Olympic champion Meillard takes a calm approach to a home World Championships winter

Loïc Meillard begins his 2026/2027 World Cup season in Sölden on Sunday, 25 October, with the Olympic slalom champion from Valais lining up for the giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier. The first run starts at 9.55am. Behind him lies an outstanding winter, defined above all by his Olympic successes. Ahead is a season featuring the World Championships in Crans-Montana. For now, though, his focus is closer at hand: after months of preparation, he wants to race again.

“Yes, I’m looking forward to getting fully into the season,” Meillard says. Sölden marks the shift from preparation to the winter’s competition. “Now it’s about being ready to race.” His anticipation is that of an athlete keen to move forward after a successful season, rather than simply look back. Yet he approaches this first test with the composure of an experienced World Cup racer.

An opener kept in perspective

Sölden has not been a particularly rewarding venue for Meillard. His best result on the Austrian glacier is fifth place, achieved in October 2020. Judged solely against his recent successes, expectations for the opening race might therefore be higher than those he sets himself. He is clear that an entire winter cannot be measured by its first result.

“I have enough experience to know that if it doesn’t work out here, it’s not the end of the world,” he says. There will still be time to train afterwards. That perspective matters particularly in Sölden: the early race offers an initial comparison with his rivals, but does not yet reflect the rhythm that will shape the World Cup later in the season.

The transition is demanding nonetheless. Meillard needs to translate his training into a performance under race conditions, without allowing one result to become a premature verdict on his winter. His Olympic slalom title also does not change the fact that the opener is in another discipline. In giant slalom, even an accomplished technical skier must find his competitive rhythm afresh.

Giant slalom and slalom come first

After Sölden comes a relatively long break from racing. Meillard’s second appearance will not be until mid-November in Levi. The slalom in Gurgl follows, before the calendar becomes considerably busier. Those opening weeks leave room to assess the first race and continue working in training. Later, competitions and the preparation for them will follow in much quicker succession.

He has set his sporting priorities accordingly. “At the start of the season, I will concentrate on giant slalom and slalom, and then we’ll see whether super-G is added to my programme.” Racing in the speed discipline remains an option, rather than a confirmed part of his plans.

That distinction matters. For now, slalom and giant slalom form the core of his winter; any expansion will be decided later. Rather than committing to the broadest possible schedule, Meillard is keeping some flexibility. Once the calendar tightens after its first stops, another discipline would bring additional demands on both training and recovery. His immediate attention is on the races with which his season actually begins.

Healthy preparation and a new chapter at home

Meillard is positive about his preparations. His summer training camp went well, better than the previous year. He identifies a specific difference: this time, he had no health problems. In his assessment, that means he can look back on a build-up less disrupted than the one preceding his successful last season.

Life away from the slopes has changed too. In recent months, Meillard has become both a husband and a father. Four days after the Sölden giant slalom, he will also celebrate his 30th birthday. The start of another racing season thus coincides with a new phase in his personal life. What effect that will have on his day-to-day racing routine, however, cannot be inferred from those changes alone.

His comments before the opener convey, above all, satisfaction with his preparation and an appetite for competition. He does not attach any guarantee of results to either. The distinction between a good summer and a first race whose outcome remains open runs through his assessment of the coming start.

A winter with special significance for Switzerland

For spectators in Switzerland, this season’s horizon extends beyond the usual World Cup venues. The World Championships in Crans-Montana promise a major occasion on home snow — and, for Meillard, within his home canton of Valais. His Olympic successes make his progress particularly compelling to follow. He has not, however, set out specific World Championship targets ahead of the season opener.

For the moment, his route leads to Sölden. There, he wants to make the switch from training to competition without burdening the first appearance with excessive significance. The following weeks, before Levi, will provide further time to work. The broad outline of this important winter is already clear; the first indication of how Meillard is settling into it will come on Sunday on the Rettenbach glacier.