Unheralded French skier Paco Rassat secured his inaugural World Cup victory on Saturday in Gurgl, Austria, by delivering a remarkable performance in the second slalom of the Olympic season. Rassat’s win came just a week after his previous career-best finish, where he placed sixth in the season-opening slalom in Levi, Finland. Expressing his disbelief at the achievement, Rassat shared with Austrian TV, “I never imagined this was possible.”
With less than three months remaining until the Milan Cortina Winter Games, Rassat’s breakthrough victory couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Expressing his aspirations, he stated, “For sure, I want to be at the Olympics. My goal at the moment is to perform on the World Cup, to qualify for the Olympics.”
Competing in frigid but sunny conditions in the Austrian Alps, Rassat stood in 14th place after the initial run but dominated the second run, finishing 0.07 seconds ahead of Armand Marchant, who secured Belgium’s first-ever podium in Alpine skiing’s World Cup. The first-run leader, Atle Lie McGrath of Norway, slipped to third place, trailing Rassat by 0.09 seconds.
Overjoyed by his victory, Rassat exclaimed, “This is insane. My dream just came true today, so this is amazing.” Born to a ski instructor, he began honing his skills at a young age. Specializing in the slalom discipline, Rassat made his World Cup debut in January 2022, achieving his first top-10 result three years later by finishing ninth in the classic race in Wengen, Switzerland.
Expressing the significance of his parents’ presence at the race, Rassat mentioned, “My dad was my first coach and my mother also worked at the club, so this is a big day for us, and I’m so, so happy to share it with them,” as he celebrated his recent 27th birthday. His triumph propelled him to the top of both the slalom and overall standings after three events.
Although Marco Odermatt, a four-time overall champion, claimed victory in the season’s opening giant slalom in Austria, the Swiss star does not partake in slaloms. Finnish talent Eduard Hallberg, who held the second position alongside Swiss racer Tanguy Nef after the initial run, lost his balance during a turn and fell just before the finish line.
Hallberg, who clinched Finland’s first World Cup podium result in nearly 18 years last week, dropped to fifth place, while Nef slipped to fifth. Notably, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who secured Brazil’s inaugural Alpine skiing World Cup win last week, finished 10th, and Olympic champion Clement Noel of France settled for 12th place.
Following a remarkable performance in the opening run, slalom world champion Loic Meillard stood in 20th place but failed to complete his second run. Meanwhile, the women’s slalom event on the same hill is scheduled for Sunday, with the men’s World Cup set to continue with the first speed race of the season, a super-G in Copper Mountain, Colorado, on Thursday.