(CNN) She had reservations about meeting her idol Roger Federer, but skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin says the Swiss tennis great was "better than I could have ever dreamed."

American Shiffrin and 20-time grand slam champion Federer share a sponsor -- a pasta company -- and met for the first time last month.

Two-time Olympic champion Shiffrin revealed she is often "disappointed" when public figures fail to live up to expectation in person but says Federer was "the complete opposite." She was so impressed she even suggested a new hashtag "#BeLikeRoger."

"Maybe I got him on a good day, but he was kind, he was engaged with every single person that he spoke to," the 23-year-old skier told CNN's Alpine Edge.

"He was happy and smiley and easy to talk to. He put the effort in to make it easy. It was so cool for me to see that it's possible to be an athlete of his caliber and to be more elegant and more generous and nicer than what you expect.

"To see that he can still maintain this mature and modest attitude, I'm like, 'What is everybody else doing?'"

Mikaela Shiffrin (left) chats to Christina MacFarlane for CNN's Alpine Edge in Soelden, Austria.

Mikaela Shiffrin won her third straight World Cup overall crown last season.

'Hot 100'

Shiffrin will kick off her bid for a third straight World Cup overall crown in Soelden, Austria this weekend, while she is also chasing a fourth straight slalom world title at the World Championships in Are, Sweden in February.

With Lindsey Vonn in the twilight of her career and set to retire at the end of the season, Shiffrin is the modern face of women's ski racing.

Alongside her summer preparation, which included ski training in Chile, Shiffrin earned a spot in Maxim magazine's Hot 100 , traditionally a feature which celebrates physical beauty with the strapline "World's Sexiest Women."

But instead of posing in a bikini or evening gown, Shiffrin chose a white ski jacket with her 2018 Olympic medals around her neck.

It was, she says, a very conscious decision that took "a while."

"I initially thought maybe I shouldn't do this, it's not necessarily the right image," she told CNN's Christina Macfarlane in a wide-ranging interview in Soelden.

"But I have so much respect for the magazine and how they did it because they totally got it. For them to feel comfortable putting that in the Maxim 100 was incredible."

Shiffrin appeared in a section named "Power Players" alongside the likes of Meghan Markle, Ivanka and Melania Trump, Kim Kardashian, Amal Clooney and tennis player Caroline Wozniacki

Mikaela Shiffrin attends the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports 2018 in Santa Monica, California.

Shiffrin takes part in a challenge during the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports 2018 in California in July.

'Hot or sexy'

Under the picture she is quoted as saying: "I think the sexiest people are determined, loyal, humble, honest and compassionate."

"The point for me was to say I'm here and I can be hot or sexy or whatever you want to call me but you don't objectify me because I'm in a bikini -- I'm also pretty awesome based off my success in the sport," she told CNN.

"And for little girls out there who are growing up and they want to be something more than themselves ... like, you're enough."

As Shiffrin moves along the fame curve from childhood prodigy coached by her mom to independent woman and global star (she is still coached part-time by her mother), she is becoming more certain about her own image and beliefs. And her growing fame, fueled by an active presence on social media, is giving her a voice.

"This day and age the image of what sexy is, is sort of changing," she adds. "It's taking a lot of effort, it's taking plus-size models and more athletes who walk the red carpet, and for people to see that there's not just one kind of body type or figure that's sexy or one kind of face.

"But it takes a while and you still think, 'I want to look really beautiful tonight -- I'm going to put on makeup, I'm going to do my hair.' The most important thing is that you just stay true to your own idea of what is beautiful."

Photos: Skiing into a new season All eyes will be on Lindsey Vonn in her final season as she strives to become the most successful ski racer ever. The American veteran, nearly 34, needs five more wins to beat Ingemar Stenmark's record of 86 World Cup race victories. Hide Caption 1 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season US starlet Mikaela Shiffrin will be trying to make history of her own as she targets a third straight World Cup overall crown and a fourth consecutive slalom world title at February's World Championships in Are, Sweden. Hide Caption 2 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season Austria's Marcel Hirscher is arguably the greatest ski racer ever with seven straight World Cup overall titles. The slalom specialist is a mega star in a skiing-obsessed nation. Hide Caption 3 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen is the nearly man behind Hirscher, but at 24 he has time on his side to mount a serious challenge for supremacy. Hide Caption 4 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season Norway veteran Aksel Lund Svindal finally clinched Olympic downhill gold in Pyeongchang in February after a long and illustrious career. The 35-year-old is still one of the men to beat in the speed disciplines. Hide Caption 5 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season Czech sensation Ester Ledecka made history as the first athlete to win gold in two separate disciplines at the same Games in Pyeongchang. She scored a stunning super-G victory and added parallel giant slalom gold in her preferred sport of snowboarding. Definitely one to watch on the alpine circuit. Hide Caption 6 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season The World Cup season begins on the high glaciers of Solden, Austria in late October. Hide Caption 7 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season Focus switches to the US in November and early December. Lake Louise -- often dubbed "Lake Lindsey" because of Vonn's success there -- could offer the US star her first chance of closing the gap on Stenmark. Hide Caption 8 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season The actions crosses the pond for France's traditional European season opener in the world-class resort of Val d'Isere, high up in the Tarentaise valley. Hide Caption 9 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season Glitzy St. Moritz in Switzerland also features early on the women's European circuit. Hide Caption 10 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season The downhill marathon that is Wengen's Lauberhorn course in the shadow of the Eiger begins January's season of Classic races in the Alps. Hide Caption 11 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season It's followed by the iconic Kitzbuehel downhill on the infamous Streif piste on the Hahnenkamm mountain. The steep, bumpy, icy course is almost as scary as the parties that take place in the medieval town during the weekend. Hide Caption 12 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season The 2018 Kitzbuehel downhill went to shock winner Thomas Dressen of Germany. Hide Caption 13 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season The Kitzbuehel race weekend attracts vast crowds and a galaxy of stars. Austrian native Arnold Schwarzenegger is a regular visitor. Hide Caption 14 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season The legendary night slalom in Schladming is another chance for ski racing fans to let their hair down as the competitors challenge for one of the most prestigious prizes in the sport. Hide Caption 15 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season This February, Are in Sweden hosts the biennial ski World Championships. Hide Caption 16 of 17 Photos: Skiing into a new season The season culminates in World Cup finals week in Soldeu, Andorra in March when the winners of each discipline and the overall champions will be awarded the coveted Crystal Globes. Hide Caption 17 of 17

'Always another goal'

Shiffrin was the stand out woman's skier on last season's World Cup circuit, and she clinched Olympic giant slalom gold and combined silver at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang in February.

She was touted as a contender in five different disciplines ahead of the Games, but the defending slalom champion missed out on a medal completely in slalom amidst a chaotic, weather-hit schedule in South Korea.

She says she has "mixed emotions" about the Games, but says her motivation is as strong as it was when she first joined the circuit seven years ago as a 15-year-old prodigy.

"I never feel like I can settle or be complacent, even with the success I've had," she told CNN.

"It's not that it's not enough, it's just that there's always another goal. With slalom I always feel I can be faster, with giant slalom, for sure, I can be more consistent. With speed I'm just starting and figuring it out so it's a new fresh event for me.

"It doesn't really matter how much success I've have - I still feel this motivation. I'm not finished you know.