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| [[Annemarie Moser-Pröll]] || {{AUT}} || align="center"| 1969–1980 || align="center"| '''62''' || align="center"| 36 || align="center"| NA || align="center"| 16 || align="center"| 3 || align="center"| 7
| [[Annemarie Moser-Pröll]] || {{AUT}} || align="center"| 1969–1980 || align="center"| '''62''' || align="center"| 36 || align="center"| NA || align="center"| 16 || align="center"| 3 || align="center"| 7
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| [[Anja Pärson]] || {{SWE}} || align="center"| 1998–active || align="center"| '''40''' || align="center"| 5 || align="center"| 4 || align="center"| 11 || align="center"| 18 || align="center"| 2
| [[Anja Pärson]] || {{SWE}} || align="center"| 1998–active || align="center"| '''41''' || align="center"| 5 || align="center"| 4 || align="center"| 11 || align="center"| 18 || align="center"| 3
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| [[Janica Kostelić]] || {{CRO}} || align="center"| 1998–2006 || align="center"| '''30''' || align="center"| 1 || align="center"| 1 || align="center"| 2 || align="center"| 20 || align="center"| 6
| [[Janica Kostelić]] || {{CRO}} || align="center"| 1998–2006 || align="center"| '''30''' || align="center"| 1 || align="center"| 1 || align="center"| 2 || align="center"| 20 || align="center"| 6

Revision as of 15:00, 29 January 2010

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). It was soon backed by International Ski Federation (FIS) 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.

Races are held primarily at ski resorts in the Alps in Europe, with regular stops in Scandinavia, North America, and east Asia. 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.[1] 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.[2]

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

Overall winners

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

Year Men's Overall Champion Women's Overall Champion
Name Country Name Country
1967 Jean-Claude Killy  France Nancy Greene  Canada
1968 Jean-Claude Killy (2)  France Nancy Greene (2)  Canada
1969 Karl Schranz  Austria Gertrud Gabl  Austria
1970 Karl Schranz (2)  Austria Michèle Jacot  France
1971 Gustav Thöni  Italy Annemarie Pröll  Austria
1972 Gustav Thöni (2)  Italy Annemarie Pröll (2)  Austria
1973 Gustav Thöni (3)  Italy Annemarie Pröll (3)  Austria
1974 Piero Gros  Italy Annemarie Pröll (4)  Austria
1975 Gustav Thöni (4)  Italy Annemarie Moser-Pröll (5)  Austria
1976 Ingemar Stenmark  Sweden Rosi Mittermaier West Germany
1977 Ingemar Stenmark (2)  Sweden Lise-Marie Morerod  Switzerland
1978 Ingemar Stenmark (3)  Sweden Hanni Wenzel  Liechtenstein
1979 Peter Lüscher  Switzerland Annemarie Moser-Pröll (6)  Austria
1980 Andreas Wenzel  Liechtenstein Hanni Wenzel (2)  Liechtenstein
1981 Phil Mahre  United States Marie-Theres Nadig  Switzerland
1982 Phil Mahre (2)  United States Erika Hess  Switzerland
1983 Phil Mahre (3)  United States Tamara McKinney  United States
1984 Pirmin Zurbriggen  Switzerland Erika Hess (2)  Switzerland
1985 Marc Girardelli  Luxembourg Michela Figini  Switzerland
1986 Marc Girardelli (2)  Luxembourg Maria Walliser  Switzerland
1987 Pirmin Zurbriggen (2)  Switzerland Maria Walliser (2)  Switzerland
1988 Pirmin Zurbriggen (3)  Switzerland Michela Figini (2)  Switzerland
1989 Marc Girardelli (3)  Luxembourg Vreni Schneider  Switzerland
1990 Pirmin Zurbriggen (4)  Switzerland Petra Kronberger  Austria
1991 Marc Girardelli (4)  Luxembourg Petra Kronberger (2)  Austria
1992 Paul Accola  Switzerland Petra Kronberger (3)  Austria
1993 Marc Girardelli (5)  Luxembourg Anita Wachter  Austria
1994 Kjetil André Aamodt  Norway Vreni Schneider (2)  Switzerland
1995 Alberto Tomba  Italy Vreni Schneider (3)  Switzerland
1996 Lasse Kjus  Norway Katja Seizinger  Germany
1997 Luc Alphand  France Pernilla Wiberg  Sweden
1998 Hermann Maier  Austria Katja Seizinger (2)  Germany
1999 Lasse Kjus (2)  Norway Alexandra Meissnitzer  Austria
2000 Hermann Maier (2)  Austria Renate Götschl  Austria
2001 Hermann Maier (3)  Austria Janica Kostelić  Croatia
2002 Stephan Eberharter  Austria Michaela Dorfmeister  Austria
2003 Stephan Eberharter (2)  Austria Janica Kostelić (2)  Croatia
2004 Hermann Maier (4)  Austria Anja Pärson  Sweden
2005 Bode Miller  United States Anja Pärson (2)  Sweden
2006 Benjamin Raich  Austria Janica Kostelić (3)  Croatia
2007 Aksel Lund Svindal  Norway Nicole Hosp  Austria
2008 Bode Miller (2)  United States Lindsey Vonn  United States
2009 Aksel Lund Svindal (2)  Norway Lindsey Vonn (2)  United States

Overall winners by nation

Nation Overall Winners
Total Men's Women's
 Austria 24 9 15
 Switzerland 17 6 11
 United States 8 5 3
 Sweden 6 3 3
 Italy 6 6 -
 Norway 5 5 -
 Luxembourg 5 5 -
 France 4 3 1
 Liechtenstein 3 1 2
 Germany &  West Germany 3 - 3
 Croatia 3 - 3
 Canada 2 - 2

Most overall World Cup titles

The following skiers have at least 3 overall alpine World Cup titles.

Men

Name Country Career Overall World Cups Discipline World Cups
Downhill Super G GS Slalom Combined
Marc Girardelli  Luxembourg 1980–1996 5 2 - 1 3 4
Gustav Thöni  Italy 1969–1980 4 - - 3 2 -
Pirmin Zurbriggen  Switzerland 1981–1990 4 2 4 3 - 3
Hermann Maier  Austria 1996–2009 4 2 5 3 - -
Ingemar Stenmark  Sweden 1973–1989 3 - - 8 8 -
Phil Mahre  United States 1975–1984 3 - - 2 1 4

Women

Name Country Career Overall World Cups Discipline World Cups
Downhill Super G GS Slalom Combined
Annemarie Moser-Pröll  Austria 1969–1980 6 7 - 3 - 2
Petra Kronberger  Austria 1987–1992 3 - - - 1 -
Vreni Schneider  Switzerland 1984–1995 3 - - 5 6 -
Janica Kostelić  Croatia 1998–2006 3 - - - 3 4

Most discipline World Cup titles

The records for most World Cup titles in each discipline are as follows:

Men

Women

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

Most successful race winners

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

Men

see complete table

Pos. Name Country Career Victories Downhill Super G Giant Slalom Slalom Combined
1 Ingemar Stenmark  Sweden 1973–1989 86 - - 46 40 -
2 Hermann Maier  Austria 1996–2009 54 15 24 14 - 1
3 Alberto Tomba  Italy 1986–1998 50 - - 15 35 -
4 Marc Girardelli  Luxembourg 1980–1996 46 3 9 7 16 11
5 Pirmin Zurbriggen  Switzerland 1981–1990 40 10 10 7 2 11
6 Benjamin Raich  Austria 1997–active 35 - - 14 14 7
7 Bode Miller  United States 1997–active 32 7 5 9 5 6
8 Stephan Eberharter  Austria 1989–2004 29 18 6 5 - -
9 Phil Mahre  United States 1975–1984 27 - - 7 9 11
10 Franz Klammer  Austria 1972–1985 26 25 - - - 1
11 Peter Müller  Switzerland 1977–1992 24 19 2 - - 3
11 Gustav Thöni  Italy 1969–1980 24 - - 11 9 4
13 Michael Von Grünigen  Switzerland 1989–2003 23 - - 23 - -
14 Kjetil André Aamodt  Norway 1989–2006 21 1 5 6 1 8

Women

Pos. Name Country Career Victories Downhill Super G Giant Slalom Slalom Combined
1 Annemarie Moser-Pröll  Austria 1969–1980 62 36 - 16 3 7
2 Vreni Schneider  Switzerland 1984–1995 55 - - 20 34 1
3 Renate Götschl  Austria 1993–2009 46 24 17 - 1 4
4 Anja Pärson  Sweden 1998–active 41 5 4 11 18 3
5 Katja Seizinger  Germany 1989–1998 36 16 16 4 - -
6 Hanni Wenzel  Liechtenstein 1972–1984 33 2 - 12 11 8
7 Erika Hess  Switzerland 1978–1987 31 - - 6 21 4
8 Janica Kostelić  Croatia 1998–2006 30 1 1 2 20 6
8 Lindsey Vonn  United States 2000-active 30 17 8 - 2 3
10 Michela Figini  Switzerland 1983–1990 26 17 3 2 - 4
11 Maria Walliser  Switzerland 1980–1990 25 14 3 6 - 2
11 Michaela Dorfmeister  Austria 1991–2006 25 7 10 8 - -
13 Pernilla Wiberg  Sweden 1990–2002 24 2 3 2 14 3
13 Marie-Theres Nadig  Switzerland 1971–1981 24 13 - 6 - 5
13 Lise-Marie Morerod  Switzerland 1973–1980 24 - - 14 10 -
16 Carole Merle  France 1981–1994 22 - 12 10 - -
16 Marlies Schild  Austria 2001-active 22 - - 1 20 1
18 Hilde Gerg  Germany 1993–2005 20 7 8 - 2 3

All-event winners

Only a few of the most versatile racers have ever managed to win races in all 5 World Cup alpine skiing disciplines during their career, as listed in the table below. Marc Girardelli (1988–89), Petra Kronberger (1990–91), and Janica Kostelić (2005–6) are the only skiers to have won all 5 events in a single season. 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).

Men

Name Country Career Victories Downhill Super G Giant Slalom Slalom Combined
Marc Girardelli  Luxembourg 1980–1996 46 3 9 7 16 11
Pirmin Zurbriggen  Switzerland 1981–1990 40 10 10 7 2 11
Bode Miller  United States 1997–active 32 7 5 9 5 6
Kjetil André Aamodt  Norway 1989–2006 21 1 5 6 1 8
Jean-Claude Killy  France 1967–1968 18 6 NA 7 5 NA
Günther Mader  Austria 1982–1998 14 1 6 2 1 4
Henri Duvillard  France 1967–1973 6 3 NA 2 1 NA

Women

Name Country Career Victories Downhill Super G Giant Slalom Slalom Combined
Annemarie Moser-Pröll  Austria 1969–1980 62 36 NA 16 3 7
Anja Pärson  Sweden 1998–active 41 5 4 11 18 3
Janica Kostelić  Croatia 1998–2006 30 1 1 2 20 6
Pernilla Wiberg  Sweden 1990–2002 24 2 3 2 14 3
Petra Kronberger  Austria 1987–1992 16 6 2 3 3 2
Nancy Greene  Canada 1967–1968 14 3 NA 8 3 NA
Françoise Macchi  France 1968–1972 10 2 NA 6 2 NA

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):

Men

Name Country Season Victories Downhill Super G Giant Slalom Slalom Combined
Ingemar Stenmark  Sweden 1978–1979 13 - NA 10 3 -
Hermann Maier  Austria 2000–2001 13 5 3 5 - -
Jean-Claude Killy  France 1967 12 5 NA 4 3 NA
Ingemar Stenmark  Sweden 1979–1980 11 - NA 6 5 -
Marc Girardelli  Luxembourg 1984–1985 11 - 2 2 7 -
Pirmin Zurbriggen  Switzerland 1986–1987 11 5 1 3 - 2
Alberto Tomba  Italy 1994–1995 11 - - 4 7 -
Ingemar Stenmark  Sweden 1976–1977 10 - NA 3 7 -
Ingemar Stenmark  Sweden 1980–1981 10 - NA 6 4 -
Hermann Maier  Austria 1997–1998 10 2 4 3 - 1
Hermann Maier  Austria 1999–2000 10 3 4 3 - -
Stephan Eberharter  Austria 2001–2002 10 6 3 1 - -

Women

Name Country Season Victories Downhill Super G Giant Slalom Slalom Combined
Vreni Schneider  Switzerland 1988–1989 14 - - 6 7 1
Annemarie Moser-Pröll  Austria 1972–1973 11 8 NA 3 - NA
Anja Pärson  Sweden 2003–2004 11 - - 5 6 -
Annemarie Moser-Pröll  Austria 1974–1975 10 2 NA 5 - 3

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. 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 40, so the maximum possible point total for an individual racer is about 3000–4000 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"[3] during the three seasons from 2003– 2005. The current record for total World Cup points in a season is Hermann Maier's 2000 points in 1999-2000, with the women's record of 1970 points set by Janica Kostelić in 2005–6. 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 Maier's 743 points in 2000-1, nearly doubling second place finisher Stephan Eberharter's total, while the largest women's margin was 536 points by Pernilla Wiberg in 1996-97. 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 only 2 points in 2008-9 (Aksel Lund Svindal over Benjamin Raich).

The tables below contain a brief statistical analysis of the overall World Cup standings during the 18 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 36 men's and women's overall champions in these years, 33 scored over 1200 points, 25 had over 1300 points, 16 reached 1500 points, and only 5 amassed more than 1700 points during their winning seasons. As for the runners-up, 32 of the 36 second-place finishers scored over 1000 points, 14 had over 1300 points, and only 2 reached 1500 points yet failed to win. Most overall titles have been won quite convincingly, by more than 200 points in 21 of 36 cases, while only 9 margins of victory have been tighter than 50 points.

Annual Statistics Calculated for the 1992–2009 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 40 2000 743 1454 1307 5 19 43
Average 35.0 1432 272 1160 1008 2.5 14 40
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 1970 536 1662 1391 5 19 45
Average 33.1 1533 244 1289 1113 3.3 13 38
Minimum 30 1248 3 931 904 1 10 32
Aggregate Statistics Calculated for the 1992–2009 Seasons
Men's and Women's Overall World Cups: Total Numbers Across 18 Seasons
> 1700 Pts > 1500 Pts > 1300 Pts > 1200 Pts > 1100 Pts > 1000 Pts > 900 Pts > 800 Pts
First Place 5 16 25 33 35 36 36 36
Second Place - 2 14 20 24 32 34 35
Third Place - - 4 6 12 23 31 35
> 600 Pts > 500 Pts > 400 Pts > 300 Pts > 200 Pts > 100 Pts >= 50 Pts < 50 Pts
Margin of Victory 2 5 9 17 21 24 27 9

Nations Cup

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

Year Total Standings   Men's Standings   Women's Standings
First Second Third First Second Third First Second Third
1967  FRA  AUT  CAN  FRA  AUT   SUI  FRA  AUT  CAN
1968  FRA  AUT   SUI  AUT  FRA   SUI  FRA  AUT  USA
1969  AUT  FRA  USA  AUT  FRA   SUI  FRA  USA  AUT
1970  FRA  AUT  USA  FRA  AUT   SUI  FRA  USA  AUT
1971  FRA  AUT   SUI  FRA   SUI  AUT  FRA  AUT  USA
1972  FRA  AUT   SUI   SUI  FRA  ITA  FRA  AUT  USA
1973  AUT  FRA   SUI  AUT  ITA   SUI  AUT  FRA  FRG
1974  AUT  ITA   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  AUT  FRG  FRA
1975  AUT  ITA   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  AUT   SUI  FRG
1976  AUT   SUI  ITA  ITA  AUT   SUI  AUT  FRG   SUI
1977  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  FRA
1978  AUT   SUI  USA  AUT  ITA  SWE  AUT   SUI  FRG
1979  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT  FRG  USA
1980  AUT   SUI  LIE  AUT   SUI  SWE  AUT
  SUI		  LIE
1981   SUI  USA  AUT  AUT   SUI  USA   SUI  USA  FRG
1982   SUI  AUT  USA  AUT   SUI  USA  FRG   SUI  USA
1983   SUI  AUT  USA   SUI  AUT  SWE   SUI  AUT  USA
1984   SUI  AUT  USA  AUT   SUI  SWE   SUI  USA  AUT
1985   SUI  AUT  FRG   SUI  AUT  ITA   SUI  FRG  AUT
1986   SUI  AUT  FRG  AUT   SUI  ITA   SUI  AUT  FRG
1987   SUI  AUT  FRG   SUI  AUT  ITA   SUI  AUT  FRG
1988  AUT   SUI  FRG  AUT   SUI  ITA   SUI  AUT  FRG
1989   SUI  AUT  FRG  AUT   SUI  FRG   SUI  AUT  FRA
1990  AUT   SUI  FRG  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  FRG
1991  AUT   SUI  GER  AUT   SUI  NOR  AUT   SUI  GER
1992  AUT   SUI  GER   SUI  AUT  ITA  AUT  GER   SUI
1993  AUT   SUI  GER  AUT   SUI  NOR  AUT  GER   SUI
1994  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT  NOR   SUI  GER  AUT   SUI
1995  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT  ITA  NOR   SUI  GER  AUT
1996  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT  GER   SUI
1997  AUT  ITA   SUI  AUT  ITA  NOR  GER  AUT  ITA
1998  AUT  GER  ITA  AUT   SUI  NOR  GER  AUT  ITA
1999  AUT  NOR   SUI  AUT  NOR   SUI  AUT  GER  FRA
2000  AUT  ITA   SUI  AUT   SUI  NOR  AUT  FRA  ITA
2001  AUT   SUI  FRA  AUT   SUI  NOR  AUT  FRA   SUI
2002  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  FRA  AUT   SUI  ITA
2003  AUT   SUI  USA  AUT   SUI  USA  AUT  ITA  GER
2004  AUT  ITA  USA  AUT  ITA   SUI  AUT  GER  USA
2005  AUT  USA  ITA  AUT  USA  ITA  AUT  USA  GER
2006  AUT  USA  ITA  AUT  USA  ITA  AUT  SWE  USA
2007  AUT   SUI  USA  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT  USA  SWE
2008  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT  USA  ITA
2009  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  ITA  AUT   SUI  GER

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, 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 2008–9 season, the Austrian team has won 20 consecutive Nations Cups, while topping the men's standings for 17 straight years and the women's for 11 in a row. Austria is the only nation to have finished in the top 3 of the Nations Cup standings in all 43 years in which World Cup competition has been held, winning in 30 of those years, runner-up in 12 years, and third place in a single year. 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 USA 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.[4]

The total number of top-three placings for each nation in the Nations Cup (through the 2008–9 season) are summarized below:

Nation Total Standings   Men's Standings   Women's Standings
First Second Third First Second Third First Second Third
 Austria 30 12 1 32 9 1 24 12 5
 Switzerland 8 19 9 5 22 11 10 8 6
 France 5 2 1 3 3 1 6 3 4
 Italy - 5 12 3 5 15 - 1 5
 United States - 3 9 - 2 3 - 7 8
 Germany - 1 9 - - 1 4 10 12
 Norway - 1 - - 2 7 - - -
 Canada - - 1 - - - - - 1
 Liechtenstein - - 1 - - - - - 1
 Sweden - - - - - 4 - 1 1

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 1 World Cup race (current as of January 24, 2010).[5][6]

Nation Total Victories   Victories by Discipline
Men Women Both Downhill Super G Giant Slalom Slalom Combined
 Austria 415 328 743 270 115 159 152 42
 Switzerland 238 273 511 183 43 142 89 54
 France 107 147 254 51 27 61 112 2
 Italy 157 66 223 38 21 74 83 5
 United States 100 107 207 63 20 41 58 25
 Germany &  West Germany 31 154 185 45 45 39 43 12
 Sweden 111 73 184 7 11 67 94 5
 Norway 88 8 96 22 18 24 19 13
 Canada 31 36 67 41 8 12 5 1
 Liechtenstein 24 36 60 5 3 17 21 14
 Slovenia 23 31 54 3 3 15 33 -
 Luxembourg 46 - 46 3 9 7 16 11
 Croatia 11 30 41 1 1 2 29 8
 Finland 14 10 24 - - 9 15 -
 Spain 1 10 11 - - 7 4 -
 New Zealand - 5 5 - - - 5 -
 Russia - 5 5 4 1 - - -
 Soviet Union 5 - 5 1 - 3 1 -
 Australia 2 1 3 1 1 - 1 -
 Czechoslovakia - 3 3 1 - - 1 1
 Czech Republic - 2 2 - - - 2 -
 Poland 1 1 2 - - - 2 -
 Bulgaria 1 - 1 - - - 1 -
Totals 1406 1326 2732 739 326 679 786 193

NOTE: 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 Yugoslavia were all Slovenes and ended their careers racing for Slovenia, and thus are listed under Slovenia in online databases. The Soviet Union and Russia are counted separately, as are Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. In the "Victories by Discipline" columns, rarely-contested races such as the parallel slalom and team events are not listed separately, but have been included in national totals.

A total of 23 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 41 and her brother Ivica has the rest. Ingemar Stenmark still has nearly one-half of Sweden's 184 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 89% and Sweden 88% of their races in technical events, especially notable in Sweden's case given its large total of 184 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 American and Canadian totals are split almost equally.

References

  • Lang, Serge (1986). 21 Years of World Cup Ski Racing. Johnson Books / James Wotton. ISBN 1-55566-009-6. Also available under ISBN 0-246-13116-0.
  1. ^ FIS NewsFlash, Edition 72, April 26th, 2006
  2. ^ Lang, Patrick. "World Cup History: The FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup". Retrieved 14 December 2008.
  3. ^ World Cup Skiing: Miller pushes limits on slopes despite desire
  4. ^ "Black Diamonds: Nations Cup more than half empty". Ski Racing. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  5. ^ "World Cup Men's Races, Team Stats". Ski-db.com. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  6. ^ "World Cup Women's Races, Team Stats". Ski-db.com. Retrieved 2010-01-24.

See also

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