While the attention ahead of Pyeongchang 2018 will focus increasingly on stars such as Lindsay Vonn, who got her season off to a cautious beginning in yesterday’s giant slalom opener on the Rettenbach Glacier, and Marcel Hirscher, who will make a delayed start to his bid for a seventh consecutive overall title as he recovers from a broken ankle, the sport itself has already set a course which, it believes, will reinvigorate its appeal in future years.

Speaking before the start of the last World Cup season, Markus Waldner, chief race director of the men’s World Cup events for the International Ski Federation (FIS), admitted that some of the Alpine disciplines were "no longer attractive" for television viewers and added that work was underway to attract more younger fans.

He indicated that disciplines such as the parallel giant slalom - where two skiers race each other down the mountain - could become increasingly important in raising the sport’s profile.

"[There have been] many discussions and reflections regarding the number of disciplines and attractiveness of the sport," said Waldner in an interview on the FIS website.

"The problem is that some of our disciplines developed in a way that is no longer very attractive for normal TV viewers, but only for hardcore ski fans who are aware of the technical details.

"So to activate and involve a wider audience, we need to have an easy understandable product.

"The parallel races are a good example, as the head-to-head format is very exciting and easy to understand.

"It may be a good way to attract the younger generation - figures show that most viewers are 45 years old - so they can enjoy Alpine skiing as well.

"In the long term we’ll need to change something in our calendar, and we’re already working on it.

"No revolution, but steady evolution towards a better World Cup."

That evolution is continuing this season with two significant additions.

The first is being made to the Olympics themselves, as - following the decision taken by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Executive Board in Lausanne in June 2015 - the Alpine skiing national team event became one of several from across a range of sports to be earmarked for its debut at Pyeongchang 2018 that is due to take place from February 9 to 25 next year.

The second is the introduction of a parallel slalom event for the women - at the French resort of Courchevel - to set alongside the parallel giant slalom event already been established for the men.

This season’s men’s parallel giant slalom event is scheduled to take place on December 18 at Alta Badia in Italy, which hosted the event in 2015 and 2016.

FIS President and IOC Executive Board member Gian Franco Kasper has spoken enthusiastically of the impact that he hopes will be made by the Alpine team event at Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

Jenny Wiedeke, FIS communications manager, told insidethegames: "We are excited that the team event will be introduced on the Olympic stage this season. It is a fan favourite on the World Cup tour with the exciting head-to-head format and we think the Olympic audience will enjoy this new event. It is a compact event with short runs, quick action and with national teams going head-to-head, it has the flair of both an individual and team sport."

The FIS staged the first Alpine skiing team event at the 2005 World Championships at Bormio in Italy - which, coincidentally, will return to the World Cup programme this season for the first time since 2014.

Austria has won the title three times, France twice, and Germany once. The French are the reigning world champions, with the quartet of Adeline Baud, Alexis Pinturault, Tessa Worley and Mathieu Faivre edging out the Slovakian four of Petra Vhlova, Andreas Zampa, Veronica Velez-Zuzulová and Matej Falat by 0.08 seconds after the teams had claimed two wins apiece in the 2017 final, held in St Moritz. Sweden beat Switzerland to the bronze medal.

"It’s one race after another, which makes it physically and mentally tiring," said Pinturault after his country’s win. "The team really has to work together to get everyone motivated again for each run. The fact that we get to share this win makes me even happier. You get to feel so many different things. We sort of miss that in this sport, because it’s individual. We’re always in our little corner. You savour the moment in your little corner, but you also feel a little silly too."

Atle Skårdal, race director for the women’s World Cup since 2005, told the FIS site last week that anticipation within the Olympic Movement for the debut of the Alpine team event was "high", adding: "A stadium has been built specifically for this event and I think it will be one of the highlights of the Olympics, concluding the two competition weeks in a fantastic way."

Waldner concurred: "The Alpine team event is now well established and has proven to be a thrilling event with the outcome being wide open. Smaller nations are able to grab medals as seen at the recent FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in St Moritz, when Slovakia won silver."

On the subject of the new women’s parallel slalom event, Wiedeke said: "The parallel events on the men's tour have proven to be very successful and popular with the media, fans and athletes. It was a natural evolution of the event to add it to the ladies' calendar and we think Courchevel will be an excellent host."

Skårdal added: "On the ladies’ tour, we will hold the first ever parallel slalom in Courchevel on December 20. The day will start with a qualification run and the 32 best ladies will participate in the final runs in an exciting dual format in the evening."

Skårdal also pointed out on the FIS site that preparations are well underway for the latest city event within the World Cup calendar, due to take place this season in Oslo on January 1 at the famous Holmenkollen Ski Jumping venue on the edge of the Norwegian capital.

"The Holmenkollen Ski Jumping venue will be transformed into an Alpine ski course to host this parallel event, uniting the 16 best ladies and men," Skårdal said. "A very professional team which has vast and valuable experience in organising FIS Nordic World Cup events is managing the Alpine City Event. We have no doubt that they will deliver a great show in front of an amazing crowd."

Wiedeke added: "The City Event should be staged at an urban location that has good winter conditions and the ability to host a major sporting event. When we were looking at possible venues, Holmenkollen checked every box to host a City Event. They have massive experience with World Cups as one of our premier Nordic venues, and it is on the outskirts of a major European city.

"It took a lot of planning to fit the course into the venue, but the Norwegian organisers are creative and passionate and when New Year's Day arrives people will be impressed with the transformation of Holmenkollen into an Alpine venue."

The men’s World Cup will return to Bormio with a downhill and an Alpine combined on the famous Stelvio. "The athletes are looking forward to this and we are happy that this important race course is back on the circuit, thanks to important investments in the snow-making system," Waldner said.

There will also be a potentially important technical change this season, with male athletes in giant slalom competing on skis with a radius reduced from 35 to 30 metres.

According to close observers of the sport, the 35m skis - introduced for the 2012-2013 season - have become increasingly burdensome for racers of all levels, particularly younger athletes.

Waldner explained: "From this year on, in giant slalom, the men will be skiing with a 30m radius. The athletes were able to test these new skis this summer, and the majority of feedback is positive.

"An important aspect of this change is that more speed athletes should be able to race giant slalom competitively, as those skis require less discipline specific training."

All this comes in a season undergoing the peculiar quadrennial stress of a looming Winter Olympics.

The FIS held its final inspection for all its disciplines and venues in September directly following the final IOC Coordination Commission.

"Especially in the case of the Alpine venues, which were built virtually from scratch, the progress since Pyeongchang won the 2018 bid has been remarkable," said Wiedeke.

"We have enjoyed working with their team and seeing the great progress. There are a few small details to be finalised, as with every Games, but they are ready for the world."

Skårdal said Pyeongchang 2018 made "a very good impression" at the final inspection and also during the autumn meetings in Zurich two weeks ago.

"If we are lucky with the weather and the snow conditions, I am confident that we will experience great Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang," he said.

Waldner added that both Test events in Pyeongchang were very successful. "The men raced a downhill and super-G there in the 2015-2016 season and the ladies were in action with downhill and super-G races last winter," he said.

"The speed venue in Jeongseon and the tech slopes in Yongpyong are ready for the big showdown and together with a very dedicated Organising Committee, we are looking forward to truly exciting Games there in February."

Wiedeke commented: "Naturally, every World Cup point is important in every season, but an Olympic season is always intense for all parties involved. It always comes with higher stakes."

The truth of that observation is clear from the way Vonn is approaching this season.

The 33-year-old United States' skier, who plans to compete for two more seasons, has won four overall World Cup titles - only Annemarie Moser-Proll, with six titles, has won more - and heads the women’s list of World Cup winners with 77 victories, bettered only by the leading men’s World Cup winner Ingemar Stenmark, who earned 86 victories.

Despite her 2016-2017 season being interrupted by the latest in a long line of serious injuries - on this occasion, a broken arm - she was still able to win a World Cup downhill race in her second race back.

Vonn - who won downhill Olympic gold and super-G bronze at the Vancouver 2010 but missed Sochi 2014 with injury - has begun her 2017-2018 campaign circumspectly.  Originally, she declared against competing in Soelden, but then made a late decision to enter.

"I saw that all the girls were getting injured and there was a big opportunity for me there to get some points and get a good starting position leading into the Olympics," she told Eurosport before a relatively sedate first run left her outside the top 30 who went on to contest World Cup points. "That’s really my focus this season."

Vonn will have her work cut out this season to dim the rising star of her younger US compatriot Mikaela Shiffrin, who won the overall and slalom titles last season and finished fifth in Soelden behind winner Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany and France’s defending World Cup giant slalom champion Tessa Worley.

The 2016 overall champion, Switzerland’s Lara Gut, is missing the start of the season following knee surgery, and another knee injury suffered by Croatia’s downhill and Alpine Combined champion Ilka Štuhec looks likely to prevent her competing until late in the season at the earliest.

Skårdal wouldn’t be drawn on who he thought would win the women’s title: "This is a very difficult question," he told the FIS site. "Some of our top stars, who suffered severe injuries and were side-lined for longer periods of time, will be back this season. I think it will be an intense and exciting fight between five or six athletes on the ladies’ side."

Hirscher, once he returns, will be seeking a record seventh consecutive overall title.  With a total of 45 World Cup wins, he will also be seeking to move ahead of Marc Girardelli with 46, Alberto Tomba with 50, and Hermann Maier with 54 and to approach Stenmark’s 86.

In the meantime, France’s Pinturault, last season’s World Cup Alpine Combined champion, will be seeking to gain as many points as he can in his own quest for the title, as will last season’s overall runner-up Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, the defending World Cup Super-G champion.