First podium this season for Kajsa Vickhoff Lie

Kajsa Vickhoff Lie finishes second in the Super-G in Val d'Isere on Sunday, having started with bib number 16. It is the Norwegian athlete's first podium finish this season. This second place sees her equal her previous best result in the Super-G. The HEAD Worldcup Rebels also notch up big points in both the Giant Slalom events in Alta Badia on Sunday and Monday.

"Following Kajsa Vickhoff Lie's unspectacular start to the season, achieving this result in the difficult conditions in Val d'Isere is simply great for her," emphasizes HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "That was really fun and gives us hope for more of the same. Lara Gut-Behrami missing a gate was hard to watch, but overall it was a good team effort. The men's performance in the Giant Slalom events in Alta Badia were also satisfactory. It was a shame that Joan Verdu dropped out on the Monday. Judging by the way he had been skiing up to that point and the way everything worked out, he would have had a good chance of achieving another top result. Atle Lie McGrath and Alexander Schmid have once again shown that they are back in the thick of the action. And a special mention goes to our Downhill specialist James Crawford, who, without training, bagged points in both races.“

Kajsa Vickhoff Lie celebrates podium number four

Having finished 18th in the first Super-G of the season in St. Moritz, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie raced onto the podium in second place in this weekend’s Super-G. The Norwegian athlete has finished in the top three in the Super-G only once previously, with second place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2021. Overall, it was the 25-year-old's fourth World Cup podium finish. In the Downhill, she took one victory and one second place in 2023. "I know that I can ski fast. It was cool that I really put my foot down and relied more on my instincts. All went well and it was a good today," said a delighted Kajsa Vickhoff Lie at the finish.

Cornelia Hütter just misses the podium

Following her third place in the Downhill event the day before, Cornelia Hütter just missed out on her next podium finish in fourth place. Her run was also marked by a moment of shock when the Austrian athlete hit a gate and broke her helmet. "I really felt the impact and it threw me for a moment. It was a tough run, and it was cool, but I could have spared myself that incident. But I'm fine, I skied the rest of the course well." Four more HEAD Worldcup Rebels finished in the top 12: Laura Pirovano from Italy was seventh, Emma Aicher from Germany was tenth, Corinne Suter from Switzerland eleventh and Ragnhild Mowinckel from Norway finished twelfth. World Cup points also went to Ariane Rädler from Austria (16th), her compatriot Michaela Heider (20th), Teresa Runggaldier from Italy (24th) and Christine Scheyer from Austria (29th). For Teresa Runggaldier, it was the first World Cup points of her career.

Another top position for Joan Verdu

Joan Verdu confirmed his great form in the first Giant Slalom on the Gran Risa run in Alta Badia on Sunday. Following his third place in the Giant Slalom in Val d'Isere the previous weekend, the Andorran athlete raced to his second result in the top ten in fifth place. On the first run the 28-year-old was in sixth place. Alexis Pinturault from France finished sixth behind Verdu. Tommy Ford from the USA finished ninth, Alexander Schmid from Germany was 17th, Mathieu Faivre from France 22nd, and James Crawford from Canada 25th.

Atle Lie McGrath is back in the top ten

Atle Lie McGrath is also skiing better and better following his comeback. The Norwegian athlete achieved his first top ten finish of the season with sixth place on Monday in the second Giant Slalom in Alta Badia. On the first run, the 23-year-old was in eighth place. Alexis Pinturault finished the second Giant Slalom in fifth place, Alexander Schmid in twelfth place. Patrick Feurstein from Austria finished in 18th place, James Crawford was 22nd, Justin Murisier from Switzerland 25th and Mattias Rönngren from Sweden finished in 26th place having started with bib number 57. Joan Verdu dropped out on the first run.