Coming up this week: The world’s top ski racers vie for supremacy (and reindeer) on the Finnish slopes, pros and amateurs alike take on sailing’s most intrepid challenge, and rugby’s Autumn Internationals thunder into their third act. Here’s your Inside Track to the global action.
SKIING
Shiffrin’s Finnish fancy and the race for reindeer number nine
Mikaela Shiffrin is back on snow this weekend, chasing yet another slice of skiing folklore — and, yes, another reindeer.
The American phenomenon, owner of a record 101 World Cup wins, launches her season in Levi, Finland, where the women’s and men’s slaloms open the campaign. For Shiffrin, whose eyes are ultimately fixed on Olympic gold in Cortina Milano next year, this weekend offers a rather chillier form of glory: a ninth addition to her ever-growing herd of Finnish reindeer, the traditional prize for victory in Levi.
No animals are harmed, nor are they hitching a flight to Shiffrin’s native Colorado. Her eight “trophies,” each lovingly named — her first, naturally, was called Rudolph — graze contentedly at Finland’s Ounaskievari Reindeer Farm, awaiting the next member of the herd. Last year’s was dubbed Rori — graze contentedly at Finland’s Ounaskievari Reindeer Farm, awaiting the next member of the herd. Last year’s was dubbed Rori.
“The winner has naming rights and can visit their reindeer when they return,” Shiffrin explained. And return she will — looking for more than just a win, but a reminder that even amid the grind of a globe-trotting World Cup season, sport can still serve up moments of magic, mischief and myth.
The women’s race takes place on Saturday, the men’s on Sunday. Expect flying snow, flashing skis — and another reindeer naming ceremony in the frozen north.
FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Levi, Finland — November 15-16
SAILING
Clipper crews chase glory and survival in the ‘Roaring Forties’
Sailing is back on the high seas this week — and headed straight into the teeth of the Southern Ocean.
Stage Four of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race sets sail on Sunday from Cape Town, sending ten 70-footers and their mixed crews of dreamers, daredevils and desk jockeys hurtling toward Australia’s west coast. Organisers warn that it’s “not one for the faint-hearted.” Understatement of the year.
The leg — 4,800 nautical miles along the infamous