Press release -
Eight more new HEAD World Cup Rebels
Following Vincent Kriechmayr's lead, another eight athletes join the HEAD World Cup Rebels: Justin Murisier, Timon Haugan, Fabian Wilkens Solheim, Estelle Alphand, Laura Gauché, Marie-Michèle Gagnon, Samu Torsti and Michaela Heider. At the same time Anna Veith (AUT), Tina Weirather (LIE), Andre Myhrer (SWE), Matts Olsson (SWE) and Stian Saugestad (NOR) cross the finish line in their careers.
"These nine newcomers give us a very strong edge for the coming season. Overall, we are now looking at a rejuvenated team. The plan is for the well-established athletes to repeat their outstanding performance while the newbies in the team move up a gear. For the athletes who have ended their careers this season, I would like to express gratitude on behalf of everybody at HEAD for all they have done to promote the success of our team and our company," says HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber.
"We wanted to bring in Justin Murisier two years ago. He's a really cool athlete and the way he skis fits in well with us," explains Salzgeber. "The two new athletes from Norway - Timon Haugan and Fabian Wilkens Solheim - make an excellent team in the technical disciplines together with Jonathan Nordbotten and Atle Lie Mcgrath in Norway. Estelle Alphand is an athlete to watch out for - she skis very fast, but has not been able to translate this into results yet. Hopefully, she will take it to the next level with us. Marie-Michèle Gagnon is a well-known athlete and currently one of the big names in Canada. She wants to focus more on the speed disciplines in the coming season. In France, we have a great men's team, and with Laura Gauché, we now have the opportunity to boost the women's team. Based on our strategy of wanting to have an exciting athlete on the team in every country, signing Samu Torsti is a good thing for us. In Austria, some of the speed discipline specialists are no longer in the team, so we hope that Michaela Heider is going to give us a boost in this sector."
Profile: Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT)
- Born: 1st of October 1991 in Linz (Austria)
- Skiing club: TVN Wels
- Disciplines: Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Combined
- Successes: Silver medal Super-G World Championship Aare 2019, Bronze medal Downhill World Championship Aare 2019, six World Cup victories (Super-G Beaver Creek 2017, Downhill Aare 2018, Super-G Aare 2018, Downhill Wengen 2019, Super-G Val Gardena 2019, Super-G Hinterstoder 2020)
Profile: Justin Murisier (SUI)
- Born: 8th of January 1992 in Martigny (Switzerland)
- Skiing club: SC Bagnes
- Disciplines: Giant Slalom, Combined
- Successes: two World Cup victories (Team), fourth in World Cup Combined event 2016/17, seventh in World Cup Giant Slalom 2017/18
Profile: Timon Haugan (NOR)
- Born: 27th of December 1996
- Skiing club: Oppdal Alpin
- Disciplines: Slalom
- Successes: World Cup podium placing (2nd in the Slalom, Chamonix 2020)
Profile: Fabian Wilkens Solheim (NOR)
- Born: 10th of April 1996
- Skiing club: IL Heming
- Disciplines: Giant Slalom
- Successes: World Cup finish in the top ten (9th place in the Giant Slalom, Adelboden 2020)
Profile: Estelle Alphand (SWE)
- Born: 23rd of April 1995 in Briançon (France)
- Skiing club: Aare SLK
- Disciplines: Giant Slalom, Slalom
- Successes: five World Cup finishes in the top ten (best result: 5th place in the Slalom, Lienz 2017)
Profile: Laura Gauché (FRA)
- Born: 4th of March 1995 in Moûtiers (France)
- Skiing club: C.S. Tignes
- Disciplines: Downhill, Super-G, Combined
- Successes: four World Cup finishes in the top ten (best result: 17th place in the Combined event, Lenzerheide 2018)
Profile: Marie-Michèle Gagnon (CAN)
- Born: 25th of April 1989 in Lévis (Canada)
- Skiing club: Orignal
- Disciplines: Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Combined
- Successes: two World Cup victories (Combined event in Altenmarkt 2014 and Combined event in Soldeu 2016)
Profile: Samu Torsti (FIN)
- Born: 5th of September 1991 in Vaasa (Finland)
- Skiing club: Vasa Skidklubb
- Disciplines: Giant Slalom
- Successes: 10th place in Giant Slalom in Adelboden 2017, 11th place in Giant Slalom in Kranjska Gora 2018
Profile: Michaela Heider (AUT)
- Born: 6th of August 1995
- Skiing club: SC Gaal
- Disciplines: Super-G, Downhill
- Successes: 14th place in Super-G in Bansko 2020
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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.
