Press release -
Alexis Pinturault wins the Parallel Slalom in Lech/Zürs
After 26 years, the Alpine Ski World Cup returns to Vorarlberg, the home of HEAD. And the HEAD World Cup Rebels celebrate the return in style - victory for Alexis Pinturault and two third places for Alexander Schmid and Lara Gut-Behrami in the Parallel races in Lech/Zürs.
"For us this is simply awesome! A home win is always great, but with all the history around these races, it's especially great to leave Lech/Zürs with a win," said HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber, who is delighted with the result. "It was high time we had races in Vorarlberg again. The story should live on, there's nothing better. The new Parallel format is now fair from a competitive point of view. This discipline can continue to take place."
Alexis Pinturault won the final against the Norwegian athlete Henrik Kristoffersen. In the semi-final, the French athlete won successfully against his HEAD team-mate Alexander Schmid. The German athlete went on to beat Adrian Pertl from Austria for third place. HEAD World Cup Rebels Mathieu Faivre from France (10th), Timon Haugan from Norway (13th) and his compatriot Atle McGrath (16th) also qualified for the evening's finals.
Alexis Pinturault now leads the World Cup overall
Alexis Pinturault bagged his 30th World Cup victory in Lech/Zürs to take the overall lead in the World Cup. "I had a good race and I skied well. The format of this discipline is now better than it was before, only performance counts now," emphasises Alexis Pinturault. Alexander Schmid finished the race in third place. Back in February 2020, the German athlete already raced to third place on the podium in the Parallel Giant Slalom in Chamonix. "Ever since I started racing, I've enjoyed narrow gates. It's great fun to race right next to each other," explained the HEAD World Cup Rebel.
Fastest time for Lara Gut-Behrami in the qualifiers
Lara Gut-Behrami is now back on track to success in Lech/Zürs in a technical discipline. The Swiss athlete raced to third place. It was the first Giant Slalom podium finish for Lara Gut-Behrami since finishing third in Maribor in January 2017. Following the two qualifying runs in the morning, Lara Gut-Behrami clocked the fastest overall time. In the last sixteen, the Swiss athlete won against her HEAD team-mate Corali Frasse Sombet from France. In the quarter-final the Austrian athlete Elisa Mörzinger didn't get a look-in against her. In the semi-final, however, she had to give way to Paula Moltzan from the USA.
"I am satisfied. You never know how long it takes to recover from an injury. In the Giant Slalom it took some time. Now I've got my confidence back, I can ski at top speed again. It's fun to be racing again," said Lara Gut-Behrami at the finish.
Sara Hector, who conjured up the second-fastest overall time in Lech/Zürs in the morning, also put in a strong performance. In the end, the Swedish athlete came in fourth after conceding third place to Lara Gut-Behrami. Corali Frasse Sombet was twelfth and Franziska Gritsch from Austria 14th.
Topics
About HEAD
HEAD is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of premium sports equipment and apparel.
Our business is organized into five divisions: Winter Sports, Racquet Sports, Diving, Sportswear and Licensing. We sell products under the HEAD (alpine skis, ski bindings, ski boots, snowboard and protection products, tennis, racquetball, paddle, squash and pickleball racquets, tennis balls and tennis footwear, sportswear and swimming products), Penn (tennis balls and racquetball balls), Tyrolia (ski bindings) and Mares, SSI and rEvo (diving) brands. The Company´s key products have attained leading market positions based on sales and reputation and have gained high visibility through their use by many of today´s top athletes.
