Press release -
HEAD triple victory at the speed discipline opening in Lake Louise
In the first speed race of the season, the Downhill in Lake Louise on Saturday, the HEAD Worldcup Rebels impressively confirmed their clear position as number 1 in this discipline with a triple victory. Matthias Mayer from Austria won in Canada ahead of his compatriot and Downhill World Champion Vincent Kriechmayr and Beat Feuz from Switzerland, who won the Crystal Globe in the Downhill last season. In the women's events, Wendy Holdener finished third on Sunday, racing to her 28th World Cup Slalom podium finish in Killington, USA.
"That was really a brilliant performance by Matthias Mayer, Vincent Kriechmayr and Beat Feuz. We knew that our top athletes weren't showing all their cards during training. Lake Louise was a very challenging race, however. Visibility was poor and skiing conditions were not easy. All the more brilliant that they conjured up all the trumps on the day. Moving the Downhill event that was cancelled on Friday to Beaver Creek is a very good decision in terms of our plans," emphasised HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber.
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Seventh Downhill victory for Matthias Mayer
For Matthias Mayer, it was the eleventh World Cup victory, the seventh in the Downhill. "It was a brutally hard run. Visibility was difficult, but it was the same conditions for everyone. It was a cool race. This victory is a successful start to the season. But my lead on Vince and Beat is not huge, so I mustn't get carried away in the next races," is how the 31-year-old analysed his result at the finish.
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First Downhill podium in Lake Louise for Vincent Kriechmayr
Vincent Kriechmayr was delighted with his first podium finish in a Downhill event in Lake Louise. "It was a good race. A couple of times I struggled a bit because I couldn't quite make out the undulations in the run. Twice I chose a safer line because of this. That probably accounts for the two-tenths of a second. That was a super start to the season."
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41st podium finish in the Downhill for Beat Feuz
Third place went to Beat Feuz. This was the 41st time the Swiss athlete stood on the podium in the Downhill. "I am totally satisfied with this result. It's a very difficult course. This year especially with all the undulations. It was not easy to read the ground in front of you. That's why it always takes a bit of courage to go flat out on this run."
Cancelled Downhill event moved to Beaver Creek
HEAD newcomer Ryan Cochran-Siegle from the USA finished in 10th place. On Friday, the first Downhill race in Lake Louise had to be cancelled because there was too much fresh snow. This event will now be held next weekend in Beaver Creek. The Super-G on Sunday also had to be cancelled due to poor weather conditions.
Wendy Holdener third – five HEAD athletes in the top-ten
In the women's events, only one race could be held in Killington in the US state of Vermont at the weekend. Too much wind prevented the Giant Slalom from going ahead on Saturday. In the Slalom on Sunday, Wendy Holdener finished in third place. This was the 28th podium finish in a World Cup Slalom for the Swiss athlete. A total of five HEAD World Cup Rebels finished in the top nine. Lena Dürr from Germany repeated her strong performance in Levi, finishing in fifth place. Sara Hector from Sweden finished sixth, Maria Therese Tviberg from Norway was eighth. This saw Tviberg equal her previous best Slalom result, which she achieved in December 2020 in Semmering, Austria. Anna Swenn-Larsson from Sweden finished ninth.
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"Although Killington is a completely different mountain with different snow conditions, our team confirmed the performance they delivered in Levi. I was especially pleased that Maria Therese Tviberg, who skied very well in Levi, finished with a very good result in Killington," said Rainer Salzgeber.
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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.
