FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

Alpine Ski World Cup
Seidlalm, a gasthaus at "Streif" (Kitzbühel) where
World Cup was founded by Lang, Bonnet, and Beattie.
GenreAlpine skiing
Location(s)Europe and North America; occasionally in Japan, Russia, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, New Zealand
Inaugurated5 January 1967 (1967-01-05) (men)
7 January 1967 (7 January 1967) (women)
FoundersFrance Serge Lang
France Honore Bonnet
United States Bob Beattie
Organised byInternational Ski Federation
(FIS)
PeopleChief Race Directors
Italy Markus Waldner (men)
ItalySlovenia Peter Gerdol (women)
SponsorAudi Quattro

The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France (Honore Bonnet) and the USA (Bob Beattie).[1] It was soon backed by International Ski Federation president Marc Hodler during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1966 at Portillo, Chile, and became an official FIS event in the spring of 1967 after the FIS Congress at Beirut, Lebanon.

The inaugural World Cup race was held on 5 January 1967 in Berchtesgaden, West Germany, a slalom won by Heinrich Messner of Austria. Jean-Claude Killy of France and Nancy Greene of Canada were the overall winners for the first two seasons.

Rules

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Competitors attempt to achieve the best time in four disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, super G, and downhill. The fifth event, the combined, employs the downhill and slalom. The World Cup originally included only slalom, giant slalom, and downhill races. Combined events (calculated using results from selected downhill and slalom races) were included starting with the 1974–75 season, while the Super G was added for the 1982–83 season.

The current scoring system was implemented in the 1991–92 season. For every race points are awarded to the top 30 finishers: 100 points to the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, winding down to 1 point for 30th place. The racer with the most points at the end of the season in mid-March wins the cup, represented by a 9 kilogram crystal globe.[2] Sub-prizes are also awarded in each individual race discipline, with a smaller 3.5 kg crystal globe.

Since 1967, the big crystal globe has been awarded for the overall title. From the beginning to 1971–72, discipline titles were awarded with medals. Statistically, those titles have the same value as the small crystal globes, which first appeared for discipline titles in slalom, giant slalom and downhill in the 1977–78. In super-G, the small globe has been awarded since 1985–86. For super-g races in the three seasons previous, points were added and calculated in the giant slalom ranking.

The World Cup is held annually, and is considered the premier competition for alpine ski racing after the quadrennial Winter Olympics. Many consider the World Cup to be a more valuable title than the Olympics or the biennial World Championships, since it requires a competitor to ski at an extremely high level in several disciplines throughout the season, and not just in one race.[3]

Races are hosted primarily at ski resorts in the Alps in Europe, with regular stops in Scandinavia, North America, and east Asia, but a few races have also been held in the Southern Hemisphere. World Cup competitions have been hosted in 25 countries around the world: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.[4]

Lower competitive circuits include the NorAm Cup in North America and the Europa Cup in Europe.

Overall winners

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Multiple individual overall World Cup winners are marked with (#).

Discipline winners

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Top ten small crystal globe podiums

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  Still active

Most small globes per discipline

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Combined crystal globes were officially awarded from 2007 to 2012. Here are counted all season titles, official and unofficial. The records for most World Cup titles in each discipline are as follows:

Multiple disciplines small crystal globe winners

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Only four men's racers have ever managed to win small crystal globe in four or more different alpine skiing disciplines during their career, as listed in the table below.

Career Different discipline titles won Wins DH SG GS SL KB
Luxembourg Marc Girardelli 1980–1997 4 10 2 - 1 3 4
Switzerland Pirmin Zurbriggen 1981–1990 4 10 2 4 1 - 3
Norway Kjetil André Aamodt 1990–2006 4 8 - 1 1 1 5
Norway Aksel Lund Svindal 2003-2019 4 9 2 5 1 - 1

Wins

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Most race wins in each discipline

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As of 2 March 2024

Women

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Most races won

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A common measurement of how good individual skiers are is the total number of World Cup races won during their skiing career. The following skiers have won at least 20 World Cup races:

Twenty or more speed and technical wins

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All-event winners

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Only a few racers have ever managed to win races in all five classic World Cup alpine skiing disciplines during their career, as listed in the table below. Marc Girardelli (1988–89), Petra Kronberger (1990–91), Janica Kostelić (2005–06) and Tina Maze (2012–13) are the only skiers to have won all five events in a single season. Bode Miller is the only skier with at least five World Cup victories in all five disciplines.

Career Times Seasons Wins DH SG GS SL KB PGS PSL CE
United States Bode Miller 1997–2017 5 0 33 8 5 9 5 6
Luxembourg Marc Girardelli 1980–1996 3 1 46 3 9 7 16 11 N/A N/A
 Switzerland  Pirmin Zurbriggen 1981–1990 2 0 40 10 10 7 2 11 N/A N/A
Norway Kjetil André Aamodt 1989–2006 1 0 21 1 5 6 1 8 N/A N/A
Austria Günther Mader 1982–1998 1 0 14 1 6 2 1 4 N/A N/A

Women

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Career Times Seasons Wins DH SG GS SL KB PGS PSL CE
Sweden Anja Pärson 1998–2012 3 0 42 6 4 11 18 3 N/A
Sweden Pernilla Wiberg 1990–2002 2 0 24 2 3 2 14 3 N/A N/A
Austria Petra Kronberger 1987–1992 2 1 16 6 2 3 3 2 N/A N/A N/A
United States Lindsey Vonn 2001–2019 2 0 82 43 28 4 2 5 N/A
Croatia Janica Kostelić 1998–2006 1 1 30 1 1 2 20 6 N/A N/A
Slovenia Tina Maze 1999–2015 1 1 26 4 1 14 4 3 N/A
United States Mikaela Shiffrin 2012–active 1 0 99 4 5 22 62 1 2 3
  • Mikaela Shiffrin is the only skier in history who has won in six different disciplines—i.e., aside from the classic five disciplines, she has also won in parallel slalom.

Most race wins in a single season

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The following skiers have won at least ten World Cup races in a single season (events not available in a given season are marked "NA"):


Hosts

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Most podiums and top ten results

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As of 23 November 2024.[5][6]

  Still active

Career podiums

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Career top ten results

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  • Note: Only parallel events from (1975, 1997, 2011–2013, 2016) which count for overall ranking, included on this list, are considered as official individual World Cup victories.

Greatest alpine skiers of all time

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Based on ski-database super ranking system (since 1966), this scoring system is calculated using points from three categories: Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup (overall titles, discipline titles and individual top ten results).

As of 7 May 2024

Men's super ranking

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Women's super ranking

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Parallel events

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Parallel slalom

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Parallel slaloms from 1976 to 1991 counted for Nations Cup. There were no limitations regarding the number of athletes who could enter the competition, but each main event was limited to 32 competitors.

Date Place Season Winner Second Third
Nations Cup
20 March 1976   Canada Mont St. Anne 1975/76 Italy Franco Bieler Sweden Ingemar Stenmark Canada Jim Hunter
26 March 1977   Spain Sierra Nevada 1976/77 Austria Manfred Brunner Austria Klaus Heidegger Italy Bruno Nöckler
19 March 1978    Switzerland  Arosa 1977/78 United States Phil Mahre Sweden Ingemar Stenmark Austria Leonhard Stock
14 December 1978   Italy Madonna di Campiglio 1978/79 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark Italy Mauro Bernardi Italy Karl Trojer
14 March 1980   Austria Saalbach 1979/80 Austria Anton Steiner Sweden Ingemar Stenmark Norway Jarle Halsnes
30 March 1981    Switzerland  Laax 1980/81 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark Norway Jarle Halsnes United States Phil Mahre
28 March 1982   France Montgenèvre 1981/82 United States Phil Mahre Sweden Ingemar Stenmark Austria Hans Enn
21 March 1983   Japan Furano 1982/83 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark (3) United States Phil Mahre Liechtenstein Andreas Wenzel
25 March 1984   Norway Oslo 1983/84 Austria Hans Enn Austria Anton Steiner Sweden Ingemar Stenmark
6 January 1986   Austria Vienna 1985/86 Italy Ivano Edalini Germany Markus Wasmeier Austria Anton Steiner
22 March 1986   Canada Bromont Liechtenstein Paul Frommelt Italy Marco Tonazzi Luxembourg Marc Girardelli
28 December 1986   West Germany Berlin 1986/87 Austria Leonhard Stock Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Bojan Križaj West Germany Michael Eder
22 December 1987   Italy Bormio 1987/88  Switzerland  Pirmin Zurbriggen  Switzerland  Joël Gaspoz  Switzerland  Martin Hangl
27 March 1988   Austria Saalbach Italy Alberto Tomba  Switzerland  Pirmin Zurbriggen Austria Helmut Mayer
11 March 1989   Japan Shiga Kōgen 1988/89 Austria Bernhard Gstrein  Switzerland  Pirmin Zurbriggen Austria Rudolf Nierlich
24 March 1991   United States Waterville 1990/91  Switzerland  Urs Kälin  Switzerland  Paul Accola Norway Ole Kristian Furuseth
Promotional event
2 January 2009   Russia Moscow 2008/09 Germany Felix Neureuther France Jean-Baptiste Grange United States Bode Miller
21 November 2009   Russia Moscow 2009/10 Austria Marcel Hirscher France Steve Missillier Canada Michael Janyk
World Cup
23 March 1975   Italy Val Gardena 1974/75 Italy Gustav Thöni Sweden Ingemar Stenmark  Switzerland  Walter Tresch
24 October 1997   France Tignes 1997/98 Austria Josef Strobl Norway Kjetil André Aamodt Austria Hermann Maier

Women

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Date Place Season Winner Second Third
Nations Cup
20 March 1976   Canada Mont St. Anne 1975/76  Switzerland  Bernadette Zurbriggen West Germany Irene Epple Austria Monika Kaserer
26 March 1977   Spain Sierra Nevada 1976/77 West Germany Christa Zechmeister  Switzerland  Marie-Theres Nadig Austria Annemarie Moser-Pröll
19 March 1978    Switzerland  Arosa 1977/78 Austria Annemarie Moser-Pröll West Germany Christa Zechmeister United States Viki Fleckenstein
16 March 1980   Austria Saalbach 1979/80 Austria Annemarie Moser-Pröll (2) Italy Claudia Giordani West Germany Maria Epple
30 March 1981    Switzerland  Laax 1980/81 United States Tamara McKinney West Germany Traudl Hächer Liechtenstein Hanni Wenzel
28 March 1982   France Montgenèvre 1981/82 West Germany Maria Epple Austria Lea Sölkner France Perrine Pelen
21 March 1983   Japan Furano 1982/83 France Anne-Flore Rey Liechtenstein Hanni Wenzel Austria Anni Kronbichler
25 March 1984   Norway Oslo 1983/84 Czechoslovakia Olga Charvátová  Switzerland  Erika Hess United States Tamara McKinney
22 March 1986   Canada Bromont 1985/86  Switzerland  Vreni Schneider  Switzerland  Maria Walliser  Switzerland  Corinne Schmidhauser
18 January 1987   Germany Munich 1986/87 United States Tamara McKinney France Małgorzata Tlałka-Mogore  Switzerland  Corinne Schmidhauser
22 December 1987   Italy Bormio 1987/88  Switzerland  Brigitte Oertli  Switzerland  Corinne Schmidhauser  Switzerland  Michela Figini
27 March 1988   Austria Saalbach West Germany Christina Meier Austria Ulrike Maier Austria Roswitha Steiner
11 March 1989   Japan Shiga Kōgen 1988/89  Switzerland  Chantal Bournissen West Germany Michaela Gerg-Leitner United States Tamara McKinney
24 March 1991   United States Waterville 1990/91 Austria Anita Wachter Austria Ingrid Salvenmoser  Switzerland  Chantal Bournissen
Promotional event
21 November 2009   Russia Moscow 2009/10 Sweden Therese Borssén Germany Maria Riesch Sweden Frida Hansdotter
World Cup
24 March 1975   Italy Val Gardena 1974/75 Austria Monika Kaserer Italy Claudia Giordani France Fabienne Serrat
24 October 1997   France Tignes 1997/98 France Leila Piccard Sweden Ylva Nowén Austria Alexandra Meissnitzer
28 November 1997   United States Mammoth Mountain Germany Hilde Gerg Germany Martina Ertl Austria Alexandra Meissnitzer
20 December 2017   France Courchevel 2017/18 United States Mikaela Shiffrin Slovakia Petra Vlhová Italy Irene Curtoni
9 December 2018    Switzerland  St. Moritz 2018/19 United States Mikaela Shiffrin (2) Slovakia Petra Vlhová  Switzerland  Wendy Holdener
15 December 2019    Switzerland  St. Moritz 2019/20 Slovakia Petra Vlhová Sweden Anna Swenn-Larsson Austria Franziska Gritsch

  not counted as an official World cup win

City event

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Parallel city event is a version of parallel slalom where only Top16 ranked are allowed to compete. Length of the track and course/gates setting are also different from classic parallel slalom, and as of 2019/20 season, they are completely replaced with normal parallel races with qualification run.

Date Place Season Winner Second Third
2 January 2011   Germany Munich 2010/11 Croatia Ivica Kostelić France Julien Lizeroux United States Bode Miller
21 February 2012   Russia Moscow 2011/12 France Alexis Pinturault Germany Felix Neureuther Sweden André Myhrer
1 January 2013   Germany Munich 2012/13 Germany Felix Neureuther Austria Marcel Hirscher France Alexis Pinturault
29 January 2013   Russia Moscow Austria Marcel Hirscher Sweden André Myhrer Croatia Ivica Kostelić
23 February 2016   Sweden Stockholm 2015/16 Austria Marcel Hirscher (2) Sweden André Myhrer Italy Stefano Gross
31 January 2017   Sweden Stockholm 2016/17 Germany Linus Straßer France Alexis Pinturault Sweden Mattias Hargin
1 January 2018   Norway Oslo 2017/18 Sweden André Myhrer Austria Michael Matt Germany Linus Straßer
30 January 2018   Sweden Stockholm  Switzerland  Ramon Zenhäusern Sweden André Myhrer Germany Linus Straßer
1 January 2019   Norway Oslo 2018/19 Austria Marco Schwarz United Kingdom Dave Ryding  Switzerland  Ramon Zenhäusern
19 February 2019   Sweden Stockholm  Switzerland  Ramon Zenhäusern (2) Sweden André Myhrer Austria Marco Schwarz

Women

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Date Place Season Winner Second Third
2 January 2011   Germany Munich 2010/11 Sweden Maria Pietilä-Holmner Slovenia Tina Maze Austria Elisabeth Görgl
21 February 2012   Russia Moscow 2011/12 United States Julia Mancuso Austria Michaela Kirchgasser United States Lindsey Vonn
1 January 2013   Germany Munich 2012/13 Slovakia Veronika Velez-Zuzulová Slovenia Tina Maze Austria Michaela Kirchgasser
29 January 2013   Russia Moscow Germany Lena Dürr Slovakia Veronika Velez-Zuzulová United States Mikaela Shiffrin
23 February 2016   Sweden Stockholm 2015/16  Switzerland  Wendy Holdener Sweden Frida Hansdotter Sweden Maria Pietilä-Holmner
31 January 2017   Sweden Stockholm 2016/17 United States Mikaela Shiffrin Slovakia Veronika Velez-Zuzulová Norway Nina Løseth
1 January 2018   Norway Oslo 2017/18 United States Mikaela Shiffrin (2)  Switzerland  Wendy Holdener  Switzerland  Mélanie Meillard
30 January 2018   Sweden Stockholm Norway Nina Haver-Løseth  Switzerland  Wendy Holdener Slovakia Petra Vlhová
1 January 2019   Norway Oslo 2018/19 Slovakia Petra Vlhová United States Mikaela Shiffrin  Switzerland  Wendy Holdener
19 February 2019   Sweden Stockholm United States Mikaela Shiffrin (3) Germany Christina Geiger Sweden Anna Swenn-Larsson


Knockout slalom

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There were a total of two races (one in the men's category and one in the women's category) and it was in 2002/03 season. The points were added together with slalom races.

Date Place Season Winner Second Third
16 December 2002   Italy Sestriere 2002/03 Croatia Ivica Kostelić Italy Giorgio Rocca Norway Truls Ove Karlsen

Women

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Date Place Season Winner Second Third
15 December 2002   Italy Sestriere 2002/03 Sweden Anja Pärson Finland Tanja Poutiainen Austria Nicole Hosp


Parallel giant slalom

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Introduced by the International Ski Federation to the World Cup as a spectator-friendly event in late 2015, the parallel giant slalom competition, or shortened parallel-G, joining the parallel slalom, is intended to lure more speed specialists into the faster of the two technical disciplines, along with attracting their fans to watch the races at the venue, on-line, and on television.[7] Few venues offer the slope and conditions required to host an extremely short Giant slalom course that can be readily viewed in its entirety by a compact gallery of fans. Modified or not, the Federation has not suggested that they will push the format to lower-level tours like the NorAm and Europa Cup.

Format

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The Chief Race Director of the inaugural event at Alta Badia, Markus Waldner, on 20 December 2015 stated that "great performances" and "head-to-head fights" between the best giant slalom racers is the goal of the competition. The course for the first race was very compact at about 20–22 seconds duration, or about one-third of a normal GS run. The pace and cadence was the same as Giant slalom, not standard Slalom. Gates were set at roughly the same distances as GS and on a slope of about the same pitch. The field of thirty-two were drawn following an invitational format. The top four men in the overall World Cup rankings were automatic invitees, if they chose to compete. Another 16 racers were selected from the top of the current GS start list rankings, and the final twelve competitors were selected from the 1st run efforts at the standard GS event the day prior at the same venue. Overlapping qualifications allowed the sponsors to invite lower ranked participants to fill in gaps, as needed, and to replace individuals who declined to participate. Points were awarded and accumulated according to current standards for the race season in all relevant categories: the GS discipline, Overall and Nations Cup. The field was filled with thirty-two first round participants, each getting a run on either course. The best combined times moved the fastest racer to the second round through bracket preference protocols. From the second round, skiers the head-to-head competitions were held over one run only, with the faster skier from the previous round granted course selection between the 'red-right' or 'blue-left' course. At about one-third the time of a standard GS event, top performers/finalists were able to make multiple runs without the fatigue of a longer event. The course was methodically set with lasers, and a GPS-equipped Snowcat, to guarantee that both courses on the hill were as identical as possible to ensure equity and a fair competition. The Race Director suggested the difference between the two lanes were within "1–to–2 centimeters" tolerance of one another.

Events

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Men's World Cup parallel giant slalom events
Venue Date Winner Second Third Fourth Notes
Italy Alta Badia 21 December 2015   Norway Kjetil Jansrud Norway Aksel Lund Svindal Sweden Andre Myhrer Germany Dominik Schwaiger   [8][9]
Italy Alta Badia 19 December 2016   France Cyprien Sarrazin  Switzerland  Carlo Janka Norway Kjetil Jansrud Norway Leif Kristian Haugen [10][11]
Italy Alta Badia 18 December 2017   Sweden Matts Olsson Norway Henrik Kristoffersen Austria Marcel Hirscher Norway Aleksander Aamodt Kilde [12]
Italy Alta Badia 17 December 2018   Austria Marcel Hirscher France Thibaut Favrot France Alexis Pinturault Sweden Matts Olsson [13][14]
Italy Alta Badia 23 December 2019   Norway Rasmus Windingstad Germany Stefan Luitz Austria Roland Leitinger Norway Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen [13][15]
France Chamonix 9 February 2020    Switzerland  Loïc Meillard  Switzerland  Thomas Tumler Germany Alexander Schmid United States Tommy Ford [16]
Austria Lech/Zürs 27 November 2020   France Alexis Pinturault Norway Henrik Kristoffersen Germany Alexander Schmid Austria Adrian Pertl [17]
Austria Lech/Zürs 14 November 2021   Austria Christian Hirschbühl Austria Dominik Raschner Norway Atle Lie McGrath Norway Henrik Kristoffersen [18]
Women's World Cup parallel giant slalom events
Venue Date Winner Second Third Fourth Notes
Italy Sestriere 19 January 2020   France Clara Direz Austria Elisa Mörzinger Italy Marta Bassino Italy Federica Brignone [19]
Austria Lech/Zürs 26 November 2020   Slovakia Petra Vlhová United States Paula Moltzan  Switzerland  Lara Gut-Behrami Sweden Sara Hector [20]
Austria Lech/Zürs 13 November 2021   Slovenia Andreja Slokar Norway Thea Louise Stjernesund Norway Kristin Lysdahl Italy Marta Bassino [21]

Various records

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Scoring system

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The World Cup scoring system is based on awarding a number of points for each place in a race, but the procedure for doing so and the often-arcane method used to calculate the annual champions has varied greatly over the years. Originally, points were awarded only to the top ten finishers in each race, with 25 points for the winner, 20 for second, 15 for third, 11 for fourth, 8 for fifth, 6 for sixth, 4 for seventh, then decreasing by one point for each lower place. To determine the winner for each discipline World Cup, only a racer's best three results counted, from a typical six to eight races in each discipline (consistent with the then-current classification of skiers as amateurs, who couldn't be expected compete all the time). For the overall Cup, only these best three results in each discipline were included. Until 1970, the results of Winter Olympic Games races and Alpine World Ski Championship races were also included in the World Cup points valuation (i.e., Grenoble 1968 and Val Gardena 1970); this was abandoned after 1970, mainly due to the limited number of racers per nation who are permitted to take part in these events. Beginning with the 1971–72 season (the sixth season), the number of results counted was increased to five in each discipline. The formula used to determine the overall winner varied almost every year over the next decade, with some seasons divided into two portions with a fixed number of results in each period counting toward the overall, while in other seasons the best three or four results in each discipline would count.

Starting with the 1979–80 season (the 14th season), points were awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race. After 1980–81, the formula for the overall title stabilized for several years, counting the best 5 results in the original disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, and downhill) plus the best three results in combined. When Super G events were introduced for the 1982–83 season, the results were included with giant slalom for the first three seasons, before a separate Cup for the discipline was awarded starting in 1985–86 and the top 3 Super G results were counted toward the overall. The formula for the overall was changed yet again the following season, with the top four results in each discipline counting, along with all combined results (although the combined was nearly eliminated from the schedule, reduced to one or two events per season).

This perennial tweaking of the scoring formula was a source of ongoing uncertainty to the World Cup racers and to fans. The need for a complete overhaul of the scoring system had grown increasingly urgent with each successive year, especially once the FIS and the International Olympic Committee accepted after 1984 that the skiers were fully professional and not amateurs, so they no longer needed an artificial limitation on their number of events.

In 1987–88 (the 22nd season), the FIS decided to simplify the system: all results would now count in each discipline and in the overall. This new system was an immediate success, and the practice of counting all results has been maintained in every subsequent season.

With the ongoing expansion of the number and quality of competitors in World Cup races over the years, another major change to the scoring system was implemented in the 1991–92 season (the 26th season). Instead of only the top 15 skiers scoring points, with 25 points awarded for winning, 20 for second, and 15 for third (as had been done every season after the end of 1978-79), the top 30 finishers in each race would now earn points, with 100 for the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, and then decreasing by smaller increments for each lower place. The point values were adjusted slightly the following season (to adjust and reduce the points for places 4th through 20th), and the scoring system has not been changed again since that year.

The table below compares the point values under all five scoring systems which have been in use:

Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Current system
1993
100 80 60 50 45 40 36 32 29 26 24 22 20 18 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1992 system
1992
100 80 60 55 51 47 43 40 37 34 31 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Top 15 system
19801991
25 20 15 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1979 system †
1979
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Original system
19671979
25 20 15 11 8 6 4 3 2 1
Place 1 2 3 4 T5 (4) T9 (8)
   Parallel slalom   
100 80 60 50 40 15

† The scoring system changed during the 1978–79 season; this special system was used for the last two men's downhills and the last three races in every other discipline except combined.

Statistical analysis

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Since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in 1991–92., the number of completed men's or women's World Cup races each year has ranged from 30 to 44, so the maximum possible point total for an individual racer is about 3000–4400 under the current scoring system. Very few racers actually ski in all events. Bode Miller is the only skier who competed in every World Cup race[23] during the three seasons from 2003 to 2005. The current record for total World Cup points in a season is Tina Maze's 2414 points in 2012–13, with the men's record of 2042 points set by Marco Odermatt in 2022–2023. The fewest points for an overall champion under the current system thus far have been 1009 for men by Aksel Lund Svindal in 2008–09 and 1248 for women by Vreni Schneider in 1994–95. The largest margin of victory in the overall has been Maze's 1313 points in 2012–13, more than doubling second-place finisher Maria Höfl-Riesch's total, while the largest men's margin was 743 points by Hermann Maier in 2000–01. Note that in the early days of World Cup (when the first place was awarded only 25 points), even larger relative margins of victory were recorded in 1967 by Jean-Claude Killy with 225 points over Heinrich Messner with 114 points and in 1973–74 by Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 268 points over Monika Kaserer with 153 points. The closest finishes since 1992 have been minuscule margins of 6 points in 1994–95 (Vreni Schneider over Katja Seizinger), 3 points in 2004–05 (Anja Pärson over Janica Kostelić) and in 2010–11 (Maria Riesch over Lindsey Vonn), and only 2 points in 2008–09 (Aksel Lund Svindal over Benjamin Raich). The current men's record for total World Cup points in one month of the season is Ivica Kostelić's 999 points from January 2011.

The tables below contain a brief statistical analysis of the overall World Cup standings during the 21 seasons since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in 1991–92. In general, over 1000 points are needed to contend for the overall title. At least 1 man and 1 woman has scored 1000 points in each of these seasons, but no more than 5 men's or women's racers have crossed that threshold in any single season. Of the 42 men's and women's overall champions in these years, 38 scored over 1200 points, 30 had over 1300 points, 19 reached 1500 points, and only 7 amassed more than 1700 points during their winning seasons. As for the runners-up, 37 of the 42 second-place finishers scored over 1000 points, 18 had over 1300 points, and only 4 reached 1500 points yet failed to win. Most overall titles have been won quite convincingly, by more than 200 points in 23 of 42 cases, while only 11 margins of victory have been tighter than 50 points.

Annual Statistics Calculated for the 19922012 Seasons
Men's overall World Cup
Races Completed 1st Place Points Margin of Victory 2nd Place Points 3rd Place Points Number of Skiers per Season:
> 1000 Pts > 500 Pts > 200 Pts
Maximum 44 2000 743 1454 1307 5 21 50
Average 35.4 1414 258 1155 1001 2.5 14 41
Minimum 30 1009 2 775 760 1 8 37
Women's overall World Cup
Races Completed 1st Place Points Margin of Victory 2nd Place Points 3rd Place Points Number of Skiers per Season:
> 1000 Pts > 500 Pts > 200 Pts
Maximum 39 1980 578 1725 1391 5 19 45
Average 33.4 1570 244 1326 1117 3.3 13 37
Minimum 30 1248 3 931 904 1 9 32
Aggregate Statistics Calculated for the 19922012 Seasons
Men's and Women's overall World Cups: Total Numbers Across 21 Seasons
> 1700 Pts > 1500 Pts > 1300 Pts > 1200 Pts > 1100 Pts > 1000 Pts > 900 Pts > 800 Pts
First place 7 19 30 38 41 42 42 42
Second place 1 4 18 24 28 37 40 41
Third place 4 7 15 27 36 40
> 600 Pts > 500 Pts > 400 Pts > 300 Pts > 200 Pts > 100 Pts >= 50 Pts < 50 Pts
Margin of Victory 2 6 10 19 23 28 31 11

Finals

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Since 1993 the International Ski Federation (FIS) has hosted a World Cup Final at the end of each season in March. During five days, men's and women's races are held in four disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, Super G, and downhill, as well as a team event. Only a limited number of racers are invited to ski at the Finals, including the top 25 in the World Cup standings in each discipline, the current junior World Champions in each discipline, and any skiers with at least 500 points in the general classification. Because of the smaller field, World Cup points are only awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race.

From inception, the finals took place during one week, with the speed events held during the week and the technical events during the weekend. However, beginning in 2024, the schedule was changed so that the finals took up two weekends, with the technical events during the first weekend and the speed events during the second.

Hosts

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Winners by country

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The table below lists those nations which have won at least one World Cup race (current as of 6 December 2024).[29][30]

Alpine team event

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Rank Nation Total By disciplines
PSL PGS
1   Switzerland 5 5
2  Austria 3 2 1
 Sweden 3 3
4  Germany 2 2
 Norway 2 2
6  Italy 1 1
 Czech Republic 1 1
Total 17 3 14

Individual race wins are counted in this table, along with the nations team events held at World Cup Finals since 2006 (counts double as men and women in mixed competition contribute to a win). The "parallel race" is a head-to-head slalom race format used occasionally from the 1970s through 1990s, and again in 2011. Team event wins are doubled (because on one team event race competed both women and men; so it's counted separately each for women and men). Results for West Germany and Germany are counted together in this table. All of Yugoslavia's wins are currently lumped in with Slovenia, since the skiers who won races for former Yugoslavia were all Slovenes from Slovenia (one of six Yugoslav Republics), and thus are listed under Slovenia in online databases. The Soviet Union and Russia are counted separately, as are Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.

A total of 24 countries have won World Cup races, with 19 countries winning men's races and 20 winning women's races. As expected, the top ten nations in this list are the ten nations listed in the Nations Cup summary table (with slight changes in order).

Marc Girardelli accounted for all of Luxembourg's 46 wins, while Janica Kostelić has 30 of Croatia's 56 and her brother Ivica has the rest. Ingemar Stenmark still has nearly one-half of Sweden's 192 wins more than two decades after his retirement. Some nations specialize in either speed (downhill and Super G) or technical (slalom and GS) disciplines, while others are strong across the board. Among nations with 30+ wins, the Canadian team has won 73% of its races in speed events, while Yugoslavia/Slovenia has won 84% and Sweden 86% of their races in technical events, especially notable in Sweden's case given its large number of wins. Several nations with under 30 wins have 100% of them in technical events, led by Finland and Spain. In contrast Germany and Norway have the most even distribution without disproportionate strength or weakness in any one discipline. Some nations have strong teams in only one gender, as 92% of Norway's wins have come from their men and 83% of Germany's from their women, while the Swiss, French and Canadian totals are split almost equally.

Nations Cup

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The Nations Cup standings are calculated by adding up all points each season for all racers from a given nation.

The total number of top-three placings for each nation in the Nations Cup (through the 2022–23 season) are summarized below:

Nation Total standings   Men's standings   Women's standings
First Second Third First Second Third First Second Third
 Austria 42 14 1 42 11 2 34 15 6
   Switzerland 10 26 12 9 26 12 11 13 10
 France 5 2 2 3 7 5 6 3 4
 Italy 10 19 3 6 20 2 3 11
 United States 3 10 2 3 10 9
 Germany 1 9 1 4 12 13
 Norway 1 2 5 10
 Canada 1 1
 Liechtenstein 1 1
 Sweden 4 1 2

Note: Results for West Germany and Germany are counted together in this table.

See also

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Other world competitions
Statistics

References

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  1. ^ Lang, Serge (1986). 21 Years of World Cup Ski Racing. Johnson Books / James Wotton. ISBN 1-55566-009-6. Also available under ISBN 0-246-13116-0.
  2. ^ "FIS NewsFlash, Edition 72, April 26th, 2006". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. ^ Lang, Patrick. "World Cup History: The FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup". Retrieved 14 December 2008.
  4. ^ "FIS: Complete Calendar of Alpine Ski World Cup Races". Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  5. ^ "COMPETITORS HAVING MORE THAN ONE PODIUM". fis-ski.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  6. ^ "COMPETITORS HAVING MORE THAN ONE TOP 10 POSITION - ALPINE SKIING MEN". fis-ski.com. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
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  9. ^ Parallel GS Results Ladder Dec 2015. Archived 3 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine. International Ski Federation. December 2015.
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  11. ^ Parallel GS Results Ladder Dec 2016. Archived 28 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine. International Ski Federation. December 2016.
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  13. ^ a b Parallel GS Race Results Dec 2018. International Ski Federation. December 2018.
  14. ^ Parallel GS Results Ladder Dec 2018. Archived 22 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine. International Ski Federation. December 2018.
  15. ^ Parallel GS Results Ladder Dec 2019. International Ski Federation. December 2019.
  16. ^ Parallel GS Results Chamonix 2020. International Ski Federation. February 2020.
  17. ^ Parallel GS Results Lech/Zürs 2020. International Ski Federation. November 2020.
  18. ^ Parallel GS Results Lech/Zürs 2021. International Ski Federation. November 2021.
  19. ^ Parallel GS Results Ladies Sestriere 2020. International Ski Federation. January 2020.
  20. ^ Parallel GS Results Ladies Lech/Zürs 2020. International Ski Federation. November 2020.
  21. ^ Parallel GS Results Ladies Lech/Zürs 2021. Archived 13 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine. International Ski Federation. November 2021.
  22. ^ "'He's on a different planet': Odermatt holds on for 12th straight giant slalom win". FIS. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024..
  23. ^ Bulman, Erica (22 October 2005). "World Cup Skiing: Miller pushes limits on slopes despite desire". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  24. ^ FIS (6 March 2020). "FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals in Cortina Cancelled". US Ski and Snowboard. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  25. ^ "FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Long Term Calendar" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  26. ^ Andorra will host the 2023 Alpine Ski World Cup Finals
  27. ^ Saalbach Hinterglemm will host both the 2024 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals and the 2025 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
  28. ^ Barnard, Gabe (19 December 2023). "Sun Valley set to host 2025 Alpine Ski World Cup Finals". Idaho Mountain Express. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  29. ^ "World Cup Men's Races, Team Stats". Ski-db.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  30. ^ "World Cup Women's Races, Team Stats". Ski-db.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
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