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
Chief race Directors (men) (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 and Herzegovina, 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 in Bosnia were held when it was still part of Yugoslavia.)
Lower competitive circuits include the NorAm Cup in North America and the Europa Cup in Europe.
Combined crystal globe was officially awarded from 2007 to 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:
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:
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.
Greatest alpine skiers of all time[]
Based on ski-database super ranking system (since 1966), this scoring system is calculated using points from three categories: Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup (overall titles, discipline titles and individual top 10 results).
Parallel city event is a version of parallel slalom where only Top16 ranked are allowed to compete. Length of the track and course/gates setting are also different from classic parallel slalom, and as of 2019/20 season, they are completely replaced with normal parallel races with qualification run.
Introduced by the International Ski Federation to the World Cup as a spectator-friendly event in late 2015, the parallel giant slalom competition, or shortened parallel-G, joining the parallel slalom, is intended to lure more speed specialists into the faster of the two technical disciplines, along with attracting their fans to watch the races at the venue, on-line, and on television.[11] 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.[12] Few venues offer the slope and conditions required to host an extremely short Giant Slalom course that can be readily viewed in its entirety by a compact gallery of fans. Modified or not, the Federation has not suggested that they will push the format to lower-level tours like the NorAm and Europa Cup.
Format[]
The Chief Race Director of the inaugural event at Alta Badia, 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 for the first race 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 roughly the same distances as GS and on a slope of about the same pitch. The field of thirty-two were drawn following an "invitational" format. The top four men in the overall World Cup rankings 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. From the second round, skiers the head-to-head competitions were held over one run only, with the faster skier from the previous round granted course selection between the 'red-right' or 'blue-left' course. 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 courses 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.
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.
Only a few racers have ever managed to win races in all five classic World Cup alpine skiing disciplines during their career, as listed in the table below. Marc Girardelli (1988–89), Petra Kronberger (1990–91), Janica Kostelić (2005–06) and Tina Maze (2012–13) are the only skiers to have won all five events in a single season. Bode Miller is the only skier with at least five World Cup victories in all five disciplines.
Mikaela Shiffrin is the only skier in history who has won in six different disciplines—i.e., aside from the classic five disciplines, she has also won in parallel slalom.
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):
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
Place
1
2
3
4
5
5
5
5
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
Parallel slalom
100
80
60
50
40
40
40
40
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
† 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"[25] 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 2008–09 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-Riesch's total, while the largest men's margin was 743 points by Hermann Maier in 2000–01. 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 2004–05 (Anja Pärson over Janica Kostelić) and in 2010–11 (Maria Riesch over Lindsey Vonn), and only 2 points in 2008–09 (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, as well as a team event. 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, the current junior World Champions in each discipline, and any skiers with at least 500 points in the general classification. Because of the smaller field, World Cup points are only awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race.
The table below lists those nations which have won at least one World Cup race (current as of 21 March 2021).[29][30]
Men[]
Rank
Nation
Total
Wins by disciplines
DH
SG
GS
SL
KB
PSL
PGS
CE
K.O.
1
Austria
535
185
83
111
127
24
1
1
3
–
2
Switzerland
288
124
38
73
19
31
–
1
2
–
3
Italy
189
43
17
49
74
5
1
–
–
–
4
Norway
166
43
44
26
37
14
–
2
–
–
5
France
161
30
5
44
66
13
–
2
1
–
6
United States
128
29
10
45
25
19
–
–
–
–
7
Sweden
120
–
3
53
62
–
–
1
1
–
8
Germany
53
11
8
3
27
2
–
–
2
–
9
Luxembourg
46
3
9
7
16
11
–
–
–
–
10
Canada
37
29
6
2
–
–
–
–
–
–
11
Croatia
29
–
1
3
14
9
–
–
1
1
12
Slovenia
27
4
–
3
20
–
–
–
–
–
13
Liechtenstein
24
3
3
4
8
6
–
–
–
–
14
Finland
14
–
–
4
10
–
–
–
–
–
15
Soviet Union
5
1
–
3
1
–
–
–
–
–
16
Australia
2
1
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
17
Spain
1
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
Russia
1
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
Poland
1
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
Bulgaria
1
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
Total
1828
507
227
430
510
134
2
7
10
1
Ladies[]
Rank
Nation
Total
Wins by disciplines
DH
SG
GS
SL
KB
PSL
PGS
CE
K.O.
1
Austria
383
122
58
93
87
22
1
–
–
–
2
Switzerland
315
94
38
77
77
28
–
–
1
–
3
United States
232
69
36
33
78
10
2
–
4
–
4
Germany
189
49
44
52
30
12
1
–
1
–
5
France
160
24
23
51
60
–
1
1
–
–
6
Italy
101
26
18
39
12
6
–
–
–
–
7
Sweden
84
8
8
16
44
6
–
–
1
1
8
Slovenia
58
9
7
21
17
4
–
–
–
–
9
Liechtenstein
45
3
7
14
13
8
–
–
–
–
10
Canada
39
15
5
10
6
3
–
–
–
–
11
Croatia
30
1
1
2
20
6
–
–
–
–
12
Slovakia
25
–
–
5
16
–
1
1
2
–
13
Norway
11
–
2
5
3
–
–
–
1
–
Finland
11
–
–
5
6
–
–
–
–
–
Spain
11
1
–
7
3
–
–
–
–
–
16
New Zealand
8
–
–
3
5
–
–
–
–
–
17
Russia
5
4
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
18
Czechoslovakia
3
1
–
–
1
1
–
–
–
–
Czech Republic
4
1
1
–
2
–
–
–
–
–
20
Australia
1
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
���
21
Poland
1
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
Total
1716
427
249
433
482
106
6
2
10
1
Alpine team event[]
Rank
Nation
Total
By disciplines
PSL
PGS
1
Switzerland
4
–
4
2
Austria
3
2
1
Sweden
3
–
3
4
Germany
2
–
2
5
Italy
1
1
–
Czech Republic
1
–
1
Norway
1
–
1
Total
15
3
12
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, French and Canadian totals are split almost equally.
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 andAustria
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
2017
Austria
Italy
Switzerland
Austria
France
Norway
Italy
Austria
Switzerland
2018
Austria
Switzerland
Italy
Austria
Norway
Switzerland
Austria
Switzerland
Italy
2019
Austria
Switzerland
Norway
Austria
Switzerland
France
Austria
Switzerland
Italy
2020
Switzerland
Austria
Italy
Switzerland
Norway
France
Italy
Austria
Switzerland
2021
Switzerland
Austria
Italy
Switzerland
Austria
France
Switzerland
Austria
Italy
The early years of the World Cup, ‘67 through ‘72, were dominated by the French, 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 1988, beginning a long streak of consecutive Nations Cup triumphs. Austrian dominance reached its zenith in the late 1990s and 2000s (decade), when their points 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 2016–17 season, the Austrian team has won 30 consecutive Nations Cups, while topping the men's standings for 25 straight years. Austria is the only nation to have finished in the top 3 of the Nations Cup standings in all 50 years in which World Cup competition has been held, winning in 38 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.[31] 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 2020–21 season) are summarized below:
Nation
Total standings
Men's standings
Ladies' standings
First
Second
Third
First
Second
Third
First
Second
Third
Austria
41
13
1
42
10
1
33
15
5
Switzerland
9
25
12
7
26
12
10
12
10
France
5
2
2
3
7
5
6
3
4
Italy
–
10
18
3
6
20
2
2
10
United States
–
3
10
–
2
3
–
10
9
Germany
–
1
9
–
–
1
4
12
13
Norway
–
1
1
–
4
9
–
–
–
Canada
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
Liechtenstein
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
Sweden
–
–
–
–
–
4
–
1
2
Note: Results for West Germany and Germany are counted together in this table.
Crystal globe[]
Since 1967, the big crystal globe has been awarded for the overall title. From the beginning to 1971–72, 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.
Serge Lang
Bob Beattie
(men)
(ladies)
Mont St. Anne
Ingemar Stenmark
Sierra Nevada
Arosa
Jarle Halsnes
Furano
Andreas Wenzel
Markus Wasmeier
Marc Girardelli
Bojan Križaj
Moscow
Olga Charvátová
Petra Vlhová
Ivica Kostelić
Dave Ryding
Steven Lee
Kalle Palander
Media related to FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup at Wikimedia Commons
