2026 Women'sGiant Slalom World Cup
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Thewomen's giant slalom in the2026 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup is scheduled to consist of ten events, including the final.[1] According to the initial schedule released on 12 June 2025, the season is scheduled to begin with the traditional opener: a giant slalom on theRettenbach ski course, located on theRettenbach glacier inSölden, Austria, on 25 October 2025.[2] The next three giant slaloms will take place in North America in late November and early December, including the first World Cup visit toCopper Mountain (Colorado) for the women since1999, after which the remainder of the races will be held in Europe, including a return to the slopes of Czechia'sŠpindlerův Mlýn on 24 January 2026 for the first time in three years.[2]
The season will be interrupted for the quadrennial2026 Winter Olympics in three regions in Italy --Milan, theStelvio Pass, andCortina d'Ampezzo—during 6–22 February 2026.[3] Except for slalom, the Alpine skiing events for women are scheduled to take place on the classicOlimpia delle Tofane course atCortina d'Ampezzo.[4] The championship in women's giant slalom is scheduled to be held on Sunday, 15 February.
Due to an injury suffered at the end of last season, defending discipline championFederica Brignone of Italy is likely to miss most of, if not all of, the 2025-26 Alpine season.[5] With Brignone on hand for the traditional season-opening race in Sölden, Austria, 27-year-old Austrian skierJulia Scheib, who had finished third in the race last year for her first-ever World Cup individual podium, grabbed a lead of well over a minute on the first run and then held on for her first-ever World Cup victory, which also represented the first victory by an Austrian woman in a World Cup giant slalom race since March 2016.[6]
The World Cup finals in the discipline are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 25 March 2026 on theOlympialøypa course atHafjell, nearLillehammer, Norway.[7] Only the top 25 skiers in the World Cup giant slalom discipline and the winner of the2026 FIS Junior World Championships in the discipline, plus any skiers who have scored at least 500 points in the World Cup overall classification for the season, will be eligible to compete in the final, and only the top 15 will earn World Cup points.
