23rd podium finish for Wendy Holdener in Slalom

Following Alexis Pinturault's victory in the Giant Slalom to open the season in Sölden, the HEAD World Cup Rebels also had a successful start to the Slalom World Cup: Wendy Holdener finished second in Levi, making it her 23rd podium finish in the Slalom. Five of the HEAD team were in the top 14.

Andre Myhrer finished fifth in the men's event.

The first Slalom races of the World Cup season were held in Levi in real winter conditions with heavy snowfall at times. Wendy Holdener, who injured her left elbow during fitness training just three weeks ago, finished in second place in her strongest discipline on Saturday. The Swiss athlete thus equalled her best result so far in Levi from 2016. For the 26-year-old it was her 23rd podium finish in Slalom.

"In the second run I tried to find smoothness, and I found it. I'm really happy that I was able to turn the race around," said Holdener, who was in sixth place after the first run. "I can't extend my arm properly, but luckily that's not necessary in the Slalom. I was very lucky that I was able to attack like this despite my slight injury."

With Wendy Holdener in second place, Anna Swenn Larsson from Sweden fourth, Lena Dürr from Germany tenth, Sara Hector from Sweden 13th and Franziska Gritsch from Austria 14th, five HEAD Rebels were among the top 14. "That was a super result for us. Wendy Holdener put in a cool performance in the second run. In every section of the course she was very, very fast. This means she has started the season better than last year," says HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "The same applies to Anna Swenn Larsson. Her speed was very good. She had both runs well under control. For her it is just a matter of time before she gets further ahead. Lena Dürr's top ten result and Franziska Gritsch's 14th place were also excellent. She started the race with bib number 52."

In the men's Slalom event on Sunday, Andre Myhrer had a very good start to the season. The Swede finished fifth overall with two solid runs. The 36-year-old Slalom specialist, who won here in Levi in 2012, was just 34 hundredths of a second behind the winner Henrik Kristoffersen. Starting with bib number 41, Johannes Strolz from Austria qualified in 20th place, but was out in the second run.

The World Cup entourage now heads to North America, where the women will be in Killington, USA on 30 November for the Giant Slalom, followed by the Slalom on December 1st. The men will compete in Lake Louise in Canada in the Downhill event on 30 November, switching to Super-G on December 1st. "It will be interesting to see whether everybody gets away on time from Finland because the ground crew at the airport are on strike at the moment. That's another challenge we face," says Rainer Salzgeber.