HEAD takes four of the six podium places in Gurgl

It's a Podiumfest in Gurgl, Austria, for the HEAD Worldcup Rebels! For the first time in HEAD's history, three HEAD Worldcup Rebels take over the podium in the men's World Cup Slalom in Gurgl on Saturday. Paco Rassat celebrates his first World Cup victory, and Armand Marchant finishes second to grab the first World Cup podium for Belgium. Atle Lie McGrath completes the podium in third place. In the women's Slalom on Sunday, Camille Rast finishes in third place, with six HEAD Worldcup Rebels finishing in the top ten.

"This triple victory has left me lost for words. It was a very special day for us. All the more so when something like this happens for the first time. This really was an amazing performance," says HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "You also have to put that in the perspective of how we have developed in the men's Slalom. We have never had a big team, but we have grown more successful in recent years. Now we have taken the next step. Paco Rassat already skied well in Levi. We could also see during training that he is in very good form. I was sure that he could win. It was just a question of when. Armand Marchant achieving the first-ever podium finish for Belgium is also awesome. Atle Lie McGrath was a little more cautious than necessary after dropping out in Levi. It was also a very good race for the women, with six HEAD athletes in the top ten. Camille Rast skied very well despite having problems with her hip, and we have taken four out of the six possible podium places in Gurgl. That was a really great weekend for us!"

"A dream has come true"

Previously, Paco Rassat's best World Cup result was sixth place in the first slalom of the season in Levi. In Gurgl, the French athlete moved up to earn his first victory. On the first run, the 27-year-old was in 14th place. Clocking the fastest time on the second run, he made a dream come true. "That feels so good. A dream has come true. I could not even imagine that this is possible. I'm really happy. My father was my first coach and my mother also worked in the ski club. I am delighted that I can share this victory with them. My goal is to ski well in the World Cup and qualify for the Olympic Games," said Paco Rassat at the finish line. This victory sees the French athlete also take the lead in the overall World Cup and the Slalom World Cup.

"So much is going through my head"

Armand Marchant also skied to a historic moment. The Belgian athlete took second place, winning the first podium for his country in the World Cup. Previously, his best result was on the 5th of January 2020, when the 27-year-old finished fifth in the Slalom in Zagreb. "So much is going through my head. I had a serious knee injury and missed two years of skiing. This is for everyone who has a dream: Fight for it! It's incredibly close; anyone can win at the moment. I felt very confident, like anything is possible," said Armand Marchant, who moved up from ninth place to second place with the second fastest time on run two.

Second podium of the season for Atle Lie McGrath

Atle Lie McGrath celebrated his second podium of the season. The 25-year-old Norwegian athlete finished third in the Giant Slalom in Sölden at the opening event of the season, and in Gurgl he followed up his lead after the first run with another third place. "A podium is always good. I skied well today, but it was painful to see that I was only nine hundredths of a second behind. I have to ski more aggressively to win, and today that wasn't enough. It was the last 15 gates on the second run where I lost time. The level in the Slalom is really very high now," said Atle Lie McGrath. Two more HEAD Worldcup Rebels landed in the top ten with Linus Straßer from Germany in eighth place, and Albert Popov from Bulgaria ninth. World Cup points were also bagged by Billy Major from Great Britain in 17th place, Oscar Andreas Sandvik from Norway in 18th place, Yohei Koyama from Japan in 22nd place, Johannes Strolz from Austria in 24th place and Dave Ryding from Great Britain in 25th place.

First podium of the season for Camille Rast

The women's HEAD team also performed brilliantly at the Slalom in Gurgl. Camille Rast, who was already in third place after the first run, secured her first podium of the season by finishing third. For the 26-year-old Swiss athlete, this is the fourth podium finish in her career in the Slalom. Last season, she also came third in Gurgl. "If I get to reach the podium here, that is fine. There are still many things that need to be improved. My hip is still going to take some time to recover. But it is always unpredictable. Often it works well, and then suddenly I can't do anything anymore. I try to give it my best every day and take my hip into consideration. On steep slopes, I have a good feeling. I'll keep working hard during training so that I can get my form back in the competition," explained Camille Rast at the finish.

Six HEAD Worldcup Rebels in the top ten

With Wendy Holdener from Switzerland in fourth place, Lena Dürr from Germany seventh, Sara Hector from Sweden eighth, Emma Aicher from Germany ninth, and Anna Swenn-Larsson from Sweden tenth, no fewer than six HEAD Worldcup Rebels made it into the top ten. World Cup points also went to Dzenifera Germane from Latvia in 14th place, and Eliane Christen from Switzerland in 25th place.