Levi Slalom Preview Without Shiffrin: Who Wins the Reindeer, Plus Kitzbuhel Opens Friday

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Why is Levi different this year?

The Alpine Ski World Cup returns in Levi, Finland, on 14 and 15 November, after a three week break since Solden, and this year Levi is different for one simple reason: Mikaela Shiffrin will not be there. Shiffrin, who has 110 World Cup wins and who won the Levi slalom last season with two flawless runs, finishing 1.66 seconds ahead of Lara Colturi and 2.59 seconds ahead of Emma Aicher, according to the official Levi preview, is skipping the opening slaloms at Levi and Gurgl as part of her exploration season. She plans to focus on giant slalom and super-G this season while racing some, but not all, slaloms, and her first slalom of the season is scheduled for Killington on 29 November, in front of a home crowd on the Superstar trail, where she will chase her 111th World Cup win.

That decision opens the women's slalom in a way it has not been open for years. Shiffrin has won Levi so often that the preview notes she has more victories in Finland than in any other country combined, and she has won a combined 11 slaloms at Levi and Gurgl, according to PlanetSKI's season preview. Without her, the reindeer trophy, which has been given to the Levi winner since 2013, is genuinely up for grabs, and the women's slalom standings will have a new leader after Saturday, no matter who wins. That is why Levi matters even though it is a slalom opener in November, in Lapland, 170 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. It is the first chance to see who the new slalom order is, without the greatest slalom skier of all time in the start gate.

Levi is also different because of where it is and how it works. The races are on the Levi Black slope, with a start altitude of 438 metres, a finish altitude of 258 metres, a vertical drop of 180 metres, an average gradient of 31 percent, and a steepest section of 62 percent, according to the official preview. The finish area is the second lowest on the World Cup calendar, after Kvitfjell in Norway, which means Levi is not a high altitude glacier race like Solden. It is a low, technical, icy slalom slope, built for tight turns and fast rhythm, not for speed. More than 20,000 spectators are expected across the two races, and teams from almost 40 different countries come to Levi to train every early winter, because of its snow reliability and snow making capabilities. Levi opened its public slopes on 2 October, using snow stored from last winter, and it guarantees a seven month season from October through May, which is why it can host a World Cup in mid November with confidence.

Who wins the women's slalom without Shiffrin?

The women's slalom on Saturday 14 November is the most open race of the season so far, and the contenders all have a case. Start with Lara Colturi, who finished second at Levi last season, 1.66 seconds behind Shiffrin, and second at Solden in the giant slalom this season, 0.01 seconds behind Paula Moltzan. Colturi is the skier who has been closest to Shiffrin in slalom, and she arrives in Levi as the natural favourite in Shiffrin's absence, because she has already shown she can ski the Levi Black slope at winning pace, and she is in form after Solden. Next is Emma Aicher, who finished third at Levi last season, 2.59 seconds behind Shiffrin, and second overall last season with 1,323 points, behind Shiffrin. Aicher is a complete skier, strong in slalom and giant slalom, and she will want to turn last season's second place overall into a first discipline win this season.

Then there is Camille Rast, who was the only non-Shiffrin slalom winner last season, according to earlier Of The Pitch reporting, which means she is the only skier in the field who has actually beaten Shiffrin in a slalom in the last year. That stat matters, because it shows Rast can win when Shiffrin is in the race, not just when she is absent, and Levi without Shiffrin should suit her even more. Petra Vlhova is the other name to watch, because she has won Levi six times, in 2017, twice in 2020, twice in 2021, and in 2023, according to the official preview, and she returned to World Cup racing at Solden after 1,008 days away, finishing 23rd in the giant slalom. Vlhova's slalom return is not confirmed in the preview, so this post does not claim she will race at Levi, but if she does, her Levi record makes her a threat, and if she does not, her absence is another sign of how open this race is.

The wider point is that Shiffrin's absence does not make the women's slalom weaker, it makes it more interesting. For years, the question in a women's slalom was who would finish second behind Shiffrin. This Saturday, the question is who wins, and the answer will set the tone for the whole slalom season, through Gurgl on 21 and 22 November, Killington on 28 and 29 November, and into the Christmas races. A win for Colturi would confirm her as the new slalom leader. A win for Aicher would confirm her overall rise. A win for Rast would confirm last season was no fluke. A win for anyone else would announce a new name, and Levi has a history of doing that, because the first slalom of the season always produces a surprise, and this year the surprise could be the winner herself.

Who wins the men's slalom on Sunday?

The men's slalom on Sunday 15 November is less open, because the defending champion is racing, and he is in form. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the Levi slalom last season, securing Brazil's first ever Alpine Ski World Cup victory, according to the official preview, and he also won the Solden giant slalom this season, beating Loic Meillard by 0.48 seconds and Marco Odermatt by 0.49 seconds. Braathen is the man to beat in Levi, because he has won there before, he has won the last World Cup race, and he is skiing with the confidence of a defending champion who has already proved he can win on this slope and in this discipline. He also won last season's Levi slalom in a race where Clement Noel finished 0.31 seconds behind him, and Eduard Hallberg surprised everyone by finishing fifth on the first run with bib number 29 and reaching the podium for the first time in his career.

Noel is the obvious challenger, because he won Levi in 2024, finished second last season, and he is a pure slalom specialist who thrives on a technical slope like Levi Black. If Braathen is the favourite, Noel is the form slalom skier who can beat him on a good day, and their battle last season, decided by 0.31 seconds, shows how close this race usually is. Behind them, the men's slalom field is deep, with Henrik Kristoffersen, who won Levi in 2019, 2014 and other years, and who is always a threat on a steep slalom slope, and with the new men's chief race director, Plancker, taking over his first race at Levi on 15 November, after succeeding Waldner on 1 November, according to earlier Of The Pitch reporting. Plancker's first race as chief will be watched closely, because course setting in slalom decides the rhythm, and the rhythm decides the winner.

The men's race also matters for the overall standings. After Solden, Braathen leads the men's overall with 100 points, from his giant slalom win, and Odermatt is third with 60 points, from his third place at Solden, while Meillard is second with 80 points. A slalom win at Levi is worth another 100 points, so Braathen could leave Finland with 200 points and a commanding early overall lead, or a new winner could jump to the top of the standings. That is why Sunday matters beyond the reindeer trophy. It is the second race of the season, and the overall standings after two races will shape the narrative for the whole winter, just as Solden shaped it after one race.

When are the Levi races, and how can I watch them?

The Levi slaloms run on Saturday 14 November for women and Sunday 15 November for men, on the Levi Black slope. The official preview lists the times as 11:00 local time for Run 1 and 14:00 local time for Run 2, on both days. Levi local time is Eastern European Time, which is one hour ahead of Central European Time, so the conversions below use the official preview's CET times as well as local times.

| Race | Run 1 | Run 2 | | Women's slalom, Saturday 14 November, Levi local | 11:00 | 14:00 | | Women's slalom, Saturday 14 November, CET | 10:00 | 13:00 | | Women's slalom, Saturday 14 November, London GMT | 09:00 | 12:00 | | Women's slalom, Saturday 14 November, New York EST | 04:00 | 07:00 | | Women's slalom, Saturday 14 November, Karachi PKT | 14:00 | 17:00 | | Men's slalom, Sunday 15 November, Levi local | 11:00 | 14:00 | | Men's slalom, Sunday 15 November, CET | 10:00 | 13:00 | | Men's slalom, Sunday 15 November, London GMT | 09:00 | 12:00 | | Men's slalom, Sunday 15 November, New York EST | 04:00 | 07:00 | | Men's slalom, Sunday 15 November, Karachi PKT | 14:00 | 17:00 |

Broadcast details vary by country, and this post does not claim a single global channel. In the United States, World Cup skiing is on Peacock and NBCSN, according to NBC's season broadcast guide, with early morning Eastern times for European races, which means the Levi races will be very early morning viewing in New York, at 04:00 and 07:00 Eastern, and even earlier in Los Angeles, at 01:00 and 04:00 Pacific. In the UK, World Cup skiing is on TNT Sports on HBO Max, according to earlier Of The Pitch reporting, with the races at 09:00 and 12:00 London time, which is a much friendlier time for UK fans. Check local listings for your country, because World Cup rights are sold market by market, and the Levi races are worth watching live, because slalom is decided by hundredths of a second, and the second run reverses the top 30, so the leader after Run 1 skis last in Run 2, which makes for a dramatic finish.

For fans going to Levi, the practical advice is simple. Levi is 170 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, in Finnish Lapland, and it is one of the largest ski resorts in Finnish Lapland, with about 50 slopes, 27 lifts, 230 kilometres of cross country tracks, and 880 kilometres of snowmobiling routes, according to the official preview. The village is small, the resort is built for winter, and the races are a festival, with local schools and youngsters involved, and more than 20,000 spectators expected. Dress warm, because November in Lapland is cold and dark, with only a few hours of daylight, and bring layers for standing outside on the Levi Black slope, where the wind can cut through even a good jacket. If you are lucky, you might see the Northern Lights after the races, which is Levi's other famous attraction, and which makes a November trip to Lapland worth it even if you miss the racing.

What opens this week, and what is next after Levi?

While Levi prepares for the World Cup, the wider ski season is opening fast, and this week brings the first big name opening of November. KitzSki, which covers Kitzbuhel and Kirchberg in Austria, opens on Friday 6 November, according to SnowBrains' November openings list published on 1 November. Kitzbuhel is one of the most famous ski towns in the world, home to the Hahnenkamm downhill in January, and its November opening is a sign that the season is spreading from glaciers to major resorts. Sulden in Italy opens on 7 November, according to the same list, which resolves the conflict noted in earlier Of The Pitch posts, where PlanetSKI listed Sulden as opening last weekend and SnowBrains flagged a postponement to 7 November. The 7 November date is now the listed date, but check Sulden's own lift status page before travelling, because early season dates can still move.

Also opening this week, according to SnowBrains: 4 Vallees, covering Verbier, Nendaz, Veysonnaz and Thyon in Switzerland, on 7 November, and Glacier 3000 in Switzerland on 7 November. Next week brings Davos Klosters on 13 November, Andermatt on 14 November, and Tarnaby in Sweden on 14 November, just as Levi hosts the World Cup. Gurgl in Austria, which hosts the next World Cup slaloms on 21 and 22 November, opens on 16 November, according to SnowBrains, which means the resort will open five days before the World Cup arrives. Obertauern in Austria opens on 19 November, Pyha in Finland on 20 November, and Yllas in Finland on 21 November, the same weekend as Gurgl. That wave of openings, from Kitzbuhel on Friday to Gurgl and the French resorts on 21 November, is the real November story: the season is spreading, one resort at a time, from the glaciers to the valleys, and Levi is the World Cup showcase in the middle of it.

After Levi, the World Cup moves to Gurgl on 21 and 22 November for the next slaloms, then to Killington in the United States on 28 and 29 November for the women's giant slalom and slalom, where Shiffrin returns to slalom, and to Copper Mountain for the men's super-G and giant slalom on the same weekend. That North American block is the biggest skiing story of November, because Shiffrin will chase her 111th win at Killington, in front of a home crowd, on a trail she knows well. But before Killington, there is Levi, and Levi without Shiffrin is a race worth watching in its own right, because it will crown a new slalom leader, give someone a reindeer, and set the tone for the whole slalom season. The reindeer is not just a prize, it is a symbol, and this year, for the first time in years, no one knows who will take it home.

Related live posts: Where You Can Ski This Week: Engelberg Opens, Snow Farming Explained and the November Opening Dates, and November Ski World Cup Calendar: Levi Slaloms, Gurgl, Killington, and Where to Ski While You Wait.

Sources: Alpine Ski World Cup, Levi Alpine Ski World Cup Races Preview, 2 November 2026; SnowBrains, European Ski Resorts Opening in November 2026, 1 November 2026; PlanetSKI, Alpine Ski World Cup Season Has Started, updated 25 October 2026; NBC Sports, How to watch FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup 2026-27 season broadcast schedule, October 2026.