Hector and Gut-Behrami seem already on the ball. Sara: "I've made progress." Lara: "I love this track"

The two HEAD stars spoke at the brand's classic conference on Thursday before Soelden. And Salzgeber launches Mowinckel: "He can play it up front already in the opening". Stephanie Brunner eventually chooses to give up: the young Waldauf (at her debut in CdM) will take the place of the Austrian.

Thursday 20 October 2022 6 minutes reading time

It is one of the most anticipated events in the approach to the opening of the World Cup in Soelden. On the other hand, it is no coincidence that the athletes of the HEAD brand have won six of the ten individual titles up for grabs in alpine skiing at the Beijing Olympic Games, for another record-breaking year of reality led by the one who gives a fifteen months is also president of the FIS, the magnate Johan Eliasch. In the shadow of the Rettenbach glacier, on Thursday evening pre-opening towards the giants of the weekend, it's all in the words of the stars of the brand, from Alexis Pinturault, Vincent Kriechmayr, Matthias Mayer and Atle Lie McGrath to name a few male, to the trio composed of Sara Hector, Lara Gut-Behrami and Ragnhild Mowinckel who on Saturday are among the most anticipated protagonists. The Swedish Olympic champion in office it is true that she lived through the hoax of a specialty World Cup lost on a tightrope last March, but after the 12th inaugural place in Soelden, she has slipped that sensational series of podiums and victories arrived up to the most important title conquered on the snows of Yanqing. And Sara promises, after having finally exploded in the vintage that brought her to the age of 30, celebrated just over a month ago, that she has further raised an already extraordinary level, the one shown last winter. "I had excellent preparation, I feel good and ready - the words of Hector at the conference - I have made other improvements, but here we have a very wide and competitive starting field, so you never know exactly what to expect from this one. competition. But I'm really happy to start over ”. Lara Gut-Behrami won twice on Rettenbach, in 2013 and 2016, second then last year behind Mikaela Shiffrin: "Soelden is one of my favorite races - analyzes the Ticino star - I hope I can do a good job and I can to say that in the last few weeks I have been able to train on the glaciers, between Zermatt and Diavolezza, in a very good way as well as the summer preparation itself was ok, including the rally in Chile where I returned to the snow ”. Ragnhild Mowinckel, who returned to win in the World Cup on the occasion of the super-g of the finals in Courchevel, is now looking for continuity also in the giant, with the Norwegian already returning to the top 7 of the WCSL in the final phase of last season and therefore with an excellent bib for the opening on Saturday. HEAD race director Rainer Salzgeber underlined her great recovery after the thousand injuries that affected her from 2019 to 2021. “Ragnhild has been able to react to all physical problems and has returned to her level. Yes, I am convinced he can fight for the very first positions already here in Soelden ”. Moreover, today evening came the final decision of Stephanie Brunner regarding her presence or not in the first seasonal giant: the 28-year-old Tyrolean, who fell earlier in the week during a training session in Val Senales, despite having avoided serious knee injuries left, he preferred to forfeit to recover better, already thinking of Killington (in just over a month). In her place, her compatriot Sophia Waldauf, born in 2001 at her World Cup debut, will therefore race.

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