(CNN)It’s ski racing’s biggest event outside the Olympics and comes with the cachet of a world title to wear with pride for the next two years. Alpine skiing’s FIS World Championships take place in Are, Sweden over the next two weeks with legends to be forged, names to be made and scores to be settled. The event will also mark the end of an era — American great Lindsey Vonn will retire from ski racing after Saturday’s downhill because of the ravages the sport and its spills have taken on her body over the years. And fellow speedster Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway’s Olympic downhill champion, is also bowing out following an illustrious but injury-plagued career. But very much at the top of their games are slalom specialists Mikaela Shiffrin and Marcel Hirscher, both bidding to add more gloss to glittering careers and defend the world titles they won in St. Moritz, Switzerland two years ago. Here’s the top-five talking points for skiing’s World Championships. Read More So long, Lindsey The 34-year-old Vonn has enjoyed a stunning career and amassed a remarkable 82 World Cup victories to sit second on the all-time list behind Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark. Can’t thank everyone enough…