Vincent Kriechmayr wins the Downhill in Courchevel

Vincent Kriechmayr wins the only Downhill race that could be held this weekend in Courchevel, and that was on Friday. This is the tenth Downhill victory for the HEAD Worldcup Rebel, and his 20th in the World Cup overall. Emma Aicher achieves her best-ever Slalom result, finishing in second place on Sunday in Aare. Wendy Holdener finishes third, making it two HEAD Worldcup Rebels on the podium in this race.

"It's very good that this victory by Vincent Kriechmayr puts an end to the historic string of negative results by the Austrians in the Downhill. I am also extremely pleased for Vinc. He has shown that he can win when he has a good race," said HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "The result in the Slalom in Aare was actually perfect. Mikaela Shiffrin taking the victory is something we have to accept. Emma Aicher and Wendy Holdener produced strong performances. Five in the top ten is another top result for us. Emma still has the opportunity to win the overall World Cup. She has the right attitude and will keep fighting until the end. Kvitfjell is a place where she has performed well in the past, so it's going to be an exciting finale."

Tenth victory for Vincent Kriechmayr in the Downhill

Vincent Kriechmayr won his tenth Downhill victory on Friday in Courchevel; his first since March 2023 in Soldeu. For the 34-year-old Austrian athlete this is the 20th victory in the World Cup. "I had a good run. The hundredths of a second were on my side today, and everything worked out. It was simply excellent skiing in dream scenery. Before the season I was sure that I was going to give up, but let's see, at the moment I'm really enjoying this," said Vincent Kriechmayr at the finish. Justin Murisier from Switzerland finished in tenth place, Ryan Cochran-Siegle from the USA was twelfth, Alessio Miggiano from Switzerland 16th, Stefan Babinsky from Austria and Erik Arvidsson from the USA equal 23rd, Guglielmo Bosca from Italy 26th, and James Crawford from Canada finished 27th. The Super-G events scheduled for Saturday and Sunday hat to be cancelled due to poor weather.

Emma Aicher competes in the final for the overall World Cup

Emma Aicher continues competing on top form. The 22-year-old German athlete finished in second place in the Slalom in Aare, her best result so far in this discipline in the World Cup. This means that Emma Aicher is still a top contender in the fight for the overall World Cup. "I am super happy that I managed that close to home with my friends and family. I am very satisfied. And I am proud that I am still in the running for the overall World Cup. Last year I was going nowhere, but now I can be content with all four disciplines," says Emma Aicher.

Wendy Holdener takes second podium of the season

Wendy Holdener also put in a strong performance. The 32-year-old Swiss athlete raced to third place to take her second podium of the season, following third place in the Slalom in Kranjska Gora in January. "I knew I had it to give it everything. I totally put my heart into it. I am very happy that it worked out so well," said Wendy Holdener. With Dzenifera Germane from Latvia in sixth place, Cornelia Öhlund from Sweden seventh, and Camille Rast from Switzerland tenth, a total of five HEAD Worldcup Rebels finished in the top ten. There were also points for Anna Swenn-Larsson from Sweden in 13th place, for A J Hurt from the USA who was 14th, for Lena Dürr from Germany 15th, for Sara Hector from Sweden 22nd, and for Eliane Christen from Switzerland who was 27th.

Emma Aicher fourth in the Giant Slalom

In the women's Giant Slalom on Saturday in Aare, Emma Aicher was the best HEAD athlete in fourth place. A J Hurt also reached the top ten in ninth place. Clocking the fastest time on the second run, Hilma Lövblom from Sweden secured her best World Cup result so far in eleventh place. World Cup points were also won by Stephanie Brunner from Austria in twelfth place, Vanessa Kasper from Switzerland who was 16th, Ilaria Ghisalberti from Italy 18th, Wendy Holdener 19th, Laura Pirovano from Italy 23rd, and Lena Dürr 26th.