Lara Gut-Behrami takes the overall lead in the World Cup

There's no holding back Lara Gut-Behrami! Following her victory in the Giant Slalom on Saturday, the Swiss athlete leaves Soldeu in Andorra as the World Cup overall leader. It is the 43rd World Cup victory for the 32-year-old, and her ninth in this discipline. AJ Hurt finishes third to win her second podium in the World Cup. Anna Swenn-Larsson celebrates her second World Cup victory in the Slalom in Soldau on Sunday.

"Lara Gut-Behrami is skiing perfectly at the moment. It's awesome that everything is going so well in the Giant Slalom,“ says HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. AJ Hurt's third place is also extremely pleasing. It's great to see how the younger athletes are making their mark. She is demonstrating beautifully skillful skiing. Anna Swenn-Larsson had a difficult start to the season due to health problems, which makes this victory all the sweeter. Her skiing was truly in a class of its own. She has regained her self-confidence and has the equipment fully under her control. She really deserved to win the race. In the men's Slalom it was a great shame that Joan Verdú didn't finish after clocking the fastest split times on the first run.

Now even further in front in the Giant Slalom

Lara Gut-Behrami is not only leading the overall World Cup after this weekend, she has also extended her lead in the Giant Slalom following her victory in this discipline. The Swiss athlete is now 135 points in front of Federica Brignone. The victory in Soldeu was the 32-year-old's fourth Giant Slalom victory this season following wins in Sölden, Killington and Kronplatz. In Soldeu, Lara Gut-Behrami put in a great performance to chase the leaders. Having finished in ninth place on the first run, she skied to victory with the second-fastest time on run two. "It was a cool second run and I really put my foot down to try and accelerate as hard as I could. I made a big mistake on the lower section of the run and didn't think it would be enough. But I'm happy with that one; it's a taker," explained Lara Gut-Behrami at the finish.

First podium in the Giant Slalom for AJ Hurt

Finishing in third place in the Giant Slalom, AJ Hurt also had reason to celebrate. The USA athlete was in sixth place on the first run. Clocking the fourth-fastest time on the second run, she bagged her second World Cup podium following third place in the Slalom in Kranjska Gora in January 2024. "This is such a cool mountain. I've never competed here before and it was really fun. I thought to myself, either I'm going to fly off the course, or I'm going to finish with a fast time," said AJ Hurt. Three more HEAD Worldcup Rebels finished in the top 15 with Sara Hector from Sweden in ninth place, Ragnhild Mowinckel from Norway twelfth, and Camille Rast from Switzerland finishing in 15th place. 

Anna Swenn-Larsson victorious in the World Cup for a second time

Anna Swenn-Larsson, who led the field on the first run, started the second run of the Slalom in Soldeu with a lead of 14 hundredths of a second. With the seventh-best time on the second run, the Swedish athlete celebrated her second World Cup victory 35 hundredths of a second ahead of Zrinka Ljutic. The 32-year-old's debut on top of the podium in the Slalom was in Killington in November 2022. The best result so far this season was third place in the Slalom in Jasna. "I felt rock-solid on these skis. After a back injury and a terrible first half of the season, I've now almost returned to 100 percent," explained Anna Swenn-Larsson. Another top result was achieved by Camille Rast in fifth place. Sixth place went to Lena Dürr from Germany, eleventh place to Sara Hector, twelfth place to Marta Rossetti from Italy, and 14th place to Cornelia Öhlund from Sweden.

Alexander Schmid is the best HEAD athlete in Bansko

On Saturday, in the men's Giant Slalom in Bansko, Bulgaria, Alexander Schmid from Germany finished in 16th place as the best HEAD Worldcup Rebel. On Sunday, the Slalom had to be cancelled due to heavy rain.