HEAD double victory in the Downhill in Wengen

The HEAD Worldcup Rebels celebrated a double victory in the Lauberhorn Downhill event in Wengen on Saturday: Vincent Kriechmayr from Austria won by 34 hundredths of a second ahead of Beat Feuz from Switzerland. Also on Saturday, Lara Gut-Behrami celebrated her 34th World Cup victory in the Downhill in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee. Ariane Rädler raced to her first World Cup podium, finishing third in the Super-G in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee on Sunday. There were more podium finishes for the HEAD team on Sunday in the Super-G with Corinne Suter in second place, on Friday in the Downhill with Beat Feuz in third place and on Thursday in the Super-G with Matthias Mayer also finishing third.

 "We had to move up some of our athletes in the end, and then there was also the special situation with Vincent Kriechmayr. Winning first and second place in a classic like Wengen is a real highlight," emphasises HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "Lara Gut-Behrami is now fully fit again, and the Cortina event is coming up next. That's a race that really suits her style. Following her performance in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee she's looking very confident going into next weekend. Ariane Rädler is a brilliant ski athlete, and we will see a lot more from her."

 

"I really put my heart into it today"  

For Vincent Kriechmayr it was his tenth World Cup victory, the second in Wengen following up from 2019. "I really put my heart into it today, gave it everything I had. Everyone has to find their own line through the Brüggli-S section of the run. For me that worked out great. The course has quite a different character when you ski it from the very top," said the Austrian, who was not able to compete in a training run due to Covid, but was given clearance to start at the last minute by the FIS. Just behind Kriechmayr, Beat Feuz crossed the finish line in second place in his 200th World Cup race, bagging a HEAD double victory on the World Cup's longest Downhill run. In the first Downhill race on a shortened course on Friday, Beat Feuz also raced to the podium in third place. The race weekend in Wengen started on Thursday with a Super-G in which Matthias Mayer celebrated a podium finish in third place.

         

Second victory this season for Lara Gut-Behrami

 The women competed in Downhill and Super-G events in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee this weekend. In the Downhill on Saturday, Lara Gut-Behrami raced to her second victory of the season, her first in the Downhill. "The last two months have been anything but good. I'm glad I was able to get back into the rhythm now. I was able to ski at a high level for three days. I hope it stays like this now," the Swiss athlete explained at the finish. Ariane Rädler snatched the first World Cup podium in her career when she finished in third place in the Super-G on Sunday. Fifth place in the Super-G in St. Moritz in December 2021 was the 26-year-old Austrian athlete's best result previously. Corinne Suter is also going from strength to strength. The Swiss athlete finished second to bag her first Super-G podium this season.