SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria (AP) — Zrinka Ljutic has won three of the past four World Cup slaloms and turned 21 just last month.
Lara Colturi is only 18 and has been on the podium twice this season. American talent Lauren Macuga, 22, upstaged Lindsey Vonn when she won a super-G in January.
Malorie Blanc, a 21-year-old Swiss racer, came out of nowhere to finish second in her first World Cup downhill. Camille Rast, 25, won two slaloms and sits third in the overall standings. And Alice Robinson of New Zealand, 23, won a giant slalom for her first victory in nearly four years.
With Mikaela Shiffrin injured for much of the last two seasons and Petra Vlhova still out, too, because of crashes, a bunch of other athletes have made breakthroughs on the women’s circuit recently.
And they’re all eager to back up their performances at the world championships starting this week.
“It speaks to the investment and development systems in the countries where those athletes are coming from, but it also speaks to the natural cycles of ski racing,” said U.S. head coach Paul Kristofic.
“Mikaela and Petra for sure are dominant athletes. So from a podium perspective, it opens the door a little bit more for some young racers."
Here’s a look at some of the top young skiers:
Zrinka Ljutic
When Ljutic claimed her maiden victory in a slalom in Semmering last month, she became the first Croatian woman to win a race since Janica Kostelic triumphed in 2006.
Ljutic went on to win two more slaloms in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, and Courchevel, France; having earned her first podium this season with a second-place result in the giant slalom in Killington, Vermont, when Shiffrin crashed and suffered a deep puncture wound to her side.
Expect Ljutic to branch out soon into super-G, too, said Patrick Riml, the head of athletes special projects with her sponsor, Red Bull.
“I am 100% sure about that,” Riml said, noting that Ljutic also recently changed her ski supplier: “It takes a little time to get this all dialed in.”
Lara Colturi
Born and raised in Italy, Colturi made a nationality switch and decided to represent Albania so she could continue to be coached by her parents and decide on her own which races to enter.
Daniela Ceccarelli, Colturi’s mother, won gold in super-G at the 2002 Olympics and now coaches her daughter. Colturi’s father is a ski coach.
While warming up for the last worlds in France two years ago, Colturi tore the ACL in her right knee and never got to race.
But she came back strong and qualified for last season’s finals in Saalbach in both slalom and giant slalom and has had two second-place finishes this season: in a slalom in Gurgl, Austria, in November; and in a giant slalom in Kranjska Gora in January.
“The potential is crazy and when you see the support infrastructure they have vs. an Austrian team or a U.S. team or a Swiss team, it’s crazy: Mom and dad taking the lead, we’ve got a staff member there for support and then she’s got a service guy and that’s it,” Riml said. “It’s unbelievable with very limited resources what they’re able to do.”
Camille Rast
Rast claimed her first victory in the slalom in Killington the day after Shiffrin crashed in the Vermont resort. Then she followed it up by winning again in the night slalom in Flachau.
The daughter of a motorcycle racer, Rast grew up as an enduro mountain bike competitor before she turned to skiing full time. She still likes to get on her bike during the summer.
Rast has also been on the podium in giant slalom this season, with a third-place result in Killington.
Earlier in her career, Rast missed nearly three years due to injury and illness.
Lauren Macuga
Macuga is one of three sisters on the U.S. Ski Team. She’s a downhill skier, Alli is a moguls standout, and Sam is a ski jumper.
When Macuga claimed her first World Cup victory in St. Anton last month, Vonn finished fourth for her best result since coming out retirement.
Macuga has also impressed in downhill, finishing fourth on home snow in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December.
While she won a bronze in downhill at the junior worlds three years ago, Macuga has never competed at a major championship at the senior level. Saalbach will mark her debut in that category.
“It’s a bigger world stage,” Macuga said. “I just got to (do) the same thing, try to push that pressure away."
Malorie Blanc
Blanc had on low-ranked bib No. 46 in just the second race of her World Cup career — and her first downhill — when she surged all the way up to second place in St. Anton.
The Swiss racer claimed three medals at last season’s junior worlds.
“I've already achieved more than I initially aimed for,” Blanc said. “But I want to take everything I can from this experience.”
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press
