Camille Rast podiums twice in Semmering

Second in the Slalom on Sunday, second in the Giant Slalom on Saturday; Camille Rast puts in a stunning performance in Semmering, Austria. On Saturday, Sara Hector highlights the sheer ability of the HEAD Worldcup Rebels by racing to third place in the last race of the year. Also on Saturday, Franjo von Allmen claims his first Super-G podium of the season as Livigno hosts a World Cup race for the first time.

"Camille Rast almost reached the top of the podium twice this weekend. Still, I reckon she will be satisfied with ending the year so well. She is getting close to the level that she wants to be at. These were really close deciders, but somehow the hundredths of a second are on her side," said HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "Livigno hosted a superb event. The course was prepared so that everyone had a good race. The high bib numbers also had a good opportunity. Franjo von Allmen was very keen to get a clean finish after dropping out in Beaver Creek and Val d’Isere. He skied a steady run, which makes this podium all the more satisfying. Vincent Kriechmayr was well in front on the first section of the run, so it was extremely frustrating that he dropped out. You can see that the speed is there though."

Camille Rast just misses victory by nine hundredths of a second

In the Slalom on Sunday, Camille Rast was in first place after the first run. Clocking the second fastest time on the second run, the 26-year-old Swiss athlete just missed her third World Cup victory by nine hundredths of a second. Four more HEAD Worldcup Rebels landed in the top ten with Wendy Holdener from Switzerland in sixth place, Cornelia Öhlund from Sweden seventh, Eliane Christen from Switzerland ninth, and Dzenifera Germane from Latvia in tenth place. For Eliane Christen, this is her first result in the top ten. In a Slalom that saw many athletes drop out, points were notched up by Lena Dürr from Germany in 17th place, Carla Mijares Ruf from Andorra bagging her first World Cup points in 18th place, Estelle Alphand from Sweden 19th, and Aline Höpli from Switzerland 20th.

"It was a wild ride on both runs"

Camille Rast, who was still fifth after the first run, nailed her first podium in the Giant Slalom this season by clocking the second-fastest time on the second run on Saturday. This is the best result in this discipline in her career so far. This race was so close too, because she missed her first Giant Slalom victory by just 14 hundredths of a second. "I skied at top speed. My coach told me at the start that the green light has to go on at the finish, and that I need a half a second lead to get onto the podium. It was a wild ride on both runs," said Camille Rast at the finish.

Second Giant Slalom podium in Semmering for Sara Hector

Sara Hector, who was in the lead after the first run, finished the second run in third place; her second Giant Slalom podium in Semmering following second place last season. "I tried to focus fully on me and my skiing. It wasn't easy and the line I took left too much space. I was skiing with the brakes on a little, which you shouldn't do. But standing on the podium is cool," said Sara Hector, "I am really pleased." Lena Dürr also reached the top ten in tenth place. World Cup points also went to Wendy Holdener in 15th place, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie from Norway 16th, Emma Aicher from Germany 19th, A J Hurt from the USA 21st, and Vanessa Kasper from Switzerland in 22nd place.

First Super-G podium of the season for Franjo von Allmen

Livigno hosted a Super-G on Saturday, the first time that this venue has held a World Cup race. Franjo von Allmen celebrated this debut in third place - his first podium in the Super-G this season, following a victory and a second place in the Downhill events in Val Gardena. "I was skiing a bit cautiously, but I am very satisfied with this result," said Franjo von Allmen, who dropped out of both of the previous Super-G races, and finished just 25 hundredths of a second behind the winner, Marco Schwarz.

Best World Cup result for Simon Jocher

Simon Jocher is delighted with his best World Cup result so far. The 29-year-old German athlete started with bib number 32 to finish fifth, just six hundredths of a second away from the podium. Guglielmo Bosca from Italy finished eighth, Stefan Babinsky from Austria eleventh, Ryan Cochran-Siegle from the USA 13th, and Lukas Feurstein from Austria finished in 17th place.