Press release -
Stephanie Venier’s career glitters in gold in Saalbach
HEAD Worldcup Rebels are celebrating a brilliant start to the Ski World Championships in Saalbach: Stephanie Venier wins Gold in the Super-G on Thursday with a perfect run, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie wins Bronze. In the men's Super-G on Friday, Vincent Kriechmayr just misses the podium in fourth place.
"Kicking off with Stephanie Venier's victory and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie's third place was excellent. It's really special wining in Austria in front of the home crowd. The way she wrapped it up after Brignone's run was simply brilliant," said HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "The men's race was very close. I am hoping that those hundredths of a second will be back in our favour over the next few days. With three athletes in the top 7 and five in the top 12, it was a very good team result.
"It was the best run I've ever skied"
The World Championships could not have got off to a better start for the HEAD World Cup Rebels. Stephanie Venier conjured up a dream run on the Saalbach snow in the Super-G, the first individual competition of the World Championships. Following Silver in the Downhill in St. Moritz in 2017, this is the second World Championship medal for the 31-year-old Austrian athlete, the first to glitter in gold. "That was the best run I've ever skied in my career. Everything worked right from the start today. The skis were mega, the skis ran so well," said a delighted Stephanie Venier at the finish. "I slept so badly last night. I was so nervous. As soon as I started skiing, I thought that today could be the day. I wished for the one to appear as I crossed the finish line, and it really did. I was a different Stephi in 2017, because I still had that youthful recklessness. Now I feel like I've grown up and matured, but I'm much more nervous than I used to be. It has to be 100 per cent right on the day, and today it all worked out."
Second World Championship medal for Kajsa Vickhoff Lie
Kajsa Vickhoff Lie also contributed to the HEAD team’s successful start winning Bronze. The 26-year-old Norwegian athlete repeated her success from 2023 at the World Championships in Méribel, where she also finished third in the Super-G. "I am really satisfied with my run. The middle section didn't go so well, but I really skied full throttle at the bottom. We only get this one chance, and I tried everything today. Things didn't go so well at the start of the season, but we have taken many positive steps this year. Now we have 100 per cent confidence, which is so important at a World Championship. I feel really good now," said Kajsa Vickhoff Lie.
Vincent Kriechmayr just misses the podium
In the men's Super-G on Friday, Vincent Kriechmayr from Austria narrowly missed out on the Bronze medal in fourth place by just five hundredths of a second. His compatriot Stefan Babinsky and Ryan Cochran-Siegle from the USA were also only 15 and 16 hundredths of a second behind third place in sixth and seventh place respectively. "Fourth place is unrewarding. Now I need to focus on the Downhill event. On the positive side, my knee is holding. But don't dwell on that," said Vincent Kriechmayr.
World Championship medals for Wendy Holdener, Estelle Alphand & Sara Hector
The World Championships began on Tuesday with the mixed team event. Wendy Holdener won a Silver medal as part of the Swiss team. Bronze went to the Swedish team, which included HEAD World Cup Rebels Estelle Alpha
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