FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

Alpine Ski World Cup
Genre	Alpine skiing
Location(s)	Europe Canada United States Japan (rarely) Russia (rarely) Australia (rarely) Argentina (rarely) South Korea (rarely) New Zealand (rarely)
Inaugurated	5 January 1967 (5 January 1967) (men) 7 January 1967 (7 January 1967) (ladies)
Founder	Serge Lang Honore Bonnet Bob Beattie
Organised by	International Ski Federation
People	Markus Waldner (men) Atle Skårdal (ladies)
Sponsor	Audi Quattro

The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France (Honore Bonnet) and the USA (Bob Beattie).^[1] It was soon backed by International Ski Federation president Marc Hodler during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1966 at Portillo, Chile, and became an official FIS event in the spring of 1967 after the FIS Congress at Beirut, Lebanon. The first World Cup ski race was held in Berchtesgaden, West Germany, on January 5, 1967. Jean-Claude Killy of France and Nancy Greene of Canada were the overall winners for the first two seasons.

Competitors attempt to achieve the best time in four disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, super G, and downhill. The fifth event, the combined, employs the downhill and slalom. The World Cup originally included only slalom, giant slalom, and downhill races. Combined events (calculated using results from selected downhill and slalom races) were included starting with the 1974/75 season, while the Super G was added for the 1982/83 season. The current scoring system was implemented in the 1991/92 season. For every race points are awarded to the top 30 finishers: 100 points to the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, winding down to 1 point for 30th place. The racer with the most points at the end of the season in mid-March wins the Cup, with the trophy consisting of a 9 kilogram crystal globe.^[2] Sub-prizes are also awarded in each individual race discipline, with a smaller 3.5 kg crystal globe. (See the section on scoring system below for more information.)

The World Cup is held annually, and is considered the premier competition for alpine ski racing after the quadrennial Winter Olympics. Many consider the World Cup to be a more valuable title than the Olympics or the biennial World Championships, since it requires a competitor to ski at an extremely high level in several disciplines throughout the season, and not just in one race.^[3]

Races are hosted primarily at ski resorts in the Alps in Europe, with regular stops in Scandinavia, North America, and east Asia, but a few races have also been held in the Southern Hemisphere. World Cup competitions have been hosted in 25 different countries around the world: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.^[4] (Note that all World Cup races hosted at ski resorts in Bosnia and Slovakia were held when those countries were still part of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia respectively.)

Lower competitive circuits include the NorAm Cup in North America and the Europa Cup in Europe.

Overall winners

Multiple individual overall World Cup winners are marked with (#). For a complete list of winners in each discipline, see Alpine Skiing World Cup Men and Alpine Skiing World Cup Women.

Overall titles

The following skiers have at least three overall alpine World Cup titles.

Discipline titles

Combined crystal globe was officially awarded from 2007–2012. However, there are counted all season titles, both official and unofficial. The records for most World Cup titles in each discipline are as follows:

Discipline	Men				Ladies
	Name	Country	Titles		Name	Country	Titles
Downhill	Franz Klammer	Austria	5		Lindsey Vonn	United States	8
Super G	Hermann Maier Aksel Lund Svindal	Austria  Norway	5		Katja Seizinger Lindsey Vonn	Germany  United States	5
Giant Slalom	Ingemar Stenmark	Sweden	8		Vreni Schneider	Switzerland	5
Slalom	Ingemar Stenmark	Sweden	8		Vreni Schneider	Switzerland	6
Combined	Kjetil Andre Aamodt	Norway	5		Brigitte Örtli Janica Kostelić	Switzerland  Croatia	4

For a complete list of winners in each discipline, see Alpine Skiing World Cup Men and Alpine Skiing World Cup Women.

Greatest alpine skiers of all-time

Based on ski-database super ranking system (since 1966). This is a scoring system calculating points together from three categories: Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup (overall titles, discipline titles and individual top 10 results).

Men's super ranking

Ladies' super ranking

• As of 3 December 2016

Most World Cup wins in each discipline

The records for most World Cup wins in each discipline are as follows (as of 27 November 2016):

Men

Ladies

Various records

Category	World Cup
	Season(s)	Men	Record		Season(s)	Ladies	Record
Prize money in CHF (single season)	2000	Hermann Maier	660,000		2013	Tina Maze	701,797
Overall points	2000	Hermann Maier	2000		2013	Tina Maze	2414
Margin of victory	2001	Hermann Maier	743		2013	Tina Maze	1313
Avg. points per race (participated races)	2013	Marcel Hirscher	77		2013	Tina Maze	69
Avg. points per race (all races in a season)	2000	Hermann Maier	50		2013	Tina Maze	69
Overall leader (complete season)	2005	Bode Miller	36		2013	Tina Maze	35
Overall titles	1980–1996 2012–2016	Marc Girardelli Marcel Hirscher	5		1969–1980	Annemarie Moser-Pröll	6
Consecutive overall titles	2012–2016	Marcel Hirscher	5		1971–1975	Annemarie Moser-Pröll	5
Discipline titles	1975–1984	Ingemar Stenmark	16		2008–2016	Lindsey Vonn	16
Discipline titles (single season)	1967 1987 2000 2001	Jean Claude Killy    Pirmin Zurbriggen Hermann Maier Hermann Maier	3		2010 2011 2012 2013	Lindsey Vonn Lindsey Vonn Lindsey Vonn Tina Maze	3
All titles	1975–1984	Ingemar Stenmark	19		2008–2016	Lindsey Vonn	20
Wins (single season)	1979 2001	Ingemar Stenmark Hermann Maier	13		1989	Vreni Schneider	14
Most wins at one venue (single discipline)	2008–2016 2006–2016	Ted Ligety Aksel Lund Svindal	6		2005–2016	Lindsey Vonn	14
Podiums (single season)	2000	Hermann Maier	22		2013	Tina Maze	24
Top 10s (single season)	1999	Kjetil André Aamodt	28		2013	Tina Maze	32
5 discipline winners (single season)	1989	Marc Girardelli	9		1991 2006 2013	Petra Kronberger Janica Kostelić Tina Maze	8 9 11
Total wins	1975–1989	Ingemar Stenmark	86		2005–2016	Lindsey Vonn	76
Total podiums	1974–1989	Ingemar Stenmark	155		2002–2016	Lindsey Vonn	125
Top 10 results	1990–2006	Kjetil André Aamodt	231		1993–2009	Renate Götschl	198
World Cup starts	1997–2014	Bode Miller	438		1993–2009	Renate Götschl	408
Winner with the highest start No.	1994	Markus Foser	66		1994	Katja Koren	66
Youngest race winner	1973	Piero Gros	18.1		1973	Pamela Behr	16.2
Oldest race winner	2012	Didier Cuche	37.5		2015	Elisabeth Goergl	33.8
Consecutive wins (all disciplines)	1977–1978	Ingemar Stenmark	10		1989	Vreni Schneider	10
Consecutive wins (single discipline)	1978–1980	Ingemar Stenmark	15		1989–1990	Vreni Schneider	12
Consecutive podiums (all disciplines)	1979–1981	Ingemar Stenmark	41		1979–1980	Marie-Therese Nadig	14
Consecutive podiums (single discipline)	1977–1982	Ingemar Stenmark	37		1971–1974	Annemarie Moser-Pröll	23
Top speed (kph)	2013	Johan Clarey	161.9		1990 2012	Katharina Gutensohn Lindsey Vonn	138

NOTE: Only crystal globe awarded discipline officially counts as titles. And medal's awarded DH, GS, SL disciplines in seasons 1967-1977 as well. Combined crystal globe was officially awarded only in seasons 2007-2012.

Most successful race winners

A common measurement of how good individual skiers are is the total number of World Cup races won during their skiing career. The following skiers have won at least 20 World Cup races:

See also the complete list of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race winners – Men

Rank	Men	Career	Victories	DH	SG	GS	SL	KB	PSL	PGS
1	Ingemar Stenmark	1973–1989	86	–	–	46	40	–	–	N/A
2	Hermann Maier	1996–2009	54*	15	24	14*	–	1	–	N/A
3	Alberto Tomba	1986–1998	50	–	–	15	35	–	–	N/A
4	Marc Girardelli	1980–1996	46	3	9	7	16	11	–	N/A
5	Marcel Hirscher	2008–active	40	–	1	18	19	–	2	–
	Pirmin Zurbriggen	1981–1990	40	10	10	7	2	11	–	N/A
7	Benjamin Raich	1996–2015	36	–	1	14	14	7	–	N/A
8	Bode Miller	1997–active	33	8	5	9	5	6	–	–
9	Aksel Lund Svindal	2001–active	32	12	15	4	–	1	–	–
10	Stephan Eberharter	1989–2004	29	18	6	5	–	–	–	N/A
11	Phil Mahre	1975–1984	27	–	–	7	9	11	–	N/A
12	Franz Klammer	1972–1985	26	25	–	–	–	1	–	N/A
	Ivica Kostelić	1998–active	26	–	1	–	15	9	1	–
14	Ted Ligety	2006–active	25	–	–	24	–	1	–	–
15	Peter Müller	1977–1992	24	19	2	–	–	3	–	N/A
	Gustav Thöni	1969–1980	24	–	N/A	11	8	4	1	N/A
17	Michael von Grünigen	1989–2003	23		–	23	–	–	–	N/A
18	Kjetil André Aamodt	1989–2006	21	1	5	6	1	8	–	N/A
	Didier Cuche	1993–2012	21	12	6	3	–	–	–	N/A

• Note: Hermann Maier was disqualified after winning the GS race in Val d'Isère in December 1997 for removing one ski before the official red line.

See also the complete list of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race winners – Women

Rank	Ladies	Career	Victories	DH	SG	GS	SL	KB	PSL	PGS
1	Lindsey Vonn	2000–active	76	38	27	4	2	5	–	–
2	Annemarie Moser-Pröll	1969–1980	62	36	N/A	16	3	7	–	N/A
3	Vreni Schneider	1984–1995	55	–	–	20	34	1	–	N/A
4	Renate Götschl	1993–2009	46	24	17	–	1	4	–	N/A
5	Anja Pärson	1998–2012	42	6	4	11	18	3	–	N/A
6	Marlies Schild	2001– 2014	37	–	–	1	35	1	–	N/A
7	Katja Seizinger	1989–1998	36	16	16	4	–	–	–	N/A
8	Hanni Wenzel	1972–1984	33	2	–	12	11	8	–	N/A
9	Erika Hess	1978–1987	31	–	–	6	21	4	–	N/A
10	Janica Kostelić	1998–2006	30	1	1	2	20	6	–	N/A
11	Maria Höfl-Riesch	2001-2014	27	11	3	–	9	4	–	N/A
12	Michela Figini	1983–1990	26	17	3	2	–	4	–	N/A
	Tina Maze	1999–2015	26	4	1	14	4	3	–	–
14	Maria Walliser	1980–1990	25	14	3	6	–	2	–	N/A
	Michaela Dorfmeister	1991–2006	25	7	10	8	–	–	–	N/A
16	Pernilla Wiberg	1990–2002	24	2	3	2	14	3	–	N/A
	Marie-Theres Nadig	1971–1981	24	13	N/A	6	–	5	–	N/A
	Lise-Marie Morerod	1973–1980	24	–	N/A	14	10	–	–	N/A
19	Carole Merle	1981–1994	22	–	12	10	–	–	–	N/A
	Mikaela Shiffrin	2012–active	22	–	–	1	21	–	–	–
21	Hilde Gerg	1993–2005	20	7	8	–	1	3	1	N/A

• Note: Only parallel events from (1975, 1997, 2011-2013) which count for overall ranking, included on this list, are considered as official individual World Cup victories.

20 wins and more in Speed/Technical Events

• NOTE: Super G not contested at that time.
• NOTE: Parallel events are not included in the list as slalom wins.

Top results

• NOTE: Only parallel events from (1975, 1997, 2011–2013, 2016) which count for overall ranking, included on this list, are considered as official individual World Cup victories.

All-event winners

Only a few of the most versatile racers have ever managed to win races in all five World Cup alpine skiing disciplines during their career, as listed in the table below. Marc Girardelli (1988–89), Petra Kronberger (1990–91), Janica Kostelić (2005–6) and Tina Maze (2012–13) are the only skiers to have won all five events in a single season. Of these, Tina Maze is the only one to have won five different events in a row within a single season (2012-13, between December 16 and March 2). Bode Miller is the only skier with at least five World Cup victories in all five disciplines. Since the combined was not introduced until the 1974–75 season and the Super G until 1982–83, the following list also includes those racers who won races in all disciplines contested during their World Cup careers (events not contested are marked by NA).

Times = number of times an all-event win cycle was completed
Seasons = number of seasons in which an all-event win cycle was achieved

Michèle Jacot, the only female French alpine skiing World Cup overall winner (1970), would be part of this list, if only she had finished her career (1968–1975) one year earlier; from 1969–1971 she achieved 10 victories (1 downhill, 6 giant slaloms, 3 slaloms), but in her last season 1974–75 the combined was introduced, and she could not add a victory in this discipline.

Most race wins in a single season

The following skiers have won at least 10 World Cup races in a single season (events not available in a given season are marked by NA):

Ladies

Name	Season	Victories	DH	SG	GS	SL	KB
Vreni Schneider	1988–1989	14	–	–	6	7	1
Lindsey Vonn	2011–2012	12	5	4	2	–	1
Annemarie Moser-Pröll	1972–1973	11	8	NA	3	–	NA
Lindsey Vonn	2009–2010	11	6	4	–	–	1
Tina Maze	2012–2013	11	1	1	5	2	2
Anja Pärson	2003–2004	11	–	–	5	6	–
Annemarie Moser-Pröll	1974–1975	10	2	NA	5	–	3

Timeline calendar

Season		Men									Ladies								Team
		DH	SG	GS	SL	KB	PSL	PGS	Total		DH	SG	GS	SL	KB	PSL	Total		Total
1967		5	-	5	7	-	-	-	17		4	-	6	7	-	-	17		-
1968		5	-	7	8	-	-	-	20		6	-	7	10	-	-	23		-
1969		6	-	7	9	-	-	-	22		4	-	7	9	-	-	20		-
1970		6	-	11	11	-	-	-	28		5	-	9	12	-	-	26		-
1971		7	-	8	9	-	-	-	24		6	-	8	9	-	-	23		-
1972		7	-	7	7	-	-	-	21		7	-	7	7	-	-	21		-
1973		8	-	8	8	-	-	-	24		8	-	8	8	-	-	24		-
1974		7	-	7	7	-	-	-	21		5	-	6	6	-	-	17		-
1975		9	-	7	7	3	1	-	27		8	-	7	7	3	1	26		-
1976		8	-	7	7	3	-	-	25		7	-	8	8	3	-	26		-
1977		10	-	10	10	3	-	-	33		8	-	8	8	3	-	27		-
1978		8	-	7	7	-	-	-	22		7	-	8	7	-	-	22		-
1979		9	-	10	10	4	-	-	33		7	-	7	8	4	-	26		-
1980		7	-	8	8	4	-	-	27		7	-	8	9	4	-	28		-
1981		10	-	11	10	5	-	-	36		10	-	9	9	5	-	33		-
1982		10	-	9	9	5	-	-	33		8	-	9	10	4	-	31		-
1983		11	3	7	11	5	-	-	37		8	2	7	9	4	-	30		-
1984		10	4	8	10	5	-	-	37		8	2	7	11	6	-	34		-
1985		10	5	6	10	5	-	-	36		8	4	7	10	4	-	33		-
1986		13	5	7	13	7	-	-	45		10	5	8	9	5	-	37		-
1987		11	5	8	8	2	-	-	34		7	5	8	10	1	-	31		-
1988		10	4	6	8	2	-	-	30		8	4	6	8	2	-	28		-
1989		10	4	6	8	3	-	-	31		8	4	7	7	2	-	28		-
1990		9	6	7	10	2	-	-	34		8	6	8	9	2	-	33		-
1991		8	3	7	9	1	-	-	28		9	5	6	7	2	-	29		-
1992		9	6	7	9	3	-	-	34		7	6	7	8	2	-	30		-
1993		10	7	6	8	3	-	-	34		9	6	7	8	2	-	32		-
1994		11	5	9	8	2	-	-	35		7	6	9	10	2	-	34		-
1995		9	5	7	9	2	-	-	32		9	7	8	7	1	-	32		-
1996		9	6	9	9	2	-	-	35		9	7	7	10	1	-	34		-
1997		11	6	8	10	2	-	-	37		8	7	7	9	1	-	32		-
1998		11	5	9	9	2	1	-	37		6	6	8	9	2	2	33		-
1999		10	6	8	9	2	-	-	35		9	8	9	8	2	-	36		-
2000		11	7	9	11	2	-	-	40		10	8	11	10	1	-	40		-
2001		9	5	9	9	1	-	-	33		8	8	8	9	1	-	34		-
2002		10	6	8	9	2	-	-	35		9	5	9	9	2	-	34		-
2003		11	6	8	10	2	-	-	37		6	8	9	9	1	-	33		-
2004		12	7	7	11	2	-	-	39		9	8	8	10	-	-	35		-
2005		11	7	8	9	1	-	-	36		8	8	8	8	1	-	33		-
2006		9	6	8	10	4	-	-	37		8	8	9	9	2	-	36		1
2007		11	5	6	10	4	-	-	36		9	7	7	9	3	-	35		1
2008		9	7	8	11	5	-	-	40		9	7	7	9	3	-	35		-
2009		9	5	8	10	4	-	-	36		7	7	8	9	3	-	34		1
2010		8	6	7	9	4	-	-	34		8	7	7	8	2	-	32		1
2011		9	6	6	10	4	1	-	36		8	6	6	9	3	1	33		1
2012		11	8	9	11	4	1	-	44		8	7	9	10	2	1	37		1
2013		8	5	8	9	2	2	-	34		7	6	9	9	2	2	35		1
2014		9	6	8	9	2	-	-	34		9	6	8	8	1	-	32		2
2015		10	7	8	10	2	-	-	37		8	7	7	9	1	-	32		1
2016		11	8	10	10	3	1	1	44		9	8	9	10	3	1	40		1
2017		1	1	2	1				5		2	1	2	2			7
Total events		463	193	391	461	125	7	1	1641		387	212	389	439	98	8	1533		11
Double wins		3	4	1	2	-	-	-	10		3	3	3	4	-	-	13		-
Triple wins		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	1	1	-	-	-	2		-
All winners		466	197	392	463	125	7	1	1651		390	216	394	443	98	8	1550		11

Last updated: 4 December 2016

Most race wins in consecutive seasons

Youngest and oldest World Cup winners

The youngest person ever to win a World Cup race is Christa Zechmeister of West Germany, who won a slalom in Val d'Isere, France, in December 1973 at the age of 16 years, 4 days. Several other women have also won World Cup races at age 16.^[5]

The youngest men's World Cup race winner is Piero Gros of Italy, who won a giant slalom in Val d'Isere, France, in December 1972 (one day before Pamela Behr's win) at the age of 18 years, 39 days. Gros would win a slalom race only nine days later, and go on to win 12 World Cup races during his ten-year career. Several other men have also won World Cup races at age 18.^[6]

The oldest person ever to win a World Cup race is Didier Cuche of Switzerland, who has won three downhills and a Super-G during the 2011–2012 season, most recently at Crans Montana, Switzerland in February 2012 at the age of 37 years, 192 days. No other men have won a World Cup race beyond the age of 36.^[6]

The oldest women's World Cup race winner is Elisabeth Görgl of Austria, who won a Super G in Val-d'Isère, France, in December 2014 at the age of 33 years, 305 days. Three of her Austrian teammates, Michaela Dorfmeister, Alexandra Meissnitzer and Anita Wachter, won World Cup races at age 32.^[5]

The youngest overall World Cup winner is Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who won the women's 1971 Alpine Skiing World Cup at the age of 17. She would go on to repeat as overall champion for the next four seasons (1972–1975), along with a 6th overall title in 1979. The youngest men's overall winner is Piero Gros of Italy, who won the men's 1974 Alpine Skiing World Cup at the age of 19 for his only overall title.^[7]

The oldest overall World Cup winner is Stephan Eberharter of Austria, who won the men's 2003 Alpine Skiing World Cup at the age of 33, his 2nd consecutive overall title. The oldest women's overall winner is Vreni Schneider of Switzerland, who won the women's 1995 Alpine Skiing World Cup at the age of 30 for her 3rd overall title.^[7]

World Cup scoring system

The World Cup scoring system is based on awarding a number of points for each place in a race, but the procedure for doing so and the often-arcane method used to calculate the annual champions has varied greatly over the years. Originally, points were awarded only to the top 10 finishers in each race, with 25 points for the winner, 20 for second, 15 for third, 11 for fourth, 8 for fifth, 6 for sixth, 4 for seventh, and then decreasing by 1 point for each lower place. To determine the winner for each discipline World Cup, only a racer's best 3 results would count, even though there would typically be 6–8 races in each discipline. For the overall Cup, the best three results in each discipline would be summed. Until 1970, also the results of Winter Olympic Games races and Alpine World Ski Championship races were included in the World Cup valuation (i.e. Grenoble 1968 and Val Gardena 1970); this was abandoned after 1970, mainly due to the limited number of racers per nation who are admitted to take part in these events. For the 1971–72 season, the number of results counted was increased to 5 in each discipline. The formula used to determine the overall winner varied almost every year over the next decade, with some seasons divided into two portions with a fixed number of results in each period counting towards the overall, while in other seasons the best 3 or 4 results in each discipline would count.

Starting with the 1979–80 season, points were awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race. After 1980–81, the formula for the overall title stabilized for several years, counting the best 5 results in the original disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, and downhill) plus the best 3 results in combined. When Super G events were introduced for the 1982–83 season, the results were included with giant slalom for the first three seasons, before a separate discipline Cup was awarded starting in 1985–86 and the top 3 Super G results were counted towards the overall. The formula for the overall was changed yet again the following season, with the top 4 results in each discipline counting, along with all combined results (although the combined was nearly eliminated from the schedule, reduced to only 1 or 2 events per season).

This perennial tweaking of the scoring formula was a source of ongoing uncertainty to the World Cup racers and to fans. The need for a complete overhaul of the scoring system had grown increasingly urgent with each successive year, and in 1987–88 the FIS decided to fully simplify the system: all results would now count in each discipline and in the overall. This new system was an immediate success, and the practice of counting all results has been maintained in every subsequent season. With the ongoing expansion of the number and quality of competitors in World Cup races over the years, a major change to the scoring system was implemented in the 1991–92 season. The top 30 finishers in each race would now earn points, with 100 for the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, and then decreasing by smaller increments for each lower place. The point values were adjusted slightly the following season (to reduce the points for places 4th through 20th), and the scoring system has not been changed again since that year. The table below compares the point values under all five scoring systems which have been in use:

Place	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Current System 1993–	100	80	60	50	45	40	36	32	29	26	24	22	20	18	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
1992 System 1992	100	80	60	55	51	47	43	40	37	34	31	28	26	24	22	20	18	16	14	12	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Top 15 System 1980–1991	25	20	15	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
1979 System † 1979	25	24	23	22	21	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Original System 1967–1979	25	20	15	11	8	6	4	3	2	1

† NOTE: The scoring system changed during the 1978–79 season; this special system was used for the last 2 men's downhills and the last 3 races in every other discipline except combined.

Statistical Analysis

Since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in 1991–92., the number of completed men's or women's World Cup races each year has ranged from 30 to 44, so the maximum possible point total for an individual racer is about 3000–4400 under the current scoring system. However, very few racers actually ski in all events; for example, Bode Miller was "the only skier to have competed in every World Cup race"^[8] during the three seasons from 2003–2005. The current record for total World Cup points in a season is Tina Maze's 2414 points in 2012–13, with the men's record of 2000 points set by Hermann Maier in 1999–2000. The fewest points for an overall champion under the current system thus far have been 1009 for men by Aksel Lund Svindal in 2008-9 and 1248 for women by Vreni Schneider in 1994–95. The largest margin of victory in the overall has been Maze's 1313 points in 2012-13, more than doubling second-place finisher Maria Höfl-Rieschs total, while the largest men's margin was 743 points by Hermann Maier in 2000-1. Note that in the early days of World Cup (when the first place was awarded only 25 points), even larger relative margins of victory were recorded in 1967 by Jean-Claude Killy with 225 points over Heinrich Messner with 114 points and in 1973–74 by Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 268 points over Monika Kaserer with 153 points. The closest finishes since 1992 have been minuscule margins of 6 points in 1994–95 (Vreni Schneider over Katja Seizinger), 3 points in 2004-5 (Anja Pärson over Janica Kostelić) and in 2010–11 (Maria Riesch over Lindsey Vonn), and only 2 points in 2008-9 (Aksel Lund Svindal over Benjamin Raich). The current men's record for total World Cup points in one month of the season is Ivica Kostelić's 999 points from January 2011.

The tables below contain a brief statistical analysis of the overall World Cup standings during the 21 seasons since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in 1991–92. In general, over 1000 points are needed to contend for the overall title. At least 1 man and 1 woman has scored 1000 points in each of these seasons, but no more than 5 men's or women's racers have crossed that threshold in any single season. Of the 42 men's and women's overall champions in these years, 38 scored over 1200 points, 30 had over 1300 points, 19 reached 1500 points, and only 7 amassed more than 1700 points during their winning seasons. As for the runners-up, 37 of the 42 second-place finishers scored over 1000 points, 18 had over 1300 points, and only 4 reached 1500 points yet failed to win. Most overall titles have been won quite convincingly, by more than 200 points in 23 of 42 cases, while only 11 margins of victory have been tighter than 50 points.

Annual Statistics Calculated for the 1992–2012 Seasons

	Men's Overall World Cup
	Races Completed	1st Place Points	Margin of Victory	2nd Place Points	3rd Place Points	Number of Skiers per Season:
						> 1000 Pts	> 500 Pts	> 200 Pts
Maximum	44	2000	743	1454	1307	5	21	50
Average	35.4	1414	258	1155	1001	2.5	14	41
Minimum	30	1009	2	775	760	1	8	37
	Women's Overall World Cup
	Races Completed	1st Place Points	Margin of Victory	2nd Place Points	3rd Place Points	Number of Skiers per Season:
						> 1000 Pts	> 500 Pts	> 200 Pts
Maximum	39	1980	578	1725	1391	5	19	45
Average	33.4	1570	244	1326	1117	3.3	13	37
Minimum	30	1248	3	931	904	1	9	32

Aggregate Statistics Calculated for the 1992–2012 Seasons

	Men's and Women's Overall World Cups: Total Numbers Across 21 Seasons
	> 1700 Pts	> 1500 Pts	> 1300 Pts	> 1200 Pts	> 1100 Pts	> 1000 Pts	> 900 Pts	> 800 Pts
First Place	7	19	30	38	41	42	42	42
Second Place	1	4	18	24	28	37	40	41
Third Place	–	–	4	7	15	27	36	40
	> 600 Pts	> 500 Pts	> 400 Pts	> 300 Pts	> 200 Pts	> 100 Pts	>= 50 Pts	< 50 Pts
Margin of Victory	2	6	10	19	23	28	31	11

World Cup Finals

Since 1993 the International Ski Federation (FIS) has hosted a World Cup Final at the end of each season in March. During five days, men's and women's races are held in four disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, Super G, and downhill. Only a limited number of racers are invited to ski at the Finals, including the top 25 in the World Cup standings in each discipline, plus the current junior World Champions in each discipline. Because of the smaller field, World Cup points are only awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race.

Hosts of the World Cup Finals:

1993 Åre, Sweden 1994 Vail, Colorado, US 1995 Bormio, Italy 1996 Lillehammer, Norway 1997 Vail, Colorado, US 1998 Crans-Montana, Switzerland 1999 Sierra Nevada, Spain 2000 Bormio, Italy 2001 Åre, Sweden 2002 Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria

2003 Lillehammer, Norway 2004 Sestriere, Italy 2005 Lenzerheide, Switzerland 2006 Åre, Sweden 2007 Lenzerheide, Switzerland 2008 Bormio, Italy 2009 Åre, Sweden 2010 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany 2011 Lenzerheide, Switzerland 2012 Schladming, Austria

2013 Lenzerheide, Switzerland 2014 Lenzerheide, Switzerland 2015 Méribel, France 2016 St. Moritz, Switzerland 2017 Aspen, USA 2018 Åre, Sweden 2019 Soldeu, Andorra[9]

The 2004 final was held in all FIS disciplines except Ski Jumping. The Freestyle events were held in neighbouring Sauze d'Oulx and the Snowboard events in Bardonecchia.
The 2008 final was held in all FIS disciplines except Ski Jumping. The Freestyle and Snowboard events were held in neighbouring Valmalenco.

Parallel slalom

Nations Cup

World Cup

Note: Only parallel events from (1975, 1997, 2011-2013, 2016) count in overall ranking are considered as individual World Cup victories. Other parallel events from (1976-1991, 2009) counted only for Nations Cup or were just show events.

Parallel Giant Slalom

Introduced as a spectator-friendly event by the International Ski Federation in late 2015 on the World Cup circuit, the parallel competition, normally reserved for slalom types, hopes to lure more of the higher speed folks into the faster of the two technical disciplines. It is hoped that their fans follow them too: to the venue, on-line, and on television.^[10] The Federation has not indicated, as of early 2016, that they are fully committed to duplicating the effort, however, their long-term calendar shows that the plan is to return to Alta Badia twelve months after the inaugural event in December 2016, and then again, tentatively, through December 2018.^[11] Few venues offer the slope and conditions required to present an extremely short Giant Slalom course that is readily viewed in its entirety by a concentrated gallery of fans. Modified or not, the Federation has not mentioned that they will push the format to lesser tours like the NorAm and Europa Cup.

World Cup

The Chief Race Director of the inaugural event, Markus Waldner, on 20 December 2015 stated that great performances and head-to-head fights between the best Giant Slalom racers is the goal of the competition. The course was very compact at about 20–22 seconds duration, or about one-third of a normal GS run, however, the pace and cadence will be the same as Giant Slalom, not standard Slalom. Gates were set at the same rough distances as GS and on a slope about the same pitch. The field of thirty-two were drawn following an 'invitational' format. The top four 'overall-ranked' men present were automatic invitees, if they chose to compete. Another sixteen racers were selected from the top of the current GS start list rankings, and the final twelve competitors were selected from the 1st run efforts at the standard GS event the day prior, at the same venue. Overlapping qualifications allowed the sponsors to invite lower ranked participants to fill in gaps, as needed, and to replace individuals who declined to participate. Points were awarded and accumulated according to current standards for the race season in all relevant categories: the GS discipline, Overall and Nations Cup. The field was filled with thirty-two first round participants, each getting a run on either course. The best combined times moved the fastest racer to the second round through bracket preference protocols. After that, bracket reduction was a one-run-and-done format, with the dominant skier from the previous round granted course selection between the 'red-right' or 'blue-left' lane. At about one-third the time of a standard GS event, top performers/finalists were able to make multiple runs without the fatigue of a longer event. The course was methodically set with lasers, and a GPS-equipped SnowCat, to guarantee that both lanes on the hill were as identical as possible to ensure equity and a fair competition. The Race Director suggested the difference between the two lanes were within 1–to-2 centimeters tolerance of one another.

Men's World Cup Parallel Giant Slalom Events

Venue	Date	Winner	Second	Third	Fourth	Notes:
Alta Badia	21 December 2015	Kjetil Jansrud	Aksel Lund Svindal	Andre Myhrer	Dominik Schwaiger	[12][13]
Alta Badia	19 December 2016					[14]
Alta Badia	18 December 2017					tentative
Alta Badia	17 December 2018					tentative

Nations Cup

The Nations Cup standings are calculated by adding up all points each season for all racers from a given nation.

Year	Standings-Total				Standings-Men				Standings-Women
	First	Second	Third		First	Second	Third		First	Second	Third
1967	France	Austria	Canada		France	Austria	Switzerland		France	Austria	Canada
1968	France	Austria	Switzerland		Austria	France	Switzerland		France	Austria	United States
1969	Austria	France	United States		Austria	France	Switzerland		France	United States	Austria
1970	France	Austria	United States		France	Austria	Switzerland		France	United States	Austria
1971	France	Austria	Switzerland		France	Switzerland	Austria		France	Austria	United States
1972	France	Austria	Switzerland		Switzerland	France	Italy		France	Austria	United States
1973	Austria	France	Switzerland		Austria	Italy	Switzerland		Austria	France	West Germany
1974	Austria	Italy	Switzerland		Italy	Austria	Switzerland		Austria	West Germany	France
1975	Austria	Italy	Switzerland		Italy	Austria	Switzerland		Austria	Switzerland	West Germany
1976	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Italy	Austria	Switzerland		Austria	West Germany	Switzerland
1977	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	France
1978	Austria	Switzerland	United States		Austria	Italy	Sweden		Austria	Switzerland	West Germany
1979	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	West Germany	United States
1980	Austria	Switzerland	Liechtenstein		Austria	Switzerland	Sweden		Switzerland tied with  Austria		Liechtenstein
1981	Switzerland	United States	Austria		Austria	Switzerland	United States		Switzerland	United States	West Germany
1982	Switzerland	Austria	United States		Austria	Switzerland	United States		West Germany	Switzerland	United States
1983	Switzerland	Austria	United States		Switzerland	Austria	Sweden		Switzerland	Austria	United States
1984	Switzerland	Austria	United States		Austria	Switzerland	Sweden		Switzerland	United States	Austria
1985	Switzerland	Austria	West Germany		Switzerland	Austria	Italy		Switzerland	West Germany	Austria
1986	Switzerland	Austria	West Germany		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Switzerland	Austria	West Germany
1987	Switzerland	Austria	West Germany		Switzerland	Austria	Italy		Switzerland	Austria	West Germany
1988	Austria	Switzerland	West Germany		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Switzerland	Austria	West Germany
1989	Austria	Switzerland	West Germany		Austria	Switzerland	West Germany		Switzerland	Austria	France
1990	Austria	Switzerland	West Germany		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	West Germany
1991	Austria	Switzerland	Germany		Austria	Switzerland	Norway		Austria	Switzerland	Germany
1992	Austria	Switzerland	Germany		Switzerland	Austria	Italy		Austria	Germany	Switzerland
1993	Austria	Switzerland	Germany		Austria	Switzerland	Norway		Austria	Germany	Switzerland
1994	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Norway	Switzerland		Germany	Austria	Switzerland
1995	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Italy	Norway		Switzerland	Germany	Austria
1996	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Germany	Switzerland
1997	Austria	Italy	Switzerland		Austria	Italy	Norway		Germany	Austria	Italy
1998	Austria	Germany	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Norway		Germany	Austria	Italy
1999	Austria	Norway	Switzerland		Austria	Norway	Switzerland		Austria	Germany	France
2000	Austria	Italy	Switzerland		Austria	Switzerland	Norway		Austria	France	Italy
2001	Austria	Switzerland	France		Austria	Switzerland	Norway		Austria	France	Switzerland
2002	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	France		Austria	Switzerland	Italy
2003	Austria	Switzerland	United States		Austria	Switzerland	United States		Austria	Italy	Germany
2004	Austria	Italy	United States		Austria	Italy	Switzerland		Austria	Germany	United States
2005	Austria	United States	Italy		Austria	United States	Italy		Austria	United States	Germany
2006	Austria	United States	Italy		Austria	United States	Italy		Austria	Sweden	United States
2007	Austria	Switzerland	United States		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	United States	Sweden
2008	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	United States	Italy
2009	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Germany
2010	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Germany	Switzerland
2011	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	Germany	United States
2012	Austria	Italy	Switzerland		Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	United States	Italy
2013	Austria	Italy	United States		Austria	Italy	France		Austria	United States	Germany
2014	Austria	Switzerland	Italy		Austria	France	Italy		Austria	Switzerland	Sweden
2015	Austria	Italy	Switzerland		Austria	France	Italy		Austria	United States	Italy
2016	Austria	Italy	France		Austria	France	Norway		Austria	Italy	Switzerland

The early years of the World Cup were largely dominated by the French ski team, as reflected in their Nations Cup wins in 5 of the first 6 years. The Austrian team then took over throughout the rest of the 1970s, followed by Swiss superiority during most of the 1980s. A resurgent Austrian team charged back to the top in 1990, beginning a long streak of consecutive Nations Cup triumphs. Austrian dominance reached its zenith in the late 1990s and 2000s (decade), when their point total regularly doubled that of the second-place finisher, and was capped in the 1999–2000 and 2003–4 seasons with totals that tripled those of runner-up Italy. Their 17927-point total in 1999–2000 is a Nations Cup record, as is their 12066-point margin of victory in 2003–4.

As of the end of the 2014–15 season, the Austrian team has won 28 consecutive Nations Cups, while topping the men's standings for 23 straight years and the women's for 17 in a row. Austria is the only nation to have finished in the top 3 of the Nations Cup standings in all 49 years in which World Cup competition has been held, winning in 37 of those years, runner-up in 11 years, and third place in a single year. Austrian men have failed to make the podium in only one season: 1972. Austrian women have failed to make the podium in only 2 seasons: 1981 and 1982. Switzerland with 7 wins and France with 5 wins are the only other nations to have won the nations cup. In the midst of the ongoing Austrian juggernaut, the Swiss or Italian teams have usually held second place. The German team reached the runner-up spot for the first time in 1997–8, as did the Norwegians the next season. The US enjoyed its best placings ever starting in 2004–5, grabbing second in the Nations Cup for two straight years.

Under the current scoring system (since 1992), the winning nation (Austria every year) has averaged over 13000 points, with an average of over 6400 for the runner-up, 5400 for third place, 4200 for fifth, and 1300 for tenth. The all-inclusive scoring system (simply adding together all World Cup points earned) favors national teams with great depth and many racers scoring World Cup points, and even teams with several top racers have no realistic chance of breaking the Austrian grip on the top spot, while a team with only one or two top-ranked racers will struggle to ever break the top five in the standings. There have been numerous calls for a revamped scoring system which would allow other nations to compete more readily for top spots in the Nations Cup, but no changes are likely to be made.^[15] In 2016, however, the Austrian men's team narrowly beat France by just 201 points.

The total number of top-three placings for each nation in the Nations Cup (through the 2014-15 season) are summarized below:

Nation	Total Standings				Men's Standings				Ladies' Standings
	First	Second	Third		First	Second	Third		First	Second	Third
Austria	38	11	1		39	9	1		31	12	5
Switzerland	7	23	11		5	25	11		9	10	8
France	5	2	2		3	6	2		6	3	4
Italy	-	9	15		3	6	20		-	2	7
United States	-	3	10		-	2	3		-	10	9
Germany	-	1	9		-	-	1		4	12	13
Norway	-	1	-		-	2	8		-	-	-
Canada	-	-	1		-	-	-		-	-	1
Liechtenstein	-	-	1		-	-	-		-	-	1
Sweden	-	-	-		-	-	4		-	1	2

Note: Results for West Germany and Germany are counted together in this table.

Nations which have won World Cup races

The table below lists those nations which have won at least one World Cup race (current as of 4 December 2016).^[16][17]

Rank	Nation	Total wins					Wins by disciplines
							Men								Ladies							Team
		Men	Ladies	Team	All		DH	SG	GS	SL	KB	PSL	PGS		DH	SG	GS	SL	KB	PSL		MIX
1	Austria	480	369	3	852		175	73	98	109	22	3	–		113	55	93	85	22	1		3
2	Switzerland	265	297	3	565		117	34	71	13	30	–	–		87	29	76	77	27	1		3
3	United States	125	179	–	304		28	9	44	25	19	–	–		62	31	22	54	9	1		–
4	France	132	154	–	286		30	5	32	57	7	1	–		24	23	46	60	–	1		–
5	Italy	174	70	1	245		33	13	49	73	5	1	–		17	12	28	12	1	–		1
6	Germany	42	183	2	227		6	6	2	25	2	1	–		48	42	49	30	12	2		2
7	Sweden	117	83	1	201		–	3	53	61	–	–	–		8	8	16	44	6	1		1
8	Norway	135	9	–	144		38	34	22	26	14	–	1		–	2	4	3	–	–		–
9	Canada	37	39	–	76		29	6	2	–	–	–	–		15	5	10	6	3	–		–
10	Slovenia	23	51	–	74		2	–	1	20	–	–	–		6	4	21	17	3	–		–
11	Liechtenstein	24	42	–	66		3	3	4	8	6	–	–		3	4	14	13	8	–		–
12	Croatia	26	30	–	56		–	1	–	15	9	1	–		1	1	2	20	6	–		–
13	Luxembourg	46	–	–	46		3	9	7	16	11	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–		–
14	Finland	14	11	–	25		–	–	4	10	–	–	–		–	–	5	6	–	–		–
15	Spain	1	11	–	12		–	–	–	1	–	–	–		1	–	7	3	–	–		–
16	Russia	1	5	–	6		–	–	–	1	–	–	–		4	1	–	–	–	–		–
17	Soviet Union	5	–	–	5		1	–	3	1	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–		–
	New Zealand	–	5	–	5		–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	5	–	–		–
	Slovakia	–	5	–	5		–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	4	–	1		–
20	Czech Republic	–	2	1	3		–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	2	–	–		1
	Czechoslovakia	–	3	–	3		–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1	–	–	1	1	–		–
	Australia	2	1	–	3		1	1	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	1	–	–		–
	Poland	1	1	–	2		–	–	–	1	–	–	–		–	–	–	1	–	–		–
24	Bulgaria	1	–	–	1		–	–	–	1	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–		–
Total		1651	1550	11	3212		466	197	392	463	125	7	1		390	217	394	443	98	8		11

Individual race wins are counted in this table, along with the nations team events held at World Cup Finals since 2006 (counts double as both men & women in mixed competition contribute to a win). The "parallel race" is a head-to-head slalom race format used occasionally from the 1970s through 1990s, and again in 2011. Team event wins are doubled (because on one team event race competed both women and men; so it's counted separately each for women and men). Results for West Germany and Germany are counted together in this table. All of Yugoslavia's wins are currently lumped in with Slovenia, since the skiers who won races for former Yugoslavia were all Slovenes from Slovenia (one of six Yugoslav Republics), and thus are listed under Slovenia in online databases. The Soviet Union and Russia are counted separately, as are Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.

A total of 24 countries have won World Cup races, with 19 different countries winning men's races and 20 winning women's races. As expected, the top 10 nations in this list are the same as the 10 nations listed in the Nations Cup summary table (with slight changes in order).

Some interesting facts can be found in the data: Marc Girardelli accounted for all of Luxembourg's 46 wins, while Janica Kostelić has 30 of Croatia's 56 and her brother Ivica has the rest. Ingemar Stenmark still has nearly one-half of Sweden's 192 wins more than two decades after his retirement. Some nations specialize in either speed (downhill and Super G) or technical (slalom and GS) disciplines, while others are strong across the board. Among nations with 30+ wins, the Canadian team has won 73% of its races in speed events, while Yugoslavia/Slovenia has won 84% and Sweden 86% of their races in technical events, especially notable in Sweden's case given its large number of wins. Several nations with under 30 wins have 100% of them in technical events, led by Finland and Spain. In contrast Germany and Norway have the most even distribution without disproportionate strength or weakness in any one discipline. Some nations have strong teams in only one gender, as 92% of Norway's wins have come from their men and 83% of Germany's from their women, while the Swiss and Canadian totals are split almost equally.

Multi winners

Crystal globe

Since 1967, the big crystal globe has been awarded for the overall title. From the beginning to 1976-77, discipline titles were awarded with medals. Statistically, those titles have the same value as the small crystal globes, which first appeared for discipline titles in slalom, giant slalom and downhill in the 1977-78. In super-G, the small globe has been awarded since 1985-86. For super-g races in the three seasons previous, points were added and calculated in the giant slalom ranking. In combined, the small crystal globe was officially awarded only between 2007-2012. Before that, combined season winners could not officially be considered as season titles. In those years FIS simply calculated points from the other two races, DH and SL.

See also

• Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics
• FIS Alpine World Ski Championships

References

External links

Media related to FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup at Wikimedia Commons

• FisAlpine.com FIS Alpine World Cup – Official website
• SkiWorldCup.org – History of the World Cup – by Serge Lang (see also ISHA: History of the World Cup)
• FIS-ski.com – official results for FIS alpine World Cup events
• Ski-db.com – World Cup results database
• Alpine Canada Alpin/Canadian Alpine Ski Team
• U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association
• U.S. Ski Team
• Podium places in the World Cup Women TOP 150
• Podium places in the World Cup Men TOP 150