What is the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup?
The Alpine Ski World Cup is ski racing's season-long championship — roughly 40 races per gender each winter across downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom, points crowning discipline and overall champions with crystal globes. In 2025–26 Marco Odermatt took a fifth straight men's overall and Mikaela Shiffrin a record-tying sixth women's globe, capping a season of her landmark 100-plus career wins.[1] [2]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | Odermatt · Shiffrin | Odermatt's 5th straight; Shiffrin's record-tying 6th globe |
| 2024–25 | Odermatt · Brignone | |
| 2023–24 | Odermatt · Gut-Behrami | |
| 2022–23 | Odermatt · Shiffrin | Shiffrin passes the all-time wins record |
| 2021–22 | Odermatt · Shiffrin | |
| 2020–21 | Pinturault · Vlhová | |
| 2019–20 | Kilde · Brignone | Season cut short (COVID-19) |
| 2018–19 | Hirscher · Shiffrin | Hirscher's record 8th straight men's globe |
| 2017–18 | Hirscher · Shiffrin | |
| 2016–17 | Hirscher · Shiffrin |
Overall crystal-globe winners (men · women) of the last ten seasons.
How does it work?
Points per race (100 for a win) accumulate from November's glacier openers through the March Finals; entry runs on FIS Points and national quotas, so a World Cup start is itself a ranked, documented credential. The circuit's monuments — Kitzbühel's Hahnenkamm, Wengen's Lauberhorn, Adelboden — are institutions beyond the standings.[1] [3]
Why does it matter?
The overall crystal globe is alpine skiing's supreme season prize — the measure of complete racers from Killy to Hirscher to Odermatt and Shiffrin — and World Cup results are the sport's core professional record.[1] [2]
References
- FIS — Alpine skiing. Accessed August 2026.
- FIS — Shiffrin's record-equalling sixth overall title (2025-26). Accessed August 2026.
- Olympics.com — 2025-26 Alpine World Cup standings & crystal globes. Accessed August 2026.