Mikaela Shiffrin shares an update about her participation at the FIS Ski World Cup Flachau amid injury recovery

Mikaela Shiffrin left a heartwarming note for the upcoming World Cup racing venue, Flacau, confirming her absence from the slalom race on Monday, January 13. Shiffrin is currently recovering from the puncture wound she sustained in Killington's slalom.

Shiffrin, who suffered a downhill crash in the 2023-24 World Cup season to miss out on 11 races, faced the same fate in the 2024-25 edition. The giant slalom crash in Killington left her with a puncture wound in the abdomen, leading to surgery to treat a deeper cavity. Hence, the 99-time World Cup winner missed several races in the ongoing season.

In an X video posted on Monday, she penned a heartwarming note for Flacau and announced she would not participate in the slalom race this year.

"Hey everybody, just checking in ahead of Flachau. That's a race that means a lot to me. Over the course of my career, there have been so many incredible moments and it's a challenging course. It's an unbelievable atmosphere, the crowd, the night race, the vibe, it's just amazing under the lights. I'm really looking forward to watching and I'm really going to miss racing it this year. I'm so looking forward to cheering on all my teammates, the whole US Ski Team. I hope you guys are excited to watch and cheer right along with me," she said.

Her post caption read:

"I’ll miss you, Flachau but I’m excited to cheer on my Stifel @usskiteam teammates tomorrow night in one of the best races, with the best atmosphere on the @fisalpine World Cup circuit!! Hope to see you all soon stifelusskiteam."

Mikaela Shiffrin congratulated Lauren Macuga for her first World Cup win in super-G in Austria

Mikaela Shiffrin at the STIFEL Killington World Cup - (Source: Getty)

Mikaela Shiffrin may have ruled herself out of races for recovery but never misses cheering on her teammates from afar. With Lindsey Vonn's return to the World Cup circuit, the US Ski team looked more promising as the women headed to Austria for the super-G in Sankt Anton, Killington.

As Vonn took fourth place, 22-year-old Lauren Macuga soared to her first World Cup race win with 1.24 points ahead of the former.

Mikaela Shiffrin took pride in her younger counterpart and wrote a congratulatory note on her Instagram story, which read:

"Waking up to this has me (crying emojis). Lets Gooooo !!"

The 29-year-old won two gold medals in the Olympics and five overall World Cup titles from 2017 to 2023 (except the pandemic years). Shiffrin earned the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year nomination in 2023 for her dominant performances on the slopes.