Franzoni & Blanc headline Next Gen shaking up world order

Every Alpine Skiing season begins with fans, pundits and former greats making excited predictions for the action to come… and every campaign ends with new names having burst onto the scene and gloriously upended those forecasts.

A host of rising stars – from Giovanni Franzoni (ITA/Rossignol) to Malorie Blanc (SUI/Atomic) and Alban Elezi Cannaferina (FRA/Rossignol) to Mary Bocock (USA/Rossignol) – have made sure that 2025/26 was no exception.

Here, we delve into the tales behind the skiers who now proudly dine at the top table.

Fit & firing Franzoni

We have to start with Franzoni. Here is the young Italian revealing what his aims were back before it all began:

Suffice to say that the mission was not only achieved, but blown out of the water. The 25-year-old utterly transformed his career – and life – with a cascade of stunning speed skis.

An impressive start – 10^th and 13^th places in his opening Super G races and points in his first Downhill – took to the stratosphere as 2025 turned into 2026.

First, the emerging home hero shocked his teammates, not to mention the crowd, by grabbing a first ever Audi FIS World Cup podium in the Val Gardena Super G. Then came Wengen. A slope that had previously only held trauma served up a sensational two days. A Super G win followed by a first Downhill podium place transforming expectations in and outside the Italian’s camp.

But it was only the beginning for a finally fit and firing Franzoni. A week after conquering the Lauberhorn he triumphed down the Streif, winning the Hahnenkamm Downhill. Two of the sport’s most iconic – and feared – tracks mastered in seven days. A “crazy” feat as the Italian acknowledged.

With the pre-season fear that he would struggle to qualify for Italy’s Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games men’s speed team firmly put to bed, Franzoni happily shone on the biggest stage of all.

“Giovanni showed the last years his skills and now he has found consistency. And pressure is not a problem for him,” Stelvio king Dominik Paris (ITA/Nordica) laughed after watching his young teammate grab Olympic Downhill silver.

Hallberg has Pander in his sights

Franzoni is far from alone in having a season to remember. Twenty years after declaring, as a toddler, to his family that he would one day “be like” Kalle Pander (FIN) Eduard Hallberg (FIN/Fischer) took some giant steps towards matching the Finnish hero.

And he did not take long to do it. In his first race of the season, in front of a delirious home crowd and with challenging memories to deal with, Hallberg flew to third place in the Slalom in Levi. In the space of two brilliant runs the 22-year-old claimed a career best result, a first Finnish World Cup podium for 13 years and showed himself he could handle the weight of expectation.

So it proved. Less than two months later the youngster also dealt with one of Slalom skiing’s greatest challenges; leading after run one.

“I managed to pull it off,” Hallberg said after producing near his best in run two to end second in Madonna di Campiglio, just 0.12 seconds behind winner Clement Nöel (FRA/Dynastar). “I managed to attack from the start.”

It was a performance that prompted the French Olympic Slalom champion to declare Hallberg “a contender”.

Top results in two of Slalom’s most prestigious races – 6^th in Adelboden and 5^th in Kitzbühel – cemented this reputation, as did a closing 3^rd in the World Cup Finals.

Teenage Trocker rules

Even though she is only 17, there is little doubt Anna Trocker (ITA/Salomon) is made of the right stuff too. In the space of 10 days the Italian followed up double FIS Junior World Ski Championship gold with two World Cup top-10 finishes.

First, the performances in Narvik deserve a closer look. In fields full of not only the brightest of prospects but also a sprinkling of established World Cup names, Trocker dominated. Victory in the Giant Slalom came by a huge margin of 1.75 seconds, before the Italian emphasised her Mikaela Shiffrin-esque (USA/Atomic) supremacy by winning Slalom gold 2.29 seconds clear of her nearest rival.

Buoyed by such efforts, Trocker showed in Hafjell that she will be well worth watching next season, finishing 8^th in the GS and 9^th in the Slalom.

As will the Bocock sisters. The younger, 20-year-old Elisabeth (USA/Rossignol) added another Junior World Championship medal to her collection when finishing third behind Trocker in the GS, and as impressively, she claimed three top-20 finishes on the senior tour.

That is a place Mary Bocock (USA/Rossignol) quietly excelled on all season. Top-25 finishes in six out of eight Super G races showed remarkably consistency for a 22-year-old who not only qualified for World Cup Finals for the first time, but also made her Olympic bow. She and her sister, both Salt Lake City natives, will no doubt be eying up the 2034 Games with particular relish.

‘Incredible’ Blanc shines

The Bococks could certainly look at the example set by Malorie Blanc as they plan their next steps. Two years after winning Super G gold at the 2024 Junior World Championships, the Swiss skier is a World Cup winner.

The 22-year-old took her crown in real style too. After showing solid early Super G season form, including a 6^th in St Moritz, Blanc put a huge exclamation mark under her love for home snow by grabbing victory in Crans-Montana.

The fact she beat the eventual Super G Globe winner Sofia Goggia (ITA/Atomic) and the now reigning Olympic and world Downhill champion Breezy Johnson (USA/Atomic) to the top step of the podium, and she did it all just a month after the tragic New Year’s Eve nightclub fire, underlines just what a talent Blanc is.

Youngsters gunning for the top

While the quartet above may have hogged the headlines, there were plenty of others making waves last season. Cornelia Oehlund (SWE/Head) came closest to causing the biggest splash. The 20-year-old lay third after run one of the Slalom at the Olympic Games, with only a late second run ski out preventing a true sensation. Three World Cup top-10 finishes just about made up for the Cortina disappointment.

Sue Piller (SUI/Atomic) was another 20-year-old to claim a World Cup top-10, while fellow Swiss prospect Stefanie Grob (Rossignol) not only took 10^th in the Super G in Val di Fassa but also scored points in both the Downhill and GS.

Consistency is clearly the name of the game for many of the sport’s most talented young guns, and after struggling in 2024/25 Dzenifera Germane (LAT/Head) found her footing this time around. Four top-10s and a further three top-20 finishes showed the 2024 Junior Slalom World champion that she now belongs on the senior circuit.

Something a pair of American 21-year-olds are also edging towards. Allison Mollin (USA/Head) scored points in all nine Downhill races, while Liv Moritz (USA/Fischer) snatched a 13^th in the Spindleruv Mlyn Slalom. The Slalom proved a happy hunting ground for 21-year-old Emilia Mondinelli (ITA/Salomon) as well, the Italian registering her first top-20 finishes.

On the men’s side Alban Elezi Cannaferina (FRA/Rossignol) showed there is no waiting list when it comes to success. Despite never having finished in the top-10 in a World Cup race previously, the 22-year-old decided the famous Schladming GS was his time in the spotlight.

Rounding it all off, Eirik Hystad Solberg (NOR/Fischer) and Oscar Andreas Sandvik (NOR/Head) proved Norway’s tech conveyor belt is showing no signs of slowing down. The former flew to three Slalom top-10s, including a 5^th in Madonna do Campiglio, while the latter ended 5^th in the Val d’Isere Slalom.

Recently crowned Globe winner Atle Lie McGrath (NOR/Head) better watch out… As had all the established stars, the next generation are coming. Quickly.