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After Last Year’s Covid Cancellation, the World Cup is Back

— by Peggy Shinn | U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team photography by Ryan Mooney

It used to be that on Thanksgiving weekend—after we ate too much turkey and politely (or not) listened to a weird uncle make politically incorrect comments—we would ski a few runs, grab a burger and a beer and wave to our ski friends we hadn’t seen since last spring. Some years there was great snow, others not so great. We contented ourselves by saying we had skied in November, even if it was just a couple of runs.
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“We had some great Thanksgiving weekends,” says Phil Black, who owns the Lookout Tavern on Killington Road and Base Camp Bike and Ski on Route 4. “But I would say that was one in every 10 years.”

It was one of the busiest two or three days of the whole year, and it was on the frontside of the season, which had never happened before the World Cup.

— Phil Black

Then the World Cup came to town and showed us what Thanksgiving weekend could be. Everyone from the racers to our local business owners to fans tailgating in the parking lot or schmoozing in the VIP tent loved it.
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“It was one of the busiest two or three days of the whole year,” says Black. “And it was on the front side of the season, which had never happened before the World Cup.”
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Then Covid-19 shut everything down, and we were left to eat leftovers by ourselves and wonder if we would have a ski season at all. We did, thank goodness. But if last winter had not been such a great snow year, the season would have been a bust for everyone, especially the businesses who rely on skier and snowboarder traffic.

Although Covid-19 is still with us, the Killington Cup is back in its familiar spot: Thanksgiving weekend. The resort is “eager to welcome back world class alpine skiing after the trying times of the last year,” says Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort and Pico Mountain.

“The HomeLight Killington Cup,” he adds, referring to the World Cup by its official name, “will continue to showcase Killington and the state of Vermont to the international ski audience, and we look forward to displaying everything this community has to offer once again on Thanksgiving weekend through 2022.”

So how does everyone feel about the World Cup’s return?
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“Ecstatic,” Black says, likely speaking for the whole community. “Everyone who’s a ski fan watches it,” he continues. “It’s such great exposure for the resort, and that has an impact all season long.”
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Fans are excited that the World Cup is back, too, especially kids who have seen the best-of-the-best ski racers up close. Young athletes who attend Killington Mountain School have been especially lucky in the past, with the school making its gym available to World Cup racers, and the student athletes able to train on the same hill as their heroes.

Just having access to elite athletes makes that dream so much more tangible. Being able to recognize that these athletes are real people who were once in their shoes ... for a young athlete, it’s a really powerful experience.”

— Claire Kershko

“Just having access to elite athletes makes that dream so much more tangible,” says KMS’s Head of School Claire Kershko. “Being able to recognize that these athletes are real people who were once in their shoes ... for a young athlete, it’s a really powerful experience.”
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Best of all, a few KMS racers have been chosen in the past to forerun the World Cup slalom and giant slalom—and hopefully this year as well. For a young skier, it’s like opening up for the Rolling Stones. Kershko acknowledged that Covid-19 protocols might put a crimp in those plans.

Then there are the ski racers themselves who love the event. The U.S. Ski Team’s top tech skiers all have connections to Vermont, with Mikaela Shiffrin and Nina O’Brien having attended Burke Mountain Academy, and Paula Moltzan, a University of Vermont alum. All three love returning to Killington.

For Shiffrin, Killington in November is difficult from a travel standpoint. Early season World Cup races and training take her across the Atlantic four times in a span of two months.

I would not give up Killington for the world. It’s incredible to be able to race in the U.S., and we really missed that last year.

— Mikaela Shiffrin

I don’t think I expected to have so much fun during the weekend. So much of the ski racing world came out to support us. It was one of my favorite weekends ever and remains one of the highlights of my year.

— Nina O’Brien

“But I’m still always super excited to come back to home soil,” she says. “I would not give up Killington for the world. It’s incredible to be able to race in the U.S., and we really missed that last year.”

O’Brien has a special attachment to the Killington Cup. In 2016, it was her first World Cup ever. She was thrilled to be racing but thought she would feel intimidated competing against the world’s best. Instead, she had a blast skiing in front of so many friends and family, some who don’t even follow ski racing.

“I don’t think I expected to have so much fun during the weekend,” she says. “So much of the ski racing world came out to support us. It was one of my favorite weekends ever and remains one of the highlights of my year.”

The Killington Cup has put ski racing back on the map in the U.S., especially in the Northeast, home to some of the nation’s top ski racing academies. In a country where fans can attend world-class sporting events, whether an MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA or MLS game, almost every weekend, aspiring ski racers watch tape-delayed coverage of World Cup races in Europe. The Killington Cup has changed that.

“There are a lot of young kids who can come and watch the highest level of the sport live,” says Moltzan, “which I think is pretty inspiring and motivating.”

Shiffrin, Moltzan and O’Brien have trained in Switzerland most of this fall, and this year’s Killington Cup will be a true homecoming. Last year, with the World Cup races in North America canceled, the American ski racers spent five straight months in Europe. It was a long time away from home.

There are a lot of young kids who can come and watch the highest level of the sport live, which I think is pretty inspiring and motivating.

— Paula Moltzan

"Killington is the milestone we look forward to—getting back to the U.S., racing in front of all of our friends and so many awesome fans,” O’Brien said on the phone from Switzerland. “We just have to make it to Killington, and then it’s all going to be good.”

Photographer: Steven Earl

Athlete: Mikaela Shiffrin

Photographer: Steven Earl

Athlete: Mikaela Shiffrin

Photographer: Steven Earl

Athlete: Sara Hector

Photographer: Steven Earl

Athlete: Mikaela Shiffrin

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Photographer: Steven Earl

Athlete: Federica Brignone

Photo: U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Athlete: Marta Bassino

Photographer: Jack Arrix

Athlete: Mikaela Shiffrin

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Photographer: Jack Arrix

Photo: U.S. Ski & Snowboard

2019 Giant Slalom Podium

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