Andy Devaney
If you’re looking for subtlety, the HEAD Worldcup Rebels spent the weekend doing their best to stamp it out. Lindsey Vonn took a downhill win on a shortened Zauchensee track as if physics were optional, while Adelboden delivered a slalom statement from Paco Rassat—plus another reminder that winter, unlike athletes, does not care about anyone’s plans.
The headlines are easy to read, even at speed: Vonn wins, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie follows her home for a tidy one-two, and Rassat turns Adelboden into a personal breakthrough. Add a Super-G cancelled by fresh snow, and you’ve got a World Cup weekend that felt equal parts performance, timing, and the mountain keeping everyone honest.
Vonn, the start number, and the right line
There’s a particular kind of confidence required to look at a start number you don’t love, a track you didn’t get in full, and a stopwatch that does not negotiate—then still ski like you’ve got the place booked out. Vonn did exactly that in Zauchensee, bagging her second downhill win of the season after her victory in St. Moritz in December, and backing it up with podium finishes in the other two downhill races so far.
The numbers are loud enough without embellishment: 45th career downhill victory, 84th World Cup win overall, and a chunky haul of 340 points across four downhill events. That’s not a cameo. That’s control of the discipline.
And Vonn’s own post-race assessment told you everything you needed to know about where the win was actually made—between the ears, then under the skis.
“I thought that with this start number I have no chance, but I found the right line. I am pleased to win again here after ten years. I executed exactly the game plan I wanted, and my body is responding the way I want it to,” said Lindsey Vonn at the finish.
In other words: she didn’t win because she’s Lindsey Vonn. She won because she skied like someone who knows precisely what wins races—line choice, patience, and the nerve to commit when the track is asking uncomfortable questions.
Kajsa Vickhoff Lie finds the rhythm—and the podium
Behind Vonn, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie delivered the kind of second place that doesn’t read like “best of the rest.” She finished just 37 hundredths of a second back to claim her first podium of the season, turning it into a proper double for the HEAD Worldcup Rebels and signalling that her winter has clicked into place.
That mattered because the context wasn’t exactly a victory lap. The wider message from the camp was clear: the preparation was there, but the rhythm hadn’t been. Until now.
“I am particularly pleased with the second place for Kajsa Vickhoff Lie. Despite being well prepared, she has not found it easy to get into the rhythm. This podium shows that she is now well up there with the top contenders. She is still a relatively young athlete, so we have a lot more to look forward to from her,” said HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber.
The supporting cast added depth to the result without stealing the plot: Laura Pirovano finished fourth, Emma Aicher took sixth, and Elena Curtoni rounded out the top ten in tenth. Further back, there were personal bests and first points that matter enormously to the athletes collecting them—Allison Mollin’s 14th as her best World Cup result, and first World Cup points for Inni Holm Wembstad and Leonie Zegg.
The weekend, in short, looked like a team with momentum rather than a single star doing solo work.
Snow changes the schedule, not the narrative
And then winter did what winter does: it took the Super-G on Sunday and binned it. The race was cancelled because there was so much fresh snow—an entirely reasonable decision, and a neat reminder that alpine racing remains a sport conducted on nature’s terms.
For fans, cancellations can feel like theft. For athletes, it’s something else: a mental gear change, a sudden vacuum where a race plan used to be, and a lot of waiting around with all your adrenaline looking for somewhere to go. Zauchensee had already asked everyone to adapt to a shortened downhill. Sunday asked them to accept that sometimes the mountain doesn’t even offer a start gate.
Paco Rassat makes Adelboden his
If Zauchensee was about speed and precision, Adelboden was about nerve in a stadium that can swallow you whole. Paco Rassat arrived with form and left with a win—his second victory of the season after Gurgl in November, following a third-place finish in Madonna di Campiglio on Wednesday.
The way he did it was pure slalom logic: sit fourth after run one, then go fastest when it actually counts. Run two was the message. The standings were the proof: Rassat now leads the Slalom World Cup with 340 points after six events.
“This victory in Adelboden means a lot to me. I have not won points here before. To now win here in front of this breathtaking backdrop is really amazing. On the second run I tried to ski the steep part better and push faster on the flatter sections. I managed to do that well. I like the steep parts because that is where I have the skills to attack,” said Paco Rassat, delighted, at the finish.
That quote is more revealing than it first appears. He didn’t talk about luck, or vibes, or “sending it.” He talked about specifics—steep section execution, speed on the flats, and leaning into the terrain that suits his strengths. That’s how you win Adelboden: by being brutally honest about where the race is, then skiing it without blinking.
Atle Lie McGrath: proof that progress is real
Second place went to Atle Lie McGrath, who continues to build one of the more consistent slalom seasons in the field. It was his fourth podium of the winter, and his third in slalom—good enough to be taken seriously by anyone who enjoys the idea of the same names not owning every weekend.
“Today was really cool. It was difficult with the snow, but the atmosphere here is so intense. It was a huge challenge. It means a lot to me. Last year I won zero points in Madonna and Adelboden. Now I’m a year older, and I’m on the podium. This is a very good improvement on last year,” said Atle Lie McGrath.
That last line is the one that lands. Alpine racing doesn’t hand out “most improved” medals, but it does provide the only scoreboard that matters: points, podiums, and whether you can deliver when the conditions turn awkward.
And for British fans keeping half an eye on the slalom, it was also a solid day in the points: Dave Ryding finished 13th, Billy Major 19th, and Laurie Taylor 22nd.
The bigger picture for the HEAD Worldcup Rebels
Zoom out and the weekend reads like a complete performance portfolio. The HEAD Worldcup Rebels didn’t just win; they showed range—downhill dominance, slalom punch, and enough depth across results to make it feel sustainable rather than spiky.
Salzgeber summed up the satisfaction in a way that will resonate with any team that’s tried to replicate success in different conditions—because doing it once is a headline, and doing it again somewhere else is a pattern.
“Following the triple victory in Gurgl, to take first and second place here in Adelboden in completely different conditions is simply brilliant. The boys skied superbly, with five finishing in the top 13. This was an awesome day for us!” said HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber.
“The way Paco Rassat performed is amazing. This is his second season with us, and he is already in the top seven with the next classic events still to come – that’s incredibly exciting. Lindsey Vonn is making the ski world speechless. She is a strong skier, the equipment works, and Aksel’s coaching is super. It all adds up to this result.
It’s a tidy summary of what the results already said: Vonn is not trading on reputation; she’s building points. Lie has found the foothold she’s been searching for. Rassat is translating form into wins. McGrath is turning last season’s blanks into this season’s podiums. And the snow, as ever, is waiting to see who can adapt quickest when the script gets torn up.
That’s alpine racing at its best: speed, skill, and just enough chaos to keep everyone honest—especially the ones winning.
