The 48th Alpine World Ski Championships will be held in Saalbach from February 4th to 16th, 2025. After the Olympic Winter Games, this is the most important event in the world of skiing. The Alpine World Ski Championships bring together in one place the best skiers in all disciplines, male and female, for two weeks.
It will be the 10th time Austria host the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, including those which were shared with the Olympic Winter Games.
The new Team Combined event replaces the corresponding individual event and makes its official debut at a major senior championship. This innovative format, which will make its Olympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026, involves teams of two athletes of the same gender - one competing in the Downhill, the other in the Slalom. The gold medal goes to the team with the fastest combined time.
Defending World Champions Marco Odermatt, Mikaela Shiffrin, Federica Brignone, Henrik Kristoffersen, and James Crawford, former Champions Lara Gut-Behrami, Vincent Kriechmayr, Lindsey Vonn, and Katharina Liensberger are among the approximately 250 women and 380 men from over 70 nations who will compete over an exciting two weeks, in front of an expected audience of more than 100,000 ski fans.
Marco Odermatt is the main favorite in the Giant Slalom, Downhill, and Super-G events. The 27-year-old super talent has triumphed in seven races this season, including three in Giant Slalom, two in Downhill, and two in Super-G.
The Swiss are setting the pace in the Alpine Ski World Cup in the 2024-2025 winter season, especially in the Men's races. In eleven of the 25 World Cup races before Saalbach, a Swiss skier was on the top step of the podium.
Four of the five downhill races concluded with double victories for Switzerland; only Canadian James Crawford managed to end the Swiss winning streak. Crawford seeks to carry Kitzbuehel's momentum into the Ski World Alpine Championships. With Alexis Monney and Franjo von Allmen, the Swiss have two other top stocks in their team.
Vincent Kriechmayr is back in great form and is looking to fight for the medals in the speed disciplines.
In the Giant Slalom, Alexander Steen Olsen is arriving in Saalbach as a two-time winner of the season and presents himself as the main challenger to Odermatt. The Norwegian celebrated his wins in Sölden and Schladming.
The main favorites in the Slalom are Olympic Champions Clement Noel and Henrik Kristoffersen. The Norwegians are the strongest team in the discipline. Timon Haugan twice, Atle Lie McGrath, and Kristoffersen gave the Norwegian team four victories this season including a 1-2-3 podium in Wengen led by McGrath.
On the Women's side, Federica Brignone is traveling to Saalbach as the leader in the overall World Cup with five wins this season, two in Giant Slalom, two in Downhill, and one Super-G. Teammate Sofia Goggia has also shown that she is back to her old self this season in the Downhill and Super-G. The trio of favorites is complete with Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami, who has also recently shown increasing form, confirmed by her win in the last Super-G before Saalbach. In her previous 12 Alpine Ski World Cup Super-G races, Gut-Behrami finished nine times on the podium including four victories.
Lindsey Vonn targets history in Saalbach as the oldest medallist at 40. After nearly six years of retirement, American Alpine Ski legend Lindsey Vonn returned to the Alpine Ski World Cup stage on December 21, finishing 14th in the Super-G in St Moritz.
In the Giant Slalom, Sara Hector, Alice Robinson, Brignone, and Gut-Behrami are the main favorites for gold. Mikaela Shiffrin has announced her plan to focus on participating only in the Slalom event, and the Team Combined with Breezy Johnson and not Lindsey Vonn as was speculated.
In the Slalom, the eyes are not only on the four-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin but also on Zrinka Ljutic. With three victories this season, including two in a row, the 21-year-old Croatian underlined that she is one of the rising stars in Alpine Skiing.
Tuesday, February 4. 15:15 CET Team Parallel
Thursday, February 6. 11:30 CET Super-G Women
Friday, February 7. 11:30 CET Super-G Men
Saturday, February 8. 11:30 CET Downhill Women
Sunday, February 9. 11:30 CET Downhill Men
Tuesday, February 11. 1 run 10:00 / 2 run 13:15 CET Team Combined Women
Wednesday, February 12. 1 run 10:00 / 2 run 13:15 CET Team Combined Men
Thursday, February 13. 1 run 9:45 / 2run 13:15 CET Giant Slalom Women
Friday, February 14. 1 run 9:45 / 2run 13:15 CET Giant Slalom Men
Saturday, February. 15. run 9:45 / 2run 13:15 CET Slalom Women
Sunday, February 16. 1 run 9:45 / 2run 13:15 CET Slalom Men
Saalbach-Hinterglemm is one of the regular venues for the Alpine Skiing World Cup. The ski resort had its premiere at the World Cup on December 19, 1972, with the celebration of a Women's Downhill event won by Austrian skier Annemarie Moser-Pröll.
From January 22nd to February 3rd,1991 Saalbach Hinterglemm hosted the 31st Alpine World Ski Championships.
On October 3rd, 2020, the FIS Council elected Saalbach Hinterglemm as the organizer for the Alpine World Ski Championships 2025.
"Much like with our Nordic World Championships (in Trondheim, Norway), with Saalbach and Austria, we are going to the heartland of Alpine Skiing. Every time FIS has staged the FIS Alpine World Ski Championship in Austria, it is a special occasion with massive crowds and a very professional organization. There is not a doubt in my mind Saalbach will live up to this strong tradition," said former FIS President Gian Franco Kasper.
Concept: One mountain – all competitions
The Zwölferkogel in Hinterglemm will be the venue for all disciplines, providing optimal conditions for the athletes and the entire production team. The central location, with only one finish area, facilitates the coordination between sports and visitors. The already existing infrastructure is used in the best possible way. As far as the sports facilities are concerned, they have already been tested in various races following their adaptation, including the Alpine Ski World Cup Finals in 2024. The reconstruction of the Zwölferkogel lift, which started immediately after the end of the season in March 2019, gives the finish area a new character and offers considerable advantages for the sport in the future.
The Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn
Three ski resorts, and 1 Ski Area which cover two Austrian states: Salzburg and Tirol.
The Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, with its 270 kilometers of slopes, 70 ski lifts, and more than 60 mountain huts, is one of the largest ski areas in Austria.
With the addition of Fieberbrunn, in the neighboring region of Tyrol, the Skicircus has become a true mecca for freeride with miles of ski routes in the stunning scenery of the Kitzbühel Alps.
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