Wengen Lauberhorn Alpine Ski World Cup Races Preview
- Raúl Revuelta
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
From January 16 to 18, 2026, the 96th International Lauberhorn Alpine Ski World Cup will be held in Wengen, Switzerland.
As part of the Men's Alpine Ski World Cup, the Lauberhorn Races will take place from Friday with three events: a Super-G, the classic #Lauberhorn Downhill, and a Slalom.
The International Lauberhorn races are part of the Club 5+ Alpine Classics, a union of the leading alpine ski race organizers from all over the world. It was founded in 1988 upon the idea of World Cup founder and sports journalist Serge Lang. Charter members had been the "Five" Downhill classic sites in the Alps: Gardena/Gröden (ITA), Garmisch (GER), Kitzbühel (AUT), Wengen (SUI), Val d’Isere (FRA). The 1st International Lauberhorn Race Wengen took place in 1930. On November 28, 1929, along with the co-founders of the Swiss Academic Ski Club (SAS) in Berne, Ernst Gertsch signed the founding document of the Lauberhorn Race. After the pioneering years (from 1924), with this race, the wonderful story of Alpine ski racing really began to unfold. A story that is marked, to a large extent, by Arnold Lunn and Ernst Gertsc,h who guided it through many perils. It was a long, difficult, and often bumpy road.
Since the start of the Alpine Ski World Cup in 1967, the Lauberhorn races have been an integral part of this racing Tour. Jean-Claude Killy won the Downhill and the Slalom in the first World Cup event held in Wengen.
To date, a total of 52 Downhill and 46 Slalom World Cup races have been held there.
Wengen will host a Men’s World Cup Super-G race for just the fifth time. The first race in the famous Swiss resort took place during the 1993-1994 season, and, after a 28-year gap, World Cup Super-G events have been held every season since the 2021-2022 winter season. Luxembourg's Marc Girardelli won the first Super-G ahead of the Norwegian duo Jan Einar Thorsen and Atle Skaardal.
The record winner in the Downhill is Karl Molitor, who celebrated six victories between 1939 and 1947. Toni Sailer won four times in a row from 1955 to 1958. Ivica Kostelić won the Slalom four times; Anderl Molterer, Guy Périllat, Ingemar Stenmark, Benjamin Raich, and Henrik Kristoffersen each won three times.
Switzerland, with 76 victories (33 Downhill, 18 Slalom, 2 Super-G, and 23 Combined), and Austria, with 74 victories (31 Downhill, 20 Slalom, and 23 Combined), are the most successful nations at the Lauberhorn.
Wengen (SUI)
January 16th Super-G / Men 12:30 CET
January 17th Downhill / Men 12:30 CET
January 18th Slalom / Men 10:00 CET 1st run 13:00 CET 2nd run
Wengen (1274 m) is a car-free mountain village located on a sheltered, sun-soaked terrace, 400 meters above the picturesque Lauterbrunnen Valley. The fantastic surrounding scenery is dominated by the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau massif. The holiday destination of Wengen is situated in the heart of the Bernese Oberland, 18 kilometers from Interlaken, the Lakes of Thun and Brienz, and close to the UNESCO World Heritage Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn.
Grindelwald-First, Grindelwald-Wengen, and Mürren-Schilthorn make up the large Jungfrau Ski Region area, plus the Meiringen-Hasliberg ski area. In these four ski areas, you can enjoy more than 265 kilometers of pistes up to 2,970 meters.
The Traditional Downhill will be held on Saturday.
The start of the longest Downhill run in the Alpine Ski World Cup is located at 2315 meters above sea level on the Lauberhornschulter.
The view of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau from the start gate of the Downhill in Wengen is unbelievable.
The Lauberhorn Downhill is the longest race in the FIS Ski World Cup circus. To win the Lauberhorn Race, the skiers not only need a lot of courage and be prepared to take risks but also perfect technique and stamina.
The ski racing weekend will finish on Sunday with the Slalom on the Jungfrau / Mannlichen racecourse.
The track is considered one of the most demanding slalom slopes in the Alpine Ski World Cup: It has a lot of terrain changes, with the steepest section in the middle part of the slope being 72% and the flattest part just after the start being just under 4%.
Downhill Racecourse facts:
Start Elevation: 2315m
Finish Elevation: 1,287 m
Vertical Drop: 1028 m
Distance: 4270m
Max. slope: 87 % at the Hundschopf jump
"You have this run that’s 2.85 miles long in the most beautiful place on earth and its all yours, see how fast you can go down it, see where you can grab your tuck & see how much fun you can have". US Ski Team athletes Bode Miller & Chad Fleischer take us turn-by-turn through Lauberhorn, one of Downhill skiing's most historic and challenging courses.
Last season, Franjo Von Allmen Won the Super-G in Wengen for his First-ever Alpine Ski World Cup Victory. The 24-year-old Swiss skier put in a clean, strong performance to beat Vincent Kriechmayr by just 0.10 seconds. Teammate Stefan Rogentin finished in third place, 0.58 seconds behind, making the perfect start of the Lauberhorn weekend for the Swiss Team.
Marco Odermatt won the Downhill in Wengen in 2025. He finished ahead of his teammate and Super-G winner Franjo Von Allmen. Miha Hrobat from Slovenia rounded up the podium in third place, 0.57 seconds behind Odermatt. Odermatt smashes the course record. With a final time of 2:22.58, he is over a second faster than the Italian Kristian Ghedina, who set the previous record when he won in 1997 (2:24.34).
The 28-year-old broke another record. He joined Franz Klammer and Beat Feuz as the only three to have triumphed on the Lauberhorn three times.
Last season, Norway secured a podium clean sweep at the Slalom Alpine Ski World Cup in Wengen, with Atle Lie McGrath claiming the top spot, Timon Haugan finishing second, and Henrik Kristoffersen coming in third in the battle for victory.
Listen to the following Podcast if you want to know more about one of the Classic Downhills on the World Cup Calendar.