Sara Hector is back on the podium

Following four fourth places, Sara Hector is back on the podium for the first time this season with a third place in the Giant Slalom in Lienz on Thursday. Lena Dürr finishes second in the Slalom in Lienz on Friday to secure her third podium finish. In the men's Downhill and Super-G events in Bormio, the HEAD Worldcup Rebels just missed out on the top three.

"Sara Hector has only ever missed the tiniest move in the last few races. That's why it's simply brilliant that she manages to reach the podium now", says HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "For Lena Dürr, having dropped out of the last race, it was all the more rewarding to finish the year with a second place. Anna Swenn-Larsson's fourth place was also superb. Despite her back problems, she is now able to ski at a level where she belongs. As far as the men's events are concerned, it is difficult to be satisfied with a weekend without a podium. In the Super-G we had four in top nine, and in the Downhill event it was a similar picture. I am very pleased that the younger skiers have taken another step forwards. This is a sure sign of how important it is to support young athletes."

"I've been fighting for this for a long time"

Finishing fourth in the Giant Slalom in Sölden, Killington and Tremblant, and then a fourth place in the Slalom in Levi, Sara Hector has been on top form all along. In Lienz she finished third in the Giant Slalom to make the final leap onto the podium for the first time this season. On the first run the Swedish athlete was in second place. "I've been fighting for this for a long time. I am so happy that I'm back on the podium again. It feels extremely cool. It was a bit dark on the second run, but the snow conditions were really good. I knew that I had to ski flat-out. Lienz is a very challenging run", said a delighted Sara Hector at the finish.

Strong team effort by the HEAD Worldcup Rebels

The HEAD Worldcup Rebels also put in a strong team performance at the Giant Slalom event in Lienz: With Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland in sixth place, A J Hurt from the USA eleventh, Ragnhild Mowinckel from Norway 13th and Camille Rast from Switzerland 14th, four more HEAD athletes finished in the top 15. World Cup points also went to Franziska Gritsch from Austria - who clocked the fifth fastest time on the second run - in 19th place, and Elisa Platino from Italy in 25th place.

"The second run was great fun"

Lena Dürr notched up her third podium finish of the season in the Slalom on Friday. On the first run, the German athlete was in fifth place, but with the fifth fastest time on the second run, the 32-year-old moved up to second place. "I wasn't happy with the first run because I hadn't found the flow yet, but second run was great fun. I was pleased that I managed to ski the last slope into the finish so well," is how Lena Dürr analysed her result.

Best result so far this season for Anna Swenn-Larsson

Anna Swenn-Larsson finished in fourth place to deliver her best performance of the season so far. The Swedish athlete started the second run in third place. Sara Hector finished twelfth, Franziska Gritsch 13th, and Cornelia Öhlund from Sweden finished in 19th place. A special shout goes out to Dzenifera Germane, who finished in 22nd place. The Latvian athlete started with bib number 53 and was delighted to score her first World Cup points. Camille Rast also bagged points in 27th place.

Justin Murisier just misses the podium

In the Downhill competition in Bormio on Thursday, Justin Murisier finished fourth, just missing out on his first podium in the Downhill. The Swiss athlete's best result in this discipline to date was seventh place in the Downhill in Bormio last year. Behind the 31-year-old, Vincent Kriechmayr from Austria finished fifth on the Stelvio run. James Crawford from Canada crossed the finish line in eighth place. Nils Alphand finished ninth and was pleased to reach the top ten for the first time. The French athlete started the race with bib number 46. World Cup points were also snatched up by Adrien Theaux from France in 16th place, Simon Jocher from Germany who was 21st, the two French athletes Alexis Pinturault and Matthieu Bailet in 22nd place, and Guglielmo Bosca from Italy who finished 30th.

Four HEAD Worldcup Rebels in the top ten

In Friday's Super-G in Bormio, four HEAD Worldcup Rebels finished in the top ten. Vincent Kriechmayr just missed a podium finish in fourth place. Top results were also clocked by Justin Murisier in fifth place, Stefan Babinsky from Austria who finished sixth, and Alexis Pinturault in ninth place. Also finishing in the top 30 were James Crawford who was 16th, Ryan Cochran-Siegle from the USA 19th, Simon Jocher and Gilles Roulin from Switzerland 21st, Lukas Feurstein from Austria 25th, and Matthieu Bailet in 30th place.