KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (Feb. 2) - Reigning World Champion Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) was leading after the first run but struck a deep rut in her second run, slowing her to seventh in the final Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom before the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Swede Frida Hansdotter, who has eight previous World Cup podiums to her name, claimed the first win of her career. The athletes now head to Sochi, Russia for the Opening Ceremony Friday, Feb. 7 followed by the women’s super combined event Feb. 10.

HIGHLIGHTS

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (Dec. 7) - Slovenia's Tina Maze mastered incredibly flat light to stretch her Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall lead to 187 points over reigning champion Lindsey Vonn with a super combined victory Friday in St. Moritz, her third win of the season. Vonn, who stood fourth after the opening leg of super G, skied out in the slalom portion and dropped to fourth in the overall standings. Julia Mancuso posted the top U.S. finish with 11th and Laurenne Ross was 25th. Women's racing continues Saturday at the Swiss resort with super G followed by giant slalom on Sunday.

KVITFJELL, Norway (March 2) - Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) led the U.S. Ski Team with a tie for 16th on a wind-ravaged Audi FIS Alpine World Cup downhill in Kvitfjell. Frenchman Adrien Theaux edged World Cup downhill leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway for the win on a shortened race course due to the high winds. It was the final downhill before the March 11-17 World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Only the top 25 racers in each discipline qualify for Finals. Ganong, Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) and Steven Nyman (Sundance, UT) are all top 25 for the USA.

MERIBEL, France (Feb. 23) - Less than a second separated the top 17 finishers in Saturday's Audi FIS Alpine World Cup women's downhill with Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) leading the way for the U.S. Ski Team with 13th, .90 behind surprise winner Carolina Ruiz Castillo of Spain. It was a historic first World Cup downhill victory for Spain and the first podium of any kind since 2006. Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, CO) finished just behind Mancuso in a three-way tie for 14th.

HIGHLIGHTS

MARIBOR, Slovenia (Jan. 27) - Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) finished eighth in the Maribor slalom to retain her lead in the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom points going into Tuesday's City Event in Moscow. Race winner Tina Maze did not dissapoint her home town crowd and produced a brilliant wire-to-wire victory for her seventh win of the season. Maze now leads the overall World Cup standings with a massive 1,654 points, more than double runner-up Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany.

WENGEN, Switzerland (Jan. 18) - Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) was well on his way to the Wengen super combined podium when his inside ski rattled off just three gates before the finish ensuring Alexis Pinterault of France the victory.

SEMMERING, Austria (Dec. 29) - Teen Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO), fourth after the opening run, was charging for back-to-back Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom wins, when she got stuck leaning back, hooked an edge, hiked and eventually straddled in the night final. The door was then wide open for veteran Veronika Velez Zuzulova of Slovakia to snag the first victory of her 12 year World Cup career.

VAL D'ISERE, France (Dec. 8) – Ted Ligety knifed through incredibly soft snow in Val d'Isere to finish 12th and gain critical points toward the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall, where he's currently second to Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. David Chodounsky produced the third fastest final run to finish a career best 15th after missing most of last season with injury. Ligety, who is the defending giant slalom champion in Val d'Isere, will gun for his third consecutive victory in the discipline on Sunday.

HIGHLIGHTS

PARK CITY, UT (June 17) – Longtime U.S. Olympic Committee partner Procter & Gamble (P&G) will add skiing and snowboarding to its Olympic portfolio, as the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association announced a multi-year partnership that will extend through the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi and the 2015 International Ski Federation Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek. Select P&G brands will be engaged in event activation at Olympic qualifying events, advertising on the USSA’s NBC broadcasts and a wide range of athlete interaction and content development.

ASPEN, CO (Feb. 15) - Julia Ford (Plymouth, NH) won her second straight U.S. downhill championship and her fifth consecutive race to sweep the women's speed series in Aspen. Ford locked two NorAm super G races and a pair of NorAm downhills to move within one point of Abby Ghent (Edwards, CO) for the NorAm overall lead. Ghent was second in the U.S.