Vincent Kriechmayr wins in Kitzbühel

Victory in the Downhill sets a new milestone for Vincent Kriechmayr! The Austrian athlete won the Downhill on the Streif run on Friday to claim this classic race for the first time. The HEAD Worldcup Rebels celebrated a double victory at the Super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Sunday: Ragnhild Mowinckel won ahead of Cornelia Hütter. On Saturday, podium places were won by Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, who was second, and Elena Curtoni, who finished third. Beat Feuz ended his great skiing career in Kitzbühel as one of the most successful HEAD athletes of all time.

"We had a perfect start to the weekend in Kitzbühel with Vincent Kriechmayr's victory. For a specialist in the speed disciplines, this is the biggest thing you can win, next to a Gold medal at a championships. Unfortunately, his bib number didn't give him a chance on Saturday. Johan Clarey taking second place on the podium was awesome though," exclaims HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "In the women's events, the last two days in particular were really brilliant. Ragnhild Mowinckel and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie both have Bernd Fetz as their service man. He said they trained really well before Cortina and were on top form. The other athletes in the women's team did very well too. They delivered really excellent results."

📷 GEPA pictures

A dream come true for Vincent Kriechmayr

Winning in Kitzbühel made a lifelong dream come true for Vincent Kriechmayr. In Wengen, Val Gardena and Bormio, the 31-year-old has already stood on top of the podium, and now he has managed that in the legendary Downhill race in Kitzbühel too. "I gave it my all, totally put my heart into it. That it worked out in the end is of course really great. I made a few mistakes, but risked everything. This victory is a milestone in my career. It's for moments like this that I ski," explained Vincent Kriechmayr. For the Austrian athlete it was his 15th World Cup victory overall, the eighth in the Downhill. Broderick Thompson from Canada finished in ninth place with bib number 39 and Justin Murisier from Switzerland was twelfth with number 47.

Beat Feuz ends his great ski racing career

On the second Downhill race on the Streif run, one of the greatest ever skiing careers came to an end: Beat Feuz - Olympic Champion, World Champion and four-time winner of the Downhill Crystal Globe - finished his 217th and final World Cup race. The Swiss athlete started the race with bib number 217 and finished in 16th place. "I said this was going to be the final race, and I got to enjoy Wengen and Kitzbühel once again with the family, with my people, and with the ski fans. It was a wonderful experience. I have had a happy and fulfilling ski racing career, but now it's also good to call it a day," is how Beat Feuz summed up his feelings at the finish line.

Johan Clarey on the podium in Kitzbühel at the age of 42

Johan Clarey also attracted attention at this competition. The French athlete, who is now 42 years old, finished in second place. "I'm only a little bit disappointed, but Aleks is just a very strong skier. I am really happy with my race. I am very pleased that I was able to deliver such a performance for my last race in Kitzbühel and that once again I saw the green light come on," said Johan Clarey, who bagged second place in Kitzbühel for the fourth time. Vincent Kriechmayr finished fifth on Saturday, Josef Ferstl from Germany was eleventh and Adrien Theaux from France was 15th. In the Slalom on the Ganslern run in Kitzbühel on Sunday, Albert Popov from Bulgaria finished in eleventh place.

World Cup victory No. 3 for Ragnhild Mowinckel

The HEAD Worldcup Rebels also put in strong performances in the women's events in Cortina d'Ampezzo. In the Super-G on Sunday, HEAD celebrated a double victory with Ragnhild Mowinckel and Cornelia Hütter. For the Norwegian athlete it was her third World Cup victory, the second in the Super-G, and the first this season. "I always tried too hard until now. Then I got the feeling that I just had to let the skis run. That's what I did today, and it was really fun," said the winner, who has now also taken the lead in the Super-G World Cup. For Austrian athlete Cornelia Hütter it was the third podium this season - following third place in the Downhill in Lake Louise and second place in the Super-G in Lake Louise in December. "Today I'm proud because I followed through with my plan and didn't let anyone distract me," says Cornelia Hütter, pleased with the result. Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland just missed the podium in fourth place. Elena Curtoni from Italy was sixth and Wendy Holdener from Switzerland finished 14th.

Kajsa Vickhoff Lie in second place with bib number 30

The HEAD team produced excellent results in the Downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Saturday. Behind the winner Ilka Stuhec, the next four places were taken by HEAD athletes: Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, starting at number 30 and finishing second, was a delightful surprise. The Norwegian athlete missed victory by just 26 hundredths of a second. She equalled her best World Cup result to date, which was in the Super-G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2021. Elena Curtoni was third, while Ragnhild Mowinckel and Lara Gut-Behrami were in fourth place with exactly the same time. Also in the top 15 were the two Austrian athletes Stephanie Venier and Cornelia Hütter in eighth and twelfth place. In the first Downhill race in Cortina on Friday, seven HEAD athletes raced into the best 15: Lara Gut-Behrami was fifth, Laura Gauche from France was seventh, Elena Curtoni eighth, Stephanie Venier tenth, Laura Pirovano from Italy 12th, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie 13th, and Nina Ortlieb from Austria finished 14th.