It’s Just A Little Crush

Anyone who races at the World Cup level is wonderfully talented, of course. But let’s be honest. We all have our favorite athletes, the ones we watch anxiously each race, the ones who make us scream at the TV screen when we desperately want to see a green light next to their time. The team at Ski Racing Media is no exception, so we’ve compiled a list of our World Cup crushes from around the globe to share with our readers and possibly inspire a few new fans.

Blaise Giezendanner

We’ve had our eyes on Chamonix native Blaise Giezendanner ever since he won super-G gold and finished as runner-up at the 2013 World University Games in Trentino, Italy. Now the 25-year-old multi talent is our favorite attack-from-the-back speed and combined skier on the men’s World Cup tour, especially heading into the Olympic season.

After scoring his first points with finishes in the 20s at the start of the 2015-16 season, Giezendanner blazed (see what we did there?) onto the scene with an eighth-place super-G finish from bib 39 in the Olympic test event at Jeongseon, South Korea. Two weeks later, he picked up back-to-back top-10 finishes in his hometown from bibs 53 and 40. Currently ranked 23rd in super-G and 25th in alpine combined, we’ll be watching for another big move from the Frenchman this February.

Eva-Maria Brem

Eva-Maria Brem could teach us all a lesson in patience. Despite making her World Cup debut in Lienz, Austria, back in 2005 at the young age of 17, her first World Cup podium didn’t come until nine years later in 2014. Two years after that, the Austrian managed to eke out the 2016 World Cup giant slalom crystal globe by only two points secured in the final race of the season in St. Moritz, Switzerland, over Germany’s Viktoria Rebensberg. Later, Brem was also honored as 2016 Austrian Sportswoman of the Year for her effort. Unfortunately, Brem’s defense of her GS title was cut short last November after she suffered a broken left leg in training. Although her season ended before it really got started, Brem is now on the mend and looks ready to take on the Olympic season with renewed passion.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde

Besides his striking good looks, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde makes our list of World Cup crushes for reasons that go deep beyond the surface. The champion first snagged a podium finish in Val Gardena and hasn’t stopped impressing since, claiming the super-G title in 2016. Really, is there any place more romantic than the Italian Dolomites? His powerful yet graceful technique only adds to his allure. While impending stardom is enough to inflate any athlete’s ego, Kilde stays humble and says, “It’s really important for me to always have someone to talk to, and have someone who always wants to be your support no matter what.” We’ve got your back.

Marta Bassino

21-year-old breakout Italian star Marta Bassino managed to carve out a spot in our hearts and on the ultra-competitive Italian women’s GS squad last year by starting and finishing the season with a bang. Thanks to a podium result at the season opener in Soelden, Austria, and being part of a historic Italian sweep of the final GS of the season in Aspen, Colo., Bassino has firmly established herself in the upper echelon of World Cup technical skiing. She also managed to land on the podium in her home country with a third-place finish in the GS at Kronplatz on Jan. 24. Her youth combined with talented teammates to push her in training is a recipe for success. Look for this diminutive – yet fierce – skier to have some epic GS showdowns with a certain American phenom in the coming years.

Felix Neureuther

Felix Neureuther is one of the greatest male German skiers of all time. The veteran has started in well over 200 World Cup races and won 12 of them. He also podiumed in the last three World Championship slalom races. While we all have a thing for globes and green lights, we’re also drawn to athletes who embody what ski racing is really all about: fun! His Instagram account regularly keeps us all in laughing fits from obscure pool workouts with old ladies to hilarious games of Simon Says. Trust us, he’s worth a follow.

Anna Veith

After winning the hearts of fans the world over (us included) with silky smooth skiing and back-to-back overall and GS crystal globes to her name in 2014 and 2015 – not to mention her gold medals from the Olympics and World Championships – it’s really only a matter of time before 27-year-old Austrian superstar Anna Veith returns to top form. She has missed most of the last two seasons with a knee injury suffered in October 2015. Veith used her newfound downtime to not only rehab her injury, but also write a book and continue her work as an ambassador for the Cheetah Conservation Fund. After a shaky and delayed start to her 2016-17 season, Veith elected for a second surgery to deal with lingering pain shortly after World Championships in St. Moritz and now hopes to return to top form in time for the Olympics.

Max Franz

Speed skier Max Franz won his first World Cup this past season, but he’s been on our radar since his first podium finish in 2012. The Austrian also earned a World Championships medal at St. Moritz, skiing to third place in the downhill. What’s not to love?

In his off time, Franz enjoys passing time on the greens. Can you imagine a cooler person to play 18 holes with? And who knows – maybe his childhood friend Marcel Hirscher would even stop by.

Nina Loeseth

Making her World Cup debut as a wide-eyed, 16-year-old way back in 2006, Attacking Viking Nina Loeseth quickly established herself as a rising talent on the World Cup. Although injury sidelined her for most of the 2011 and 2012 seasons, she quickly rejoined the top ranks in 2013 and managed to claim her first World Cup podium in 2015. She followed that up by becoming the first Norwegian female to win a World Cup slalom in nearly 16 years when she took the victory in Santa Caterina in 2016. With the speed to challenge for medals at PyeongChang 2018, look for Loeseth to potentially spoil a podium party or two in Korea come February. But sorry, fellas. She’s off the market and getting hitched this summer.

Kjetil Jansrud

This Attacking Viking has crystal globes, World Championship medals and Olympic medals in his trophy case. Kjetil Jansrud remains a force of nature on the men’s speed circuit. He got his first pair of skis at age seven, and it was love at first turn. Since making his debut at Wengen in 2003, he has started in 282 World Cup races, making him one of the most experienced athletes on our list. Oh, and did we mention that the Norwegian star also plays a little guitar? So, when he is done shredding down the most intense ski runs in the world, he can serenade us all with a ditty.

Bernadette Schild

The younger sister of legendary Austrian Marlies Schild, Bernadette Schild has been slowly chipping away at the World Cup ranks since making her debut in 2008. Schild caught our eye last season with a blistering second run of GS at the World Championships in St. Moritz that may have been good enough for a medal if it weren’t for a costly mistake mere gates from the finish. Thankfully, Schild returned to the World Cup podium for the first time in three years in March when she finished third in the slalom in Squaw Valley, a result made even more special given the fact that she used to spend her childhood summers with family friends in the Tahoe area. Coming off a year that saw her end the season ranked eighth in the world in slalom and crack the top-30 final rankings in GS for the first time in her career, look for the 27-year-old to be a dark-horse medal contender in PyeongChang.

Who is your World Cup crush? Tell us in the comments below.