You've probably heard the roar of the crowd at Flachau or seen the headlines about the "unlikely" comeback that actually isn't that unlikely if you've been paying attention. The women's alpine skiing world cup this season is basically a fever dream of statistics and logic-defying gravity. We aren't just watching a race for points anymore. We are watching a total restructuring of the sport's hierarchy.
Most casual fans think Mikaela Shiffrin is just coasting to another overall title because that’s what she does. Honestly? That is a massive oversimplification. While she sits at 923 points as of mid-January 2026, the cushion isn't as comfy as it looks on paper.
The Lindsey Vonn Factor Nobody Expected
Let’s talk about the elephant on the mountain. Lindsey Vonn is 41 years old. People laughed when she announced a comeback after a five-year hiatus and a partial knee replacement. They aren't laughing now.
Vonn hasn't just returned; she’s dominating the speed circuit with a consistency that feels like a glitch in the matrix. Seven podiums in eight speed races. Think about that. Her "worst" finish this season is a fourth place. In Tarvisio just this week, she snagged a bronze in the downhill and a silver in the super-G.
She's currently leading the downhill standings with 400 points. She's fourth in the overall. It’s wild.
It’s not just about the wins—though her 84th career victory in Zauchensee was a statement. It’s the way she’s skiing. She’s taking lines that younger racers seem hesitant to touch. In the Tarvisio super-G, which was basically a wall of fog, Vonn led at every checkpoint before losing a tiny bit of time at the very bottom to Emma Aicher.
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The Technical Battle: Shiffrin vs. The Field
While Vonn owns the speed, Mikaela Shiffrin is still the queen of the technical turns, but the gap is shrinking. Shiffrin has 107 World Cup wins now. She just took down the Flachau night slalom under the floodlights, beating her teammate Paula Moltzan by 0.41 seconds.
But look at the giant slalom.
Austria’s Julia Scheib is currently the one to beat there. She’s won three giant slaloms this season, including a massive home win at Semmering. Shiffrin finished sixth in that race.
Current Top Standings (As of January 18, 2026)
- Overall: Mikaela Shiffrin (923 pts) followed by Camille Rast (753 pts).
- Downhill: Lindsey Vonn (400 pts) holds a 144-point lead over Emma Aicher.
- Slalom: Shiffrin is dominant with 680 points.
- Giant Slalom: Julia Scheib leads the pack with 460 points.
Camille Rast is the dark horse here. The Swiss racer has been incredibly consistent, sitting second in the overall. She even beat Shiffrin in the Kranjska Gora slalom double. If Shiffrin has a bad week in the speed-heavy portion of the calendar, the overall race gets very tight, very fast.
Why 2026 is Different
The shadow of the Milano Cortina Olympics is everywhere. You can feel it in the way racers are pushing. Usually, by mid-January, you see some veterans start to pace themselves to avoid injury. Not this year.
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Emma Aicher is the perfect example. At 22, she’s 19 years younger than Vonn, and she’s one of the few athletes actually competing in all four disciplines. She just won the Tarvisio super-G in brutal conditions. She represents a new breed of "all-rounders" that the World Cup hasn't seen in a while.
Then you have the local heroes. Nicol Delago just got her first-ever World Cup win on home snow in the Tarvisio downhill. The emotion at the finish line wasn't just about the 100 points. It was about proving she belongs on the Italian squad for the upcoming Games.
Misconceptions About the Points System
A lot of people think the women's alpine skiing world cup is won by whoever wins the most races. Kinda, but not really. It’s a game of attrition.
Federica Brignone won the overall last year at age 34 because she was rarely outside the top ten. This year, the point distribution is much more fragmented. Shiffrin has her slalom points locked down, but because she’s been more selective with her downhill starts, she’s leaving the door open for specialists like Vonn or Goggia to rack up huge numbers in the speed events.
The weather has also been a massive factor. We’ve seen heavy fog, soft snow, and cancelled training runs. In Tarvisio, the fog was so thick at the top that racers had to rely entirely on their morning inspection notes. You can't "see" your way down at 70 mph in that. You have to "know" it.
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What to Watch Next
The circuit moves to Crans-Montana on January 31. This will be the final major speed test before the Olympics.
If you want to follow the World Cup like a pro, stop looking at the win counts and start looking at the "points per start" metric. Shiffrin is still the most efficient, but Vonn’s speed-discipline dominance is mathematically terrifying for the rest of the field.
Keep an eye on Alice Robinson. The New Zealander had a scary crash in Tarvisio but has been a force in giant slalom all season. If she's healthy, she changes the podium math for everyone else.
To stay ahead of the curve, track the results of the "Speed Weekend" in Crans-Montana. The performance of Sofia Goggia there will tell us if she can reclaim the red bib from Vonn. Also, watch the Slalom standings after the Špindlerův Mlýn race on January 25—it’s the last chance for the technical specialists to bank points before the Olympic break.