Sawt Falasteen - Alpine Skiing: Five faces to look out for at World Championships

While returning US stars Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn headline the championships -- the second time they have been held in Saalbach after the 1991 edition -- there will be more than 600 skiers from 70 nations on the slopes.

AFP Sports looks at five up-and-coming racers to watch:

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA)

The 24-year-old is back and not for Norway, but the homeland of his mother, Brazil.

Born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, Pinheiro Braathen spent time in South America as a child after his parents separated.

Falling out with the Norwegian ski federation over sponsorship rights, Pinheiro Braathen stepped away from the World Cup circuit in the 2023-24 season before returning under the Brazilian flag.

In his sixth season, he won five World Cup races for Norway, while this season he has bagged three podium finishes, including third in Kitzbuehel.

His rivals for the slalom crown in Saalbach will be France's Olympic champion Clement Noel and a raft of former teammates headed by defending champion Henrik Kristoffersen and Timon Haugan.

"It's still unbelievable for me to come to these beautiful Alps all around the world and the flag that I feel stands out the most is the bright South American colours," Pinheiro Braathen said.

Lara Colturi (ALB)

The daughter of Italian Olympic champion Daniela Ceccarelli, Colturi competes for Albania after falling out with the Italian federation.

She may only be 18 years of age, but Colturi is already in her third World Cup season although she insists on not looking too far ahead.

"I'm using these first years mainly to experiment, to understand what I need, and whatever I don't need, I discard: no stress, just for fun. Then, whatever comes, comes," she told Olympics.com.

Colturi, born in Turin, admitted there was always a thought about next year's Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina d'Ampezzo.

"But right now, I don’t want to think too far ahead. We're one year away, but I'll try to stay more focused on the present and set small goals."

Zrinka Ljutic (CRO)

Ljutic sent a warning to the rest of the best as she dominated the final World Cup slalom in Courchevel before everyone decamped to Saalbach.

The 20-year-old sealed victory by a massive 1.26 seconds and now has three wins in her past four World Cup slaloms -– all recorded when leading after the first run.

"I could not imagine at the beginning of the season I would get all these wins and that I would adapt to the new material so well. I think the sky is the limit now.

"I am living the dream... don't wake me up!"

Slovak Petra Vlhova is absent and American star Mikaela Shiffrin is making her comeback from a crash that left her sidelined for two months with an abdominal puncture wound, leaving Ljutic odds-on favourite for the February 15 slalom.

Alice Robinson (NZL)

Robinson made her Olympic debut at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games as a fresh-faced 16-year-old.

Currently in her eighth year on the circuit, the now 23-year-old is seemingly ready to cash in on her obvious talent.

After five podium places in the giant slalom last season, Robinson has already notched up four more this year and will head to Saalbach on the back of victory in Kronplatz -- her first since March 2021.

"There were for sure some times in those four years when I wasn't sure that I was going to win again but to be back and winning here is just so special," said Robinson.

Her best result at a world championships was fourth in the giant slalom in Cortina in 2021, but she looks in a position to improve on that showing.

Franjo von Allmen (SUI)

Von Allmen lives to the motto of "Rock'n'roll and enjoy!" and offers the Swiss men's speed team a real chance of a medal showing in either the downhill or super-G.

The 23-year-old is a world junior silver medallist in both speed events and the combined, and has slowly made a mark for himself on the World Cup circuit.

He has five podium finishes to his name, including second places in the downhills in Italy at Val Gardena and Bormio in December, but they were topped in Wengen last month when he won the vaunted super-G on home snow.

"There are so many emotions, I just try to be in the moment," said von Allmen after that triumph in Wengen.

C.Hamad--SF-PST