Norwegian moose (Alces alces)
Norway’s got a tight, stoically flamboyant team. They seem merry and grounded; confident and on guard. Speed is currently Norway’s strength. Ragnhild Mowinckel’s on a HOF path; Kajsa Lie could run consistent DH T5/6 for a few years, then podium a couple more. She’s the real deal.
Re Tech, Mina Holtmann and Thea Stjernesund are admirably holding down the fort; we’ll consider them here. Kristin Lysdahl is recovering from injury and will get a close look in January. Her talent’s way unfulfilled.
These women are stylish, too, I must say. For all the fjords and antlers, the Norwegians cut sharp sartorial lines. (And it’s perfectly acceptable to lick one’s knife clean, or so I have read.)
Ragnhild Mowinckel
Mowinckel is a 3-Discipline Big Person. 2020 OFS knee injury interrupted an Overall title trajectory. She could pull off an SG title if she dropped GS and focused on the big hills. But I doubt she’ll do that, as her GS is exceptional.
Just a skeptical hunch, I guess—no reason if she’s still strong and motivated why another Speed podium can’t be snatched running three events. Bright and down-to-earth (though I suspect she wigs out when the wind is right), Ragnhild’s one of my very favorites.
2021-2023 EOS Overall & DH,SG,GS
2023 – 6th
DH 10th – 9 starts – 4xT10; 3xT20; 2xT25
SG 3d – 8 starts – 1st; 2x3d; 3xT8; 2xT15
GS 9th – 10 starts – 2nd; 4xT10; 5xT17
2022 – 4th. Shiffrin only other competitor EOS T10 in three Disciplines.
DH 6th – 8 starts – 2nd; 4xT8; 3xT20
SG 4th – 8 starts – 1st; 2nd; 3xT7; 2xT17; 25th
GS 7th – 9 starts – 5xT8; 3xT18; 25th
2021 – 29th Injury recovery season
DH 24th- 7 starts – 9th; 19th; 3xT30; 2xT35
SG 16th – 6 starts – 7th; 3xT26; 30th; 34th
GS 19th – 7 starts – 6xT20; 26th
2020 OFS
2022 Olympics – DH 14th; SG 6th; GS 5th; AC 4th. Excellent!
2018 Olympics – DH 2nd; SG 13th; GS 2nd. Superb. 2 x Silver. SG 0.89 behind winner in a berserk affair.
2019 Overall 7th. DH 23d. SG 5th. GS 6th. Odd, DH results dropping so. Otherwise excellent progress.
2018 Overall 8th. DH 8th. SG 10th. GS 4th.
Just turned thirty-two, I think Ragnhild’s in it through 2025. Another Olympic circus perhaps too annoying—though Cortina may be winter sports’ apogee insofar as a classic European Alpine venue may never again offer full-on wintertide conditions. Mowinckel’s at a fork in the road; she must take it.
She’s truly one of her era’s top racers. If 2024 yields another Discipline podium and T5 Overall, she’ll be back for 2025 Worlds. Paired against this is Life—if she wants to begin a university degree program, develop post-racing commercial options, et al.
Thea Stjernesund
Early prime beginning well, with remarkable Tech progress in 2023—doubling SL rank and 70% GS improvement from 2022. Turns 27 in November. Thea’s primed for elite Tech status on the tour. A medal each in 2025 Worlds and 2026 Olympics will anoint her a Huldra or a Nisser or other folky being skipping into hard-earned limelight.
2021-2023 EOS SL & GS
2023 20th
SL 14th- 11 starts – 4xT10; 3xT20; 25th; 3xDNQ
GS 10th – 10 starts – 2nd; 2xT10; 5xT20; 2xT25
2022 35th
SL 27th- 6 starts – 10th; 12th; 23d; 27th; 2xDNQ
GS 17th – 8 starts – 6th; 5xT20; 2xDNQ
2021 54th
SL 27th- 8 starts – 3xT20; 25th; 27th; 3xDNF
GS Unclassified – 6 starts – 4xDNF; 2xDNQ. Wow. Haven’t seen this on WC level. Injury? New gear?
2018 European Cup. Overall 6th. Last full EC season, for kicks.
SL 8th – 9 starts – 3d; 3xT10; 4xT20; 22nd
GS 1st - 9 starts– 2x1st; 2x3d; 4th; 2x8th; 19th; DNF. Excellent score card.
Entering prime. If she remains healthy and improvement continues per last two seasons (or even slows to a more reasonable level), she’ll EOS Tech T9/12 through 2025, and if she’s got the stuff, Thea will challenge Tech T6/7 until 2028. Globe podium breakout possible; ditto for Worlds/Olympic hardware. Will see if she’s a real charger.
Mina Fuerst Holtmann
Went nuts at 2015 Jr. Championships. Then a late summer training tib/fib fracture, followed by radically swollen calf muscle. (The muscle was butterflied to allow expansion. Yeow.) 2016 OFS. Within a couple months of returning to snow, a pinched nerve in her back scotched the 2017 season as well. Looks like injuries’ cumulative effects ended her Speed, at least for then/now/forever (?). Norwegian WAWC left legs are bedeviled.
Mina has a sunny disposition, AFAICT. Wrestle in the gondola; piss off a squatting friend; big fake teeth.
2021-2023 EOS Overall, SL & GS
2023 33d
SL 21st- 11 starts – 9th; 4xT14; 4xT30; 2xDNF
GS 18th – 10 starts – 3xT10; 13th; 2xT30; 4xDNF
2022 30th
SL 13th – 9 starts – 2nd; 2xT8; 12th; 28th; 4xDNF
GS 19th – 8 starts – 2xT10; 3xT15; 2x29th; DNF
2021 38th
SL 24th – 6 starts – 10th; 2xT14; 24th; 2xDNQ
GS 16th – 6 starts – 5th; 12th; 13th; 18th; 2xDNF
Including these peripheral events for fuller talent context. Strong EC Speed development ceased after 2015 tib/fib. Two total WAWC Speed starts: DH DNF; SG 29th. Real shame. 3/4 - Discipline talent/potential very promising.
2023 World Championships SL 4th; GS 6th. Nice work.
2015 Jr. Worlds DH 1st; SG 2nd; Super Combined 3d; GS 6th; SL DNF.
Treaded Tech water for a couple of years, but she turned 28 in July so has at least a few prime seasons to sharpen up. DNFs and T30s are bugaboos. That can be fixed. Excellent 2023 Worlds—Mina can beat Big People, with the pressure on. I’d reckon she needs to let ‘em run and have fun. 2022 redux—SL T14; GS T17—a sound goal for 2024. If there’s more talent to mine, it should emerge. I suspect her place on the A Team is secure. Gotta race with intensity!
Kajsa Lie
Top-notch Speed talent. Turned 25 in June, coming off a cracking DH season…and 2022 OFS with hideously-broken leg February 2021 Val di Fassa SG. Worst sports injury I’ve seen live, I think, not involving a motor vehicle. (Lorenzo Bandini Monte Carlo 1967 most horrible. Saw it on Wide World of Sports.)
To my eye, Kajsa has a relaxed/more upright style than most Speed people. Keeps her hands low. Very confident. Yawns in the starting hut. Knows where her next meal will come from if the canteen is barren.
WAWC EOS 2020-21; 2023. DH & SG
2023 26th
DH 8th – 9 starts – 1st; 2nd; 8th; 13th; 4xT30; 40th
SG 21st – 8 starts – 9th; 5xT20; 21st; DNF
2021 18th
DH 11th – 7 starts – 3xT6; 3xT18; DNF
SG 7th- 6 starts – 2nd; 3xT10; 2xDNF
2020 46th
DH 32nd – 6 starts – 11th; 2xT23; 28th; 2xDNF
SG 20th – 5 starts – 6th; 2xT15; 21st; DNF
2023 Worlds - DH 15th; SG 3d.
2018 Jr. Worlds – DH 1st; SG 1st; AC 5th. Shows up for big races.
Lie’s on track for EOS DH top shelf via turning 4xT30 to 4xT15. Few DNFs. She epitomizes relaxed confidence which, I imagine, comes from knowing you’re really good and accept that hard work will be rewarded in good time. Perhaps just general Scandinavian coolness.
One thing’s for sure: Kajsa’s a Speed Gal. Not a single WC Tech start, and only a handful of EC Tech races, with T30ish results. At the FIS level 2018-19, however, Lie was lights-out GS—1st or 2nd every race; T5 every SL finish. So she knows the decisive divide between minor- and major-league Tech competition. Ragnhild is full-on 3 Discipline; I doubt Kajsa will pursue GS at this point, but who knows? Such a small team needs diversity/multi-talents. Mina and Thea will hold down Tech; Kajsa’s on Speed for seven more years or so.
I’ll peg Lie to repeat EOS DH T10 for 2024, and to regain SG form in T12 range. Odd that SG fizzled last year…more research needed. Looking further ahead, KL’s improvement paired with competition’s aging/retirement should mean reliable T7 through 2026, then podium/globe action for a few seasons hence. As always, health is the key. Kajsa Lie probably won’t reach Sofia Goggia’s level, but 30-40 Speed victory/podium finishes are totally within her career range.
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