For Mikaela Shiffrin, Courchevel is for comebacks.

The French slope was the site of her first victory after her dad’s death.

“It helped me realize that even though my life might never be the same, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it,” Shiffrin said while reflecting on her emotional GS win on Dec. 14, 2020 during a 30-minute video press conference on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Edwards skier will return to the venue for a night slalom, her first World Cup race since sustaining injuries in a giant slalom crash on Nov. 30 in Killington, Vermont.

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“There is a lot of meaning built into this race for me,” she continued. “It’s pretty beautiful that I’m able to make this return here.”

Shiffrin was on her way to World Cup win No. 100 when she slipped onto her inside hip and crashed into a gate in the Killington World Cup. She suffered a seven-centimeter-deep puncture in her oblique muscle. The wound required surgery in mid-December after the Edwards skier reported chills, fever and other strange symptoms. She appeared at the Birds of Prey World Cup to present an award to Bode Miller one day after surgery and a month later, posted a video to Instagram showing her first on-snow turns — at Beaver Creek — since the injury. She announced her return last week on “Today.”

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In addition to thanking her mom, strength coaches, U.S. Ski Team teammates and physical therapists, Shiffrin expressed gratitude towards Vail Health doctors who guided her through the recovery process.

“They’ve all been so helpful and so supportive and so essential,” she said. “As you can see, it takes a village.”

Shiffrin also experienced an untimely injury last season when she crashed out of a downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo in late January. In that case, she knew pushing toward an in-season comeback was possible largely because the off-season was near.

“And I kind of barely made it,” she said. “This season, we’ve got to manage time and energy and that’s a huge piece. It’s going not only into this upcoming race on Thursday, but through world championships, through the final races of the season — there’s a lot to consider and we’ve got a solid two months left.”

Thursday’s slalom is Shiffrin’s final tune-up before the World Championships begin on Feb. 4 in Saalbach. Her spokesperson, Megan Harrod, said last week Shiffrin will focus on the two tech events at worlds but is open to super-G for the remainder of the season. Olympics.com reported Wednesday that Lindsey Vonn “would love” to team up with Shiffrin for the new combined event in Saalbach.

“I would love to race with Mikaela, that would be amazing, and I think it would probably be one of the coolest things ever to have both of us competing together on the same team,” the 40-year-old told the German wire service dpa.

The combined event features two-person teams — one skier competing in a downhill and another contesting a slalom — with the fastest aggregate times determining the winner. Each nation can enter multiple teams for the event, which is scheduled for Feb. 11. An American duo made up of the two winningest skiers in World Cup history is tantalizing, at least for Vonn.

“It’s 181 World Cup wins between the two of us. I’ve told my coaches that I want to,” she stated.

On Wednesday, Shiffrin didn’t directly address Vonn or her comments, but said her main focus is Thursday’s race.

“Beyond that, I need some GS training, and the time between Courchevel and the GS and the slalom race at world championships is really impactful for my races for the rest of the season,” she said. “The team combined might not necessarily be a part of that plan, but it’s not out of the question either. It entirely depends on how my return race goes, how training goes leading up to world championships and the coming weeks and how much work I’m able to get done in GS.”

The stab wound’s silver lining

Shiffrin said this injury and recovery process forced her to focus on core areas vital to skiing mechanics but often neglected during the typical World Cup in-season grind.

“Normally, we just literally run out of time to work on those fundamental movements and exercises and activations,” she said before adding that her “raw strength” is better now than it’s been in awhile. “How that translates back into skiing is yet to be seen.”

Similar to last season, when Shiffrin claimed a slalom win in Are on March 10 — after almost two months away — the 29-year-old said her mentality to coming back has been about never taking a race opportunity for granted.

“My thought process so far has been the same: if we’ve got a chance, we’ve got to try because this is where I want to be,” she said.

“That’s part of what I hope to show the world. … There’s a lot that I’m unsure about, but I feel confident enough with my skiing in slalom and I want to be here, despite the uncertainties and the doubts.”

The first run of Thursday’s slalom begins at 9 a.m. MST, with the second to follow at noon.