Paco Rassat Claims his second Alpine Ski World Cup Win of the Season in Adelboden
- Raúl Revuelta
- Jan 11
- 2 min read
The 6th Alpine Ski World Cup Slalom of the season in Adelboden crowned a double winner: Paco Rassat. This victory marks his second win in the World Cup and his 3rd podium finish, all achieved this season.
The 27-year-old French skier is enjoying the best season of his career so far, having climbed to the top of the rankings with 340 points. He has finished in the Top Six of every Slalom World Cup race he has participated in, including two wins in Gurgl and now in Adelboden. Teammate Clement Noel is second (314), and Timon Haugan, who did not finish the first run, is third (285)
Rassat set the fastest time in the second run, allowing him to move up three places on the leaderboard. Atle Lie McGrath took second place, finishing just 0.18 seconds behind Rassat, while Henrik Kristoffersen secured third, 0.20 seconds behind.
"I can’t believe I won here in Adelboden. Winning in front of this crowd is fantastic. I’ve never scored points in the three races here so far. I wanted to ski cleanly on the steep sections and pick up speed on the flats. I feel comfortable on the steep sections; my technique suits me there, and I try to make as few mistakes as possible," Rassat said.
Atle Lie McGrath, meanwhile, retains a unique record at the Adelboden Slalom, having recorded two DNFs and now three second-place finishes in five starts on the iconic Chuenisbärgli slope.
"Paco skied so well. I heard it at the start; one thing about the French coaches is that they cheer louder than anyone else at the start, even when the race is still going on, so I knew Paco had taken the lead by quite a bit. I had to push, and I pushed. It just wasn't enough today, but still to be on the podium at Adelboden for a third time is very special," McGrath said.
Henrik Kristoffersen claimed his 99th career World Cup podium. He is now one away from Marc Girardelli in third on the all-time list of Men's World Cup podiums. Ingemar Stenmark leads the record with 155 podiums.
The 31-year-old Norwegian skier was deeply frustrated after failing to claim the victory, despite achieving his fourth podium finish of the season.
"I fought hard, but the first part was poor. My ski slipped, and then I lost speed on the flat section. But yes, that's how it is. I hope I can improve before the next race. I tried, there's nothing more I can do," Kristoffersen said.
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