has picked Aicher as the likely big favourite for the overall title this season, saying Aicher is going to be right up there and that she would probably be her pick.

That does not mean Shiffrin has given up the overall title. It means she is betting that a stronger giant slalom and super-G, plus a later slalom return at Killington, can make up the difference. It also means Levi and Gurgl become races where a new winner can emerge without beating the greatest slalom skier in history. For fans, that is a good thing: a race with an open favourite is more interesting than a race with a foregone conclusion.

What about Odermatt and the men's overall race?

Odermatt finished third at Solden, 0.49 behind Braathen, after the fastest second run. He is chasing a sixth straight overall title, which would make him only the second man after Marcel Hirscher, who won eight, to reach six. Solden was a solid start, not a dominant one, and Levi will test a different skill. Odermatt is a giant slalom and speed specialist, not a slalom specialist, so Levi is not a race he needs to win. He needs to stay close, avoid injury, and build toward the speed season that starts at Beaver Creek in December.

Braathen, by contrast, is a slalom and giant slalom specialist who can win at Levi. If he wins Levi as well as Solden, he will have a serious early lead in the overall standings, and the conversation will shift from whether Odermatt can win a sixth title to whether Braathen can sustain a challenge all season. That is the kind of early season storyline that makes Levi worth watching, even though it is three weeks away.

What else is missing from the early season?

Three big names are still out, and they change the shape of the season. Lara Gut-Behrami has retired, so she will not race at all. Sofia Goggia is hoping to recover from a pair of viral infections in time to defend her super-G globe at Beaver Creek from December 11 to 13. Federica Brignone, who won Olympic giant slalom gold in February 2026, had a further operation in August to remove a metal plate and screws from her leg, has barely put on skis since, and is unlikely to be ready to race soon. Lindsey Vonn has been named in the wider US ski team, but no date has been put on a possible comeback.

Add those absences to Shiffrin's slalom skip, and the early season is unusually open. Solden already gave us a first-time winner in Moltzan. Levi could give us another, especially in the women's slalom. That openness is the story of the first month of the World Cup, and it is why Plancker's first assignment at Levi matters: he will be running a race where the favourite is not obvious, the light is short, and the snow is early.

What should fans do between now and Levi?

Watch for the Levi start lists when they are published in early November, and watch for Shiffrin's training updates from North America, where she is heading to focus on giant slalom and Killington preparation. Watch for Vlhova's progress, because her Solden 23rd place was a return, not a verdict. And watch for the FIS calendar updates, because early season races can move for snow or weather, and Levi is no exception.

For now, Solden is done, the standings are set, and the tour has a three-week gap before Levi. That gap is not a break. It is the time when skiers train, coaches adjust, and a new race director prepares for his first race. When Levi arrives on November 14, the season will restart with a different discipline, a different country, and a different favourite in the women's race. That is exactly what a World Cup season should feel like.

Related reading on Of The Pitch: Braathen Beats Odermatt in Solden Final: Full Results, Standings and What Comes Next in Levi and Solden Mens GS Run 1: Braathen Leads, Odermatt Fourth, and a Wind Shortened Course Sets Up a Second Run Shootout.

Sources: FIS press release on Raimund Plancker, October 2026, as reported by Ski Racing on October 26; Solden results via Olympics.com and NBC Sports, October 25, 2026; Shiffrin schedule via NBC Sports, Ski Racing Media and PlanetSKI; Levi dates via FIS World Cup calendar.