​Alexis Pinturault leads triple HEAD victory in Alta Badia, Corinne Suter again fastest in the Downhill

A sensational result for the HEAD World Cup Rebels in the Giant Slalom in Alta Badia on Sunday: Alexis Pinturault won ahead of Atle Lie McGrath, who just turned 20, and Justin Murisier. On Friday the women speed discipline athletes also started the new season with the Downhill in Val d'Isere. Corinne Suter, who won the Crystal Globe in Downhill and Super-G in 2020, continued her success from last season and raced to victory. The Swiss athlete finished second in the second Downhill on Saturday in Val d'Isere and was second again in the Super-G on Sunday.

Alexis Pinturault got to celebrate his 15th World Cup victory in the Giant Slalom. "That's sensational, it's the most important discipline for me, and I hope there are more wins to come. The second run was not as easy to ski because it was in the shadow. I really had to attack," said the French athlete, who was already in the lead after the first run. Atle Lie McGrath finishing in second place was an outstanding result too. The 20-year-old from Norway celebrated his first World Cup podium finish with bib number 29, missing the number 1 slot by just seven hundredths of a second. Total HEAD domination was completed by Justin Murisier in third place. It was also the first podium finish in the World Cup for the Swiss athlete, who started with bib number 25. Excellent results were notched up too by Tommy Ford from the USA in fifth place and Alexander Schmid from Germany in seventh place.

"He knows what he's doing, and he's a great guy"

"A triple HEAD victory and five in the top seven - that's an awesome result. The conditions were great, our team worked well together, and the athletes are on top form," says HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber, delighted with the performance. "The way Atle Lie McGrath skied was brilliant. The condition of the run was still excellent even starting with bib number 29. My thanks go to the organisers, who prepared the slope very well indeed. Ultimately, Atle has now arrived at the top to ski with the best in the world. It was cool the way he put on the pressure and skied so well. I'm not worried about him losing focus. He knows what he's doing, and he's a great guy. For Alexis Pinturault, victory was very important. He's been trying out new equipment recently and has done a super job."

Second World Cup Downhill victory for Corinne Suter

It was the third World Cup win for the Swiss athlete, the second in the Downhill following her success in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee in January 2020. "When I crossed the finish line, I didn't expect it. I skied the top and the middle section really well, but at the bottom I made a mistake," explained Corinne Suter. "It was difficult to ski fast because the light was flat and inconsistent - I was certainly lucky there. The run is in excellent condition. At the bottom end, however, it wasn't easy to pick out the contours in the shade.

"What Corinne Suter did this weekend was awesome. She has totally picked up from where she left off last season. Her two second-place finishes were also really close. These results are truly sensational - highly impressive," exclaimed Rainer Salzgeber.

Austrian athlete Nina Ortlieb also started the speed discipline season well in fifth place. The top 15 included HEAD World Cup Rebels Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland in eighth place, Ragnhild Mowinckel from Norway in ninth place, Elena Curtoni from Italy in tenth place, Laura Pirovano from Italy who finished 14th, and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie from Norway 15th.

Kajsa Vickhoff Lie almost bags podium finish

On Saturday Corinne Suter confirmed her top form with second place in the second Downhill in Val d'Isere. Kajsa Vickhoff Lie raced to a sensational fourth place having started with bib number 30. The 22-year-old missed her first World Cup podium finish by just six hundredths of a second. Lara Gut-Behrami finished in eleventh place, Nina Ortlieb was 14th, and Elena Curtoni was 15th.

Suter misses winning the Super-G by just three hundredths of a second

The Super-G on Sunday in Val d'Isere saw Corinne Suter again take second place. The 26-year-old missed winning the race by just three hundredths of a second. Lara Gut-Behrami confirmed her top form in fifth place. Elena Curtoni finished eighth, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie tenth and Ragnhild Mowinckel 13th.

Unfortunate news regarding Anna Swenn-Larsson; the Swedish athlete fractured an ankle during training.

Podium finishes for Kjetil Jansrud and Beat Feuz in Val Gardena

In the men's Super-G in Val Gardena on Friday, Kjetil Jansrud finished in third place. For the Norwegian athlete it was his eleventh podium finish in Val Gardena. Matthias Mayer from Austria finished right behind him. Johan Clarey from France was seventh, Beat Feuz from Switzerland tenth, Adrien Theaux from France 14th and Vincent Kriechmayr from Austria 15th.

The HEAD World Cup Rebels also snatched a podium finish on Saturday in the Downhill classic in Val Gardena: Beat Feuz, who has won the World Cup in the Downhill over the past three seasons, finished in third place. It was the 36th podium finish in the Downhill for the Swiss athlete. Fourth place went to Kjetil Jansrud, sixth place to Jared Goldberg from the USA, tenth to Matthias Mayer and 13th to Vincent Kriechmayr.