A Bluffer’s Guide To…
The FIS Alpine Ski World Championships
Skiing’s marquee event outside of the Winter Olympics takes on the Zwölferkogel in Saalbach, Austria, for its 48th edition…
So, what are the FIS World Ski Championships?
Second only to winter’s five-ring circus in terms of public interest – and not to be confused with the seasonal FIS Ski World Cup – the biennial FIS World Ski Championships brings together 600 athletes from 75 nations, all gathering on one near-glass-like ice decline to take part in their respective gravity ’n Red Bull-fuelled disciplines over two weeks. February 2025 will be the 10th time Austria hosts the Championships and Saalbach’s second major competition in 12 months, after the resort town hosted the Ski World Cup Finals in March 2024. The Zwölferkogel (rounded summit) being the single slope where the skis meet the snow.
Starting on February 4 and running for 12 days, skiers partake in combined, downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, parallel (head-to-head giant slalom), and a mixed nations team event. Nordic skiing, snowboarding, and freestyle all feature in their own World Championship events later in the year.
“The Brits’ last medal of 11 in any colour was delivered to the hands of Evelyn Pinching in 1936.
Where did it start and how is it going?
Solely responsible for the flatter disciplines before 1931, the 1925 Nordic World Ski Championships in Janské Lázně, Czechoslovakia, were given status as the first official World Champs. However, featured little in terms of gate-to-gate downhill action. It took British alpinist, and inventor of the slalom, Arnold Lunn, to introduce alpine skiing to the calendar in 1930 – the Brits’ last medal of 11 in any colour was delivered to the hands of Evelyn Pinching in 1936.
How does it all work?
SLALOM
Considered the most technical event, this is the shortest discipline with the tightest turns. Passing through between 55 and 75 gates in 220 metres means edge radii are as tight as they get (around four metres).
Slalomists – equipped with shorter skis, fluorescent protective poles, and shinpads – often flatten the poles to find
the fastest route, that being the straightest or the fall-line if we’re being technical.
The competitor with the lowest combined time across two races is declared the winner. First introduced in 1931, Switzerland’s David Zogg was the first bloke to win the slalom alongside Scotland’s Esme ‘Muffie’ Mackinnon, who also won the inaugural women’s downhill competition in Mürren that year.
GIANT SLALOM
One step up from slalom, giant slalom also involves skiing down a slope and passing through gates (upgrading to the ones with two poles and a piece of fabric stretched across). A greater turn radius means more speed throughout its higher vertical descent of 450m.
Introduced to the World Champs at Aspen in 1950, skiers get two runs, and the winner is determined by the fastest cumulative time.
SUPER-G
The faster of the two middle distances, Super-G combines downhill and giant slalom. Sharing slopes (and most of the field with downhill) reaching 120kmph whilst maintaining the ability to stay between the blue lines ain’t easy.
Debuting in an all-Swiss affair in Crans-Montana at the World Champs in 1987, local lad Pirmin Zurbriggen won the inaugural men’s gold with Maria Walliser, also of Switzerland, taking the top spot in the women’s edition.
DOWNHILL
As the simplest and most dangerous form of alpine skiing, this relatively rule-less plummet was introduced to the World Championships from the get-go in 1931. Part of the furniture ever since, the pedal-to-the-metal event became an Olympic sport in 1948 and has been skiing’s golden ticket ever since.
As the name suggests, the goal is to make it to the bottom of the hill. As fast as. With little in-between skiers and their target, expect speeds touching 140kmph in Saalbach with the venue’s 910m (73 per cent gradient) drop being descended in a scratch over 1:30. Each competitor gets one bite at the cherry, first to pass through the inflatable finish line in one-piece wins.
“A skis-off-the-ground,
shut-yer-eyes-and-hope
50-metre leap of faith
Where is it happening?
Thirty-four years after hosting the 31st World Ski Championships in 1991 (the Sunshine Championships) skiing’s elite return to Saalbach-Hinterglemm, an infrequent venue for the Alpine Skiing World Cup situated about three hours south of Munich. Five Austrian winners from a possible 10 graced the slopes in ’91 with Ulrike Maier winning the super-G, Petra Kronberger (downhill), Stephan Eberharter (super-G and combination), and Rudolph ‘Rudi’ Nierlich taking giant slalom gold.
All 11 races share one finish line where 15,000 expecting Austrians – all sat in temporary horseshoe seating or stood outside burger vans – will welcome the finishers. Taking hopefuls to the top, the reconstructed Zwölferkogel 12-seater cable car can take 3500 people to the summit per hour, ski passes for the region being all you need to get there.
Lycra and faux fur headbands are optional extras.
Where will the medals be won?
The team parallel competition, which opens the Championships on February 4, starts at 1,220 metres above sea level, just 160m above the finish line. And exists as a bit of a novelty. Crowning the best overall nation, 16 teams race in a knock-out format each entering four skiers – two men and two women. Skiing side by side (clues in the name) on two identical courses in a head-to-head race, each winner scores a point for the team. If the score is two apiece – which it often is due to the different conditions on each course – the team with the best aggregate time wins. Women’s super-G will start proceedings proper on Thursday, February 6, starting 1,600 metres above sea level on the Ulli Maier racecourse.
Following up on the same slope will be the women’s downhill, slalom, team combination and the men’s slalom throughout the fortnight. The other five events occur on the steeper and icier Schneekristall slope on the same side of the hill. First up, it’s the men’s super-G on Friday 7, followed by the men’s downhill starting 1,974m above sea level on the Sunday – the only race to feature the commentator’s-nightmare Schneekristallsprung, a skis-off-the-ground, shut-yer-eyes-and-hope 50-metre leap of faith.
Canada’s James Crawford flies down the Streif in Kitzbühel en-route to his first World Cup win.
What does the winner win?
As well as snowflake-shaped gold, silver, and bronze medals – plus customary bottle of champagne and resort-specific fluffy mascot toy – winners in each discipline will earn circa CHF 52,800, CHF 33,000 for second place and 19,800 for bronze. With the total prize fund being CHF 132,000 for each discipline, the tournament pot is CHF 1.7 million, or about £1.5 million.
Marcel Hircher’s seven gold medals between 2013 and 2019 mark him as the most successful male athlete in
the competition. And 99-time World Cup-winner Mikaela Shiffrin continues to rule the roost for the chicks – the American taking home 14 World Championship medals in all, seven of those gold. Shiffrin and Swiss sensation Marco Odermatt became the first two skiers to gross $1 million in prize money during a single season in 2024. Plus extras.
Germany’s Christl Cranz is the only athlete to stand above Shiffrin and won a record 17 World Championship medals in total. Realised between 1934 and 1939, her 12 gold medals predating World War II are supplemented by another two unrecognised golds earned during the war whilst competing against ‘Germany-friendly’ athletes.
The tiger-helmeted Federica Brignone ready to pounce from the start gate.
How does qualification work?
If they have the resources and talent, each nation picks their four best in each discipline. With reigning World Champions holding the right to participate at the next World Champs in the events they won, successful teams – usually Austria and Switzerland – can take five.
From there, qualifying competitions limit the field to 120 athletes in each discipline. The top performers in those qualifying competitions are awarded starting places in World Championship events proper. And in the slalom events with two runs, the top 30 make it through to round two where the medals are won.
Are there any Brits in contention?
The last World Champs in 2023 saw Great Britain enter their biggest squad to date with 12 athletes present in Courchevel & Méribel for the 47th edition. World number 11, Dave ‘Rocket’ Ryding carries the flag for the home nations’ again in 2025 and knows how to win on ice in Austria – the 38-year-old having won his only World Cup gold on the infamous Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel. His chance of success is further supported by relative youngsters Billy Major and Laurie Taylor (both 29) joining the 7-time World Cup medal-winner in slalom.
Swiss racer, Daniel Yule might actually give Britain their best chance at gold, the 31-year-old having Scottish parentage. His latest slalom win arrived in Chamonix in February 2024, where he became the first athlete to win after ranking 30th in the initial run.
Dave ‘The Rocket’ Ryding celebrates World Cup Gold in Austria.
I’ve watched Ski Sunday; how hard can it be?
Travelling above the national speed limit through hard plastic poles, feet bolted to two fibreglass planks with razor-sharp edges, on sheet ice for nearly two minutes is just the start of it.
When crashing means a helicopter ride out of town, and winning is decided by hundredths of a second, the margins that separate the world’s best from perennial also-rans are unbearably tight. Prize money barely covers expenses when finishing outside the top ten, and one missed gate means you’re out. All that’s to say, the route down to the finishis best travelled with caution.
Norway’s Aleksander Kilde, all-time great Mikaela Shiffrin, and Olympic gold medallist Corinne Suter were all airlifted in 2024 after hitting the fencing during speed races. As a result, and in an effort to increase safety, the International Ski Federation has made airbags mandatory for downhill and super-G, with explicit recommendations for cut-resistant underwear.
How can I follow the action?
Almost all 65km of ski territory will remain open during the tournament. Slope side tickets start at €25 for a mid-week training day pass and can reach €1,260 for a comprehensive tournament-long ticket in padded seats. Plus extras. Obviously.
Flights, transfers, lodging, and expensive food aside, all the action will be available on Discovery+ which has terrestrial rights for the event. Eurosport also offering highlights and interviews online.
Down the road: RedBull’s showcar during the Ski flying Championships in Kulm, Austria.