Lara Gut-Behrami wins opening event in Sölden
A perfect start to the season for the HEAD Worldcup Rebels! Lara Gut-Behrami takes victory in the Giant Slalom in Sölden on Saturday. This first race of the season sees the Swiss athlete win her 38th World Cup victory, her sixth in the Giant Slalom, and it's the third time that she wins in Sölden, following 2013 and 2016. On Sunday, the men's Giant Slalom had to be cancelled during the first run due to strong winds. French athlete Alexis Pinturault was in third place when the race was interrupted.
"That was a perfect result for us in Sölden. When you win the first race, that's ideal. Also fourth place for Sara Hector and Franziska Gritsch finishing as the best Austrian athlete indicate that we are on the right track," says HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "We were also very pleased with Alexis Pinturault's third place on the first run, and he was happy with his effort too. The good performances put in by Vincent Kriechmayr and James Crawford also look very promising. The excitement of Lara Gut-Behrami's victory was of course overshadowed by Ragnhild Mowinckel being disqualified. We used a fluorine-free wax, which was also confirmed by the FIS. We suspect that the way the deck of the skis had been prepared caused the wrong result. We will analyse everything again over the next few days and inform the FIS about our findings.
Lara Gut-Behrami is the most successful athlete in Sölden
On the first run, Lara Gut-Behrami finished in fourth place. The fastest time on the second run took the 32-year-old to victory for the third time in Sölden. As a result, Lara Gut-Behrami is the most successful woman athlete on this Tirolean World Cup run. "I like the slope in Sölden. It's extremely steep and enjoyable to ski here, better than having to ski on the edge all the time," the Swiss athlete said happily at the finish.
Sara Hector is second-fastest on the first run
Sara Hector started the new season in fourth place. The Swedish athlete was in second place on the first run. The best Austrian result was from Franziska Gritsch in tenth place. The HEAD Worldcup Rebel put in a strong performance with sixth place on the first run. Her compatriot Elisabeth Kappaurer finished 26th on the first run, but moved up to 18th place overall with the seventh fastest time on run two. Points were also bagged by Wendy Holdener from Switzerland in 22nd place, Estelle Alphand from Sweden who finished 26th, and Camille Rast from Switzerland in 29th place.
