Mikaela Shiffrin Celebrates 104th World Cup Victory

Mikaela Shiffrin of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team pulled off yet another home win over Thanksgiving weekend, this time at Copper Mountain, Colorado at the Stifel Copper Cup presented by United Airlines. Just 30 minutes away from her home in Edwards and in front of thousands of screaming fans, Shiffrin took her 104th World Cup win by more than 1.5 seconds. Paula Moltzan finished in eighth place.

It was Shiffrin’s 67th slalom win, and her fourth straight slalom race—having won in Sun Valley at the 2025 Stifel Sun Valley Finals in March, then Levi, Finland and Gurgl, Austria. Out of the 17 domestic slalom World Cup races that Shiffrin has competed in since 2011, she has won 12 of them.

“With the home crowd, there's some extra pressure that comes with it. But I'm also trying to enjoy myself,” said Shiffrin. “Every race is a different new mentality and a new way to practice and I think the best thing that I can do is just get the exposure and keep working on it. It all came together today.”

The course was exhausting with two, nearly minute-long slalom runs at more than 10,000 feet above sea level. Plus, the women had shipped over from Europe, with only a few days to adjust to the altitude and the Rocky Mountain time zone.

“It was really challenging because of the fatigue from traveling on Monday, arriving at midnight, training this week,” said Shiffrin. “And all the excitement around a home race and racing GS yesterday. It’s the first double race series of the weekend of the season and then a really long slalom course. It was all of these factors, but my skiing on the second run was so much fun.”

On Sunday, not even a second-run charge by runner-up Lena Duerr (GER/Head, +1.57s) and a third straight podium performance by teenage sensation Lara Colturi (ALB/Blizzard, +1.85s) could dislodge Shiffrin from the winner's circle.

"This is super special," the 30-year-old said of winning a World Cup race at home in Colorado for the first time in 10 years and one day, since she triumphed in an Aspen Slalom in 2015.

"Today was stressful," she admitted. "I didn't expect to have so many nerves, but it's special to race at home and this crowd was incredible."

After leading by 0.28 seconds following a solid first run that contained just one small error, Shiffrin had a full second added to that lead in the start gate of the second run after her closest rivals faltered.

As she has done throughout this season, however, the Atomic star didn't play it safe despite her advantage, and instead found the perfect balance of aggression and technique throughout a spectacular second run.

"This run was lights-out amazing," said Shiffrin, who has now won at least four consecutive Slalom races six times in her career. "I felt perfect this run — I connected with the track, and it was beautiful to ski."

With the rest of the world's best Slalom skiers unable to touch her, only the Colorado altitude seemed capable of disrupting Shiffrin's rhythm.

"Ten thousand feet almost stopped me," she said. "I live here and I never get used to it."

Instead, Shiffrin mastered the elevation while helping the United States to become the first national ski association to win 100 women's World Cup Slalom races, of which she has won more than two-thirds (67) by herself.

"It's just mentally going to a place where I pull out my best skiing, despite feeling like it could just as easily swing me off the course," she said in explaining her winning mindset to open the season. There's nothing to lose. I'm here because I want to be here, so I might as well push."

One skier who didn't push hard enough in the first run was German veteran Duerr, who played it too cautiously on the relatively straight Swedish set and found herself down in ninth, 1.28 seconds behind Shiffrin.

Behind Shiffrin, Lena Duerr of Germany took second place and Lara Colturi of Albania third. Duerr also won the Stifel HERoic Cup—a $10,000 prize for the top woman between all U.S. World Cups, provided by Stifel Financial. Between Duerr’s sixth-place finish in the Stifel Copper Cup giant slalom and second place in the slalom, she beat Shiffrin by just two points. Lara Gut Behrami won the 2024-25 Stifel HERoic Cup, having accumulated the most World Cup points between Killington, Beaver Creek and Sun Valley. 

But the swinging offset gates of the second run, set by the German coaches, suited Duerr's considerable technical skills, and she posted the third-fastest run to move up eight positions and reach her first podium of the season.

"It was so much fun, I'm really happy with my weekend," said Duerr, who recorded a career-best Giant Slalom finish of sixth on Saturday."Today was a fight, but yesterday I think it was the most enjoyable GS I ever raced in my life. Today also the second run was really fun."

Duerr's second-run performance made her the only skier other than Shiffrin to top Colturi on the Slalom boards so far this season.

The 19-year-old Albanian has already matched her three podiums across both technical disciplines from a breakout campaign last season, and is fast becoming the biggest rising star on the tour.

After finishing fourth in the first run, the Italian-born teenager almost went out of the course early in the second run before an amazing recovery allowed her to stay on her feet and ultimately ski into provisional second position.

When Katharina Liensberger (AUT/Rossignol, sixth) and Wendy Holdener (SUI/Head, fourth) both failed to surpass her, Colturi's third straight podium was assured — once again alongside Shiffrin.

"I'm inspired by her since I was five years old, and now I'm sharing podiums with her — it's so crazy," Colturi said.

While Colturi continues to soar, it was another day to forget for reigning Slalom Crystal Globe winner Zrinka Ljutic (CRO/Atomic), whose first-run straddle made it two consecutive Slalom DNFs as part of a difficult opening to the season.

Ljutic may decide to respond by hitting the training slope in the next few days, but Shiffrin has something else in mind before heading to Tremblant, Canada, for two Giant Slalom races next weekend.

"Hopefully, so many hours of sleeping," she said. "We only arrived here on Monday from Europe and everybody on this circuit here is pretty tired and ready for a nap."

For the Americans Moltzan also nailed a top 10—an impressive feat given a hard fall she took in Saturday’s giant slalom race. Battling a swollen elbow and an aching neck, she skied to eighth place with the fourth-fastest second run, and was pleased with her result.

“I have some whiplash from hitting that gate pretty hard,” said Moltzan, who considered not racing in the slalom. “I think when I crashed yesterday, I was like, there's no chance. And then as the day progressed, I was like, you know what? I've raced in a lot more pain than this, so I'll be fine.”

Nina O’Brien also qualified for a second run, finishing 26th. She was pleased to take home some World Cup points and race just a couple of hours from her home in Denver.

Annika Hunt and Kjersti Moritz did not qualify for a second run. Elisabeth Bocock and Liv Moritz were well on their way to qualify for second runs with very fast first runs, but both had trouble right near the finish line and DNFed.

Copper Mountain was an excellent host of their first World Cup in 24 years, running four seamless back-to-back races, bib draws, concerts and more to thrill the packed U.S. crowd. The Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes signed autographs and posed for pictures for hours, making sure they inspired every kid watching the race. The men are expected to be back at Copper in 2026, with the women likely returning to Killington, pending FIS calendar confirmation.