Sölden World Cup season opener

• The first World Cup race in Sölden took place on the Rettenbach Glacier in 1993.
• Anita Wachter won that first women's giant slalom.
• Since 2000, the giant slalom on the Rettenbach Glacier has marked the start of each season.
• In 2002, Tina Maze, Andrine Flemmen and Nicole Hosp shared first place in the women's race.
• The season opener is part of the international Alpine racing series.

The Sölden World Cup opener has a longer history than its role as the annual start of the season might suggest. The first World Cup race on the Rettenbach Glacier took place in 1993. Anita Wachter won that women's giant slalom by 2.63 seconds. More editions followed, first at intervals of several years and later every two years. Since 2000, the giant slalom on the Rettenbach Glacier has opened the World Cup season each year.

The giant slalom consists of two runs on a course marked by gates. The combined time determines the finishing order. At the season opener, women and men meet again early in the winter and the first World Cup points are awarded. Regular editions include races for both, although weather can force individual events to be cancelled.

An exceptional moment came in 2002: Tina Maze, Andrine Flemmen and Nicole Hosp finished the women's giant slalom in exactly the same time and shared first place. It was the first three-way victory in Alpine World Cup history. The shared result is rare in a sport where hundredths of a second regularly decide positions and wins. A fan-club parade and supporting programme had been added to the World Cup weekend in 1998.

In 2005, Hermann Maier recorded his third and final glacier victory in Sölden. In 2006, the World Cup races were cancelled for the first time because of weather. In 2020, pandemic restrictions reduced attendance to about 1,400 spectators per race day. In 2022, 14,500 fans watched the men's race; the women's event was paused because of snowfall.

As the season opener, Sölden begins a long series whose overall standings develop across other venues and disciplines. The Alpine Ski World Cup includes many international races at other venues and across several disciplines. Other skiing events complete the competition calendar.