The HEAD Worldcup Rebels start the season with two podiums

A successful start to the season for the HEAD Worldcup Rebels with Lara Gut-Behrami finishing third in the Giant Slalom in Sölden on Saturday, the first race of the new season. For the 34-year-old Swiss athlete, this is the 101st podium finish of her career and the 29th in this discipline. On Sunday, Atle Lie McGrath bagged the next podium in the Giant Slalom. The 25-year-old Norwegian athlete gave a repeat performance of his third-place finish last season.

"It was a really good weekend for us in both the men's and women's events. On both days, the conditions were extremely difficult," said HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "Lara Gut-Behrami's second run in particular was very good, as was Atle Lie McGrath's. He only just missed out on taking the victory. Alexis Pinturault and Alexander Schmid both skied very well for their comeback debuts. The performances delivered by Flavio Vitale and Anton Grammel were outstanding. Vincent Kriechmayr also had a very good race. It's always good to be in the running from the beginning. It means that even the athletes who are not yet at the front can see that the equipment works well. This weekend is a sound basis for the coming weeks and months."

"I managed to attack much more on the second run"

Lara Gut-Behrami was in fifth place after the first run. Skiing the fourth fastest time on the second run put her on the podium. "I didn't get into the rhythm on the first run; I was skiing too smoothly in places. I managed to attack much more on the second run," said the Swiss athlete at the finish. Sara Hector from Sweden also finished in the top ten at the season opening with ninth place.

AJ Hurt clocks the third fastest run

AJ Hurt also turned heads in Sölden with the third fastest time on the second run. The US athlete finished in 13th place overall, followed by three more HEAD Worldcup Rebels: Lena Dürr from Germany in 14th place, Camille Rast from Switzerland 15th, and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie from Norway 16th. Stephanie Brunner from Austria in 23rd place, Emma Aicher from Germany 28th, and Vanessa Kasper and Wendy Holdener both from Switzerland in 29th and 30th place, also scored World Cup points.

Atle Lie McGrath just 27 hundredths short of victory

Atle Lie McGrath, who was seventh after the first run, raced to third place, celebrating his fourth podium finish in the Giant Slalom. The Norwegian athlete missed the win by 27 hundredths of a second. Flavio Vitale achieved his best World Cup result in tenth place. Previously, the 20-year-old French athlete's best result was 13th place in the Giant Slalom in Hafjell in March 2025. Points were also notched up by Anton Grammel from Germany in eleventh place, Alexis Pinturault from France 18th, Alexander Schmid from Germany 27^th, and Vincent Kriechmayr from Austria 29th.