Head Worldcup Rebels: World's Best Ski Team Ready To Defend Title,

With 7,760 points in the FIS brand ranking, one overall Crystal Globe and three discipline Crystal Globes, 17 Word Cup victories and 39 more podium finishes, the HEAD Worldcup Rebels once again celebrated the past season as the clear number one. At the opening Giant Slalom races in Sölden on 26 and 27 October, the HEAD team is ready to demonstrate that victory in 2024/25 can only go to the Rebels. The team is led by World Cup and Giant Slalom overall winner Lara Gut-Behrami, who won the race in Sölden last year.

"As always, Sölden is the first systems test where everyone wants to be at the front. In Sölden there are all the usual favourites for me. The experienced athletes will be setting the tone at the opening event,” says HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "We want to enjoy top class racing every weekend and compete for victories. The winning ski athlete during the season will also be among the favourites at the World Championships. Everyone wants to show that they are part of it, right from the start."

Ahead of the opening event of the season, HEAD invites you to attend a press conference on Thursday 24 October at 15.30 in the Freizeit Arena Sölden together with Lara Gut-Behrami, Sara Hector, Stephanie Brunner, Wendy Holdener, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, Camille Rast, Elisa Platino, Alexis Pinturault, Alexander Schmid, Vincent Kriechmayr, Atle Lie McGrath, Tommy Ford,Justin Murisier and Lukas Feurstein.

In the HEAD women’s team, Lara Gut-Behrami and Sara Hector are two of the top favourites at the start in Sölden. Lara Gut-Behrami won the Giant Slalom Crystal Globe last season and one of her four victories in this discipline was at the opening event in Sölden. "My summer has been pretty fulfilling. I dedicated a lot of time to training in Verona and in my home towns of Lugano and Udine," reports the 33-year-old Swiss athlete. "In September, I returned to the snow in Chile, where we enjoyed several wonderful days skiing Super-G and Giant Slalom courses in Valle Nevado. I also discovered a brilliant new Downhill run in Corralco - one of the most beautiful training slopes I've ever seen. As always, my philosophy is to start each day with a goal. I want to ski as best I can in every race and maintain my level of well-being throughout the season."

Sara Hector came third in the overall Giant Slalom rankings last season, and finished fourth in Sölden. The 32-year-old Swedish athlete won the Giant Slalom in Jasna last season. "I'm coming to Sölden to give it my best and have fun. I intend to ski fast, and if I manage that, we'll see what happens," says Sara Hector. "My summer training has gone well. I'm going into the season without any specific expectations and I hope that I'll be pleasantly surprised by my speed."

"As the winner of the Giant Slalom Crystal Globe and winner in Sölden last season, Lara Gut-Behrami is naturally one of the favourites in Sölden. I am very positive about what she has shown in training so far. She is very focused, but of course we have to see how the other competitors perform. Sara Hector is also 100 per cent ready. Things are looking very good for the women’s team in these races," says Rainer Salzgeber.

Home race for Stephanie Brunner as she returns to the team

Stephanie Brunner came back to the HEAD team prior to this season. For the 30-year-old from Tirol, who finished fourth in the final Giant Slalom of last season in Saalbach in March, the season opener in Sölden is a real home race. "The last few years have not gone as I had imagined. Sölden is my favourite slope, my favourite race! Personally, I want to start the season well, because that gives you a good feeling for the rest of the season. And of course I want to get back to my old strength this season," says the Austrian athlete.

Atle Lie McGrath and Joan Verdú are the top athletes in the men’s team

In the HEAD men's team, Atle Lie McGrath and Joan Verdú have the best chance of a podium in Sölden. Atle Lie McGrathpodiumed in this discipline in his comeback season in March, finishing third in the Giant Slalom in Aspen. And in the Slalom, the Norwegian also demonstrated that he is one of the absolute world leaders with two second-place finishes. "I want to do as well as possible in Sölden and enjoy the fact that we are finally racing again. I want to have fun and trust in my skiing, which I know I can do," explains the 24-year-old. "My summer training went really well this year and it was great to be fit again. During my training I focused a lot on my consistency. That's one of my biggest goals for the season. I've often shown that I have the speed to win races - now I want to do that for a whole season. The World Championships in Saalbach is also one of my big goals."

Andorra and Joan Verdú celebrated a historic World Cup season in 2023/24. The 29-year-old athlete wrote skiing history by finishing third to take a World Cup podium for the first time in his career in the Giant Slalom in Val d'Isère. This is not only his first podium, but also the first in the history of his country. Joan Verdú proved again that he is a top contender by finishing in second place in the final Giant Slalom of the season in Saalbach. In recognition of his amazing performance, Joan Verdú was voted "Rebel of the Year” last season. "Summer training was very good. After my back operation in April, I invested a lot of effort and concentration in getting back to my normal level of fitness. I managed to get back on skis without pain in August, so that's great news," says a delighted Joan Verdú. "I've worked really hard leading up to the start of this season to be as well prepared as possible for Sölden. I am hoping for a good result and want to be among the best. A big goal for me this season is to win a World Cup race."

Alexis Pinturault will not be competing in Sölden

Sölden will not see Alexis Pinturault at the start this time. The 33-year-old French athlete is working on his comeback after tearing his cruciate ligament in Wengen. "Unfortunately, I won't be competing in Sölden. We all think that coming back to competitive racing right now could bring more stress and setbacks than advantages. Even though things are improving from day to day, I don't think I'll be on top form in time for Sölden. That's why we're focusing on Beaver Creek as our goal," says Alexis Pinturault. "Rehabilitation was a really long and painful process, even though it was in line with the normal timescale set by the team of doctors. It was a complicated injury that required many interventions during the operation, which is why the surgeons were very realistic about each milestone. Skiing again after seven months was brilliant fun, but it was also quite painful. My dream is to compete for victory again. That is the reason why I train. But the reality is, I just hope that I can ski without pain or problems for the time being. Once I have got that far, we'll use the first race to assess my capabilities. It is still too soon, however, to set specific targets for this winter."

"Joan Verdú has demonstrated during his training in America that he can build on last season's performances. For me, he is one of the hottest bets in the Giant Slalom. Atle Lie McGrath is also looking very good. Alexander Schmid still has some catching up to do due to his health. But for me he is also one of our top athletes in the Giant Slalom," is how Rainer Salzgeber analyses the situation. "Alexis Pinturault will miss the race in Sölden due to injury and will return to racing in the USA. He can start training there sooner, and because he also wants to get back into the speed disciplines again, that's a good way forward."

Dave Ryding also becomes a HEAD Worldcup Rebel

The HEAD Worldcup Rebels have a prominent new team member this season in the shape of the British athlete Dave Ryding. "Dave joining the team gives us a seasoned Slalom racer. He fits in very well with us. He has shown a consistency that we would like to build on even further. I am certain that he will be looking to win one or two races this season," says Rainer Salzgeber. Stephanie Brunner and Aline Danioth from Switzerland are among the athletes returning to the women’s team. "Flavio Vitale is a huge name to join us. He is 19 years old and has made it into the French World Cup team," says Rainer Salzgeber. Also new to the team are Austrian athlete Nadine Fest, Paco Rassat from France and Ben Ritchie from the USA.

Maria Therese Tviberg and Ragnhild Mowinckel finish their racing careers

The two strong Norwegian athletes Maria Therese Tviberg and Ragnhild Mowinckel were among those who finished racing at the end of last season. "Naturally, these two athletes leave a void, but we are still very well positioned with our women's team in Norway, led by Kajsa Vickhoff Lie," says Rainer Salzgeber. Michaela Heider, Christine Scheyer, and Rosina Schneeberger from Austria, Gilles Roulin and Ralph Weber from Switzerland, Josef Ferstl and Martina Willibald from Germany, Meta Hrovat from Slovenia, and Karoline Pichler from Italy, have also ended their ski racing careers.

“Perform at a similar level to last season”

Looking at the season as a whole, HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber expects strong performances on the same level as last season: "Despite the number of athletes retiring, we have remained very consistent in terms of the number of women winning podium finishes. Lara Gut-Behrami and Cornelia Hütter are the two athletes in the team who won the Crystal Globes last season. Training has gone well. So I hope that we can perform at a similar level to last season. In the men's team, we have not been able to make up for the retirement last season of the three great athletes Beat Feuz, Matthias Mayer and Johan Clarey. But some of the young athletes, such as Franjo von Allmen, have already shown what they are capable of. This is a natural process. We have a good mix of well established skiers like Vincent Kriechmayr and James Crawford, along with newcomers who will ensure we have a lot of fun." And Rainer Salzgeber is already looking forward to the highlight of the season: "A home World Championships in Austria is always something special. We know Saalbach very well, and we enjoyed a good final event there in the spring. As always, our goal is to perform as well as possible and fight for a medal in every race."

HEAD Worldcup Rebels victories and Crystal Globes in the 2023/24 season

Crystal Globes:

• Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI): World Cup overall, Giant Slalom, Super-G
• Cornelia Hütter (AUT): DownhillWorld Cup victories (17)
• Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI, 8): Giant Slalom Sölden, Giant Slalom Killington, Super-G Altenmarkt, Super-G Cortina, Giant Slalom Kronplatz, Giant Slalom Soldeu, Downhill Crans-Montana, Super-G Kvitfjell
• Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT, 2): Super-G Val Gardena, Super-G Kvitfjell
• Stephanie Venier (AUT, 2): Downhill Cortina, Super-G Crans-Montana
• Cornelia Hütter (AUT, 2): Super-G Altenmarkt, Downhill Saalbach
• Sara Hector (SWE, 1): Giant Slalom Jasna
• Ragnhild Mowinckel (NOR, 1): Downhill Cortina
• Anna Swenn-Larsson (SWE, 1): Slalom Soldeu