HEAD double victory in sensational Lindsey Vonn comeback in St. Moritz

The HEAD World Cup Rebels celebrate a brilliant double victory by Cornelia Hütter and Lara Gut-Behrami on Saturday at the Super-G in St. Moritz. An equally spectacular comeback sees Lindsey Vonn finish 14th after almost six years away from racing. Sofia Goggia finished third.

"The women's event was another perfect race. Cornelia Hütter did a superb job. You can see what the level of performance and the equipment set-up she has developed over the last few months is all about. This is Cornelia at her very best," is how HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber analysed the result. "Lara Gut-Behrami is on the same level, apart from making one mistake. All the athletes in the women's team delivered a strong performance. Four in the top six - that's great. With Lindsey Vonn, you can see that she is on top of the sport. When you listen to her interviews, you can see that she has a strategy. She knows that she has to build up in steps, and has now taken the first giant step. Reaching the top 15 with a very good run, and knowing that more is possible, this is a very strong performance from the best of the wildcard athletes so far. The Downhill in Val Gardena was also an amazing race for us, especially when you see how much time both Franjo von Allmen and Ryan Cochran-Siegle left behind on the course. If things had worked out better for Franjo von Allmen in Beaver Creek, he would have had even more confidence here in Val Gardena, and that is something you need lots of on this run. Ryan Cochran-Siegle is doing very well with the new service team. And it was also great that HEAD had the fastest Austrian athlete with Stefan Eichberger in sixth place. He has produced three strong performances over the last three races. That should also motivate the other young athletes."

Second victory this season for Cornelia Hütter

In St. Moritz, Cornelia Hütter continued her run of success this season. The Austrian athlete won the first Super-G in St. Moritz on Saturday 18 hundredths of a second ahead of her HEAD teammate Lara Gut-Behrami. Following her victory in the Downhill in Beaver Creek, it was the Austrian's second win of the season, her fifth in a Super-G and her eighth overall. The 32-year-old finished fourth in the first Super-G of the season in Beaver Creek. "I skied the last section very well from a tactical point of view and kept up a lot of speed. After watching the first few competitors I realised that it was a difficult run and changed my plan. It's cool that it worked out so well," said a delighted Cornelia Hütter at the finish.

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Four HEAD World Cup Rebels in the top 6

Lara Gut-Behrami also put a stamp on her positive development in St. Moritz. The Swiss athlete finished second behind Cornelia Hütter despite making a serious mistake, putting the 33-year-old at three podium finishes this season following her third place in the Downhill in Beaver Creek and second place in the Super-G in Beaver Creek. The overall team performance by the HEAD World Cup Rebels was awesome, with the two Italian athletes Elena Curtoni and Laura Pirovano in fourth and sixth place, there were four of the HEAD team in the top six, and with Corinne Suter from Switzerland finishing tenth, five were among the top ten.

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Lindsey Vonn: "I achieved everything I wanted to achieve"

Lindsey Vonn's comeback was one of the highlights of this event. The US athlete put in a sensational performance after almost six years away from racing. The 40-year-old finished in 14th place, just 1.18 seconds behind the winner. "It was an exciting race. I was nervous at the start and didn't quite find my rhythm. It was super cool and I skied well. I didn't risk too much, because I wanted to make sure I finish today. I achieved everything I wanted to achieve. It was very good. But I also know that I can ski even faster," says Lindsey Vonn. World Cup points were also bagged by Emma Aicher from Germany and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie from Norway in 16th place, Stephanie Venier from Austria who finished 19th, Delia Durrer from Switzerland 21st, Ariane Rädler from Austria 24th, Tricia Mangan from the USA 25th, Lisa Grill from Austria 28th, and Keely Cashman from the USA who finished in 30th place.

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