Sarah Hector: The Swede has been on the podium in the last four giant slaloms in the World Cup: second in Courchevel (December 21), first in Courchevel (December 22), third in Lienz (December 28) and first in Kranjska Gora (January 8). ). The Swede had collected three podium places in her first 74 World Cup appearances.
The only Swede to have two consecutive World Cup victories in giant slalom is Anja Pärson, who had three victories from January to March 2003 and five from January to October 2004.
Pärson is also the only Swede to have won more than two giant slaloms in a World Cup season: five in the 2003/04 season and three in the 2002/03 season.
Hector may become the third Swede after Anna Ottosson (2000 Cortina d’Ampezzo) and Pärson (2003 Cortina d’Ampezzo, 2004 Sestriere) to win a giant slalom on Italian snow in the women’s World Cup.
Mikaela Shiffrin: The American won the first two giant slaloms of the season in the World Cup (Sölden, Courchevel). She also finished second in the second race in Courchevel before dropping out in Lienz due to a positive COVID test and finishing seventh in Kranjska Gora.
After Vreni Schneider (20), Annemarie Moser-Proell (16) and Tessa Worley (15), Shiffrin (14) can become the fourth woman to win 15 World Cups in giant slalom.
Shiffrin won the Kronplatz giant slalom in the 2018/19 World Cup. She could become the first skier to achieve multiple World Cup victories at Plan de Corones.
Shiffrin (10) is the woman with the most World Cup podiums in all disciplines this season. Petra Vlhová follows with nine.
More podium contenders
Tessa Worley (15) is just one win away from catching up with Annemarie Moser-Proell (16) and taking second place in the list of most World Cup victories in women’s giant slalom. Vreni Schneider (20) tops this list.
Worley is tied with Viktoria Rebensburg (both 34) in third place for the most giant slalom podium finishes in the women’s World Cup, behind Schneider (46) and Anita Wachter (45).
Worley won the last giant slalom, which took place on January 26, 2021 in Plan de Corones. She could become the first skier to achieve multiple World Cup victories in Plan de Corones.
Marta Bassino, last season’s giant slalom crystal globe winner, has been on the podium in two of the last three World Cup giant slalom events after failing to get a result in the event in the first two races of the season.
At the previous four giant slalom events at Plan de Corones, Bassino achieved three third places (2017, 2019, 2021) and one fourth place (2018).
The last two Italian women’s World Cup giant slalom victories on Italian snow have both been credited to Federica Brignone: 2017 in Plan de Corones and 2020 in Sestriere.
After Wachter (4), Sonja Nef (4), Hanni Wenzel (3) and Schneider (3), Brignone is the fifth woman to win more than two World Cup giant slaloms in Italy.
Petra Vlhová has won five World Cup races this season, all in slalom. Only in the 2020/21 (6) season did the Slovak win more World Cups.
Vlhová (9) could claim at least 10 World Cup podiums in one season for the third time after 2018/19 (14) and 2020/21 (10).
Of Vlhová’s five World Cup giant slalom victories, one has been achieved on Italian snow: in Sestriere on January 18, 2020.
Maryna Gasienica-Daniel finished sixth in three of the five giant slaloms this World Cup season. The only Polish woman to have made it onto a World Cup podium is Malgorzata Mogore Tlalka, who won the Kranjska Gora (3rd) and Piancavallo (2nd) slaloms in 1983/84.
The last Austrian World Cup victory in giant slalom was won by Eva-Maria Brem on March 7, 2016 in Jasná.