Good news and a message sent to the opponents of the Blues… Less than a month before the start of the events for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games (from Friday February 6 to Sunday February 22, 2026), Frenchman Paco Rassat won the Swiss slalom in Adelboden on Sunday.
Winner in Gurgl in November and third in the Madonna Di Campiglio slalom in Italy this Wednesday, the 27-year-old skier takes the lead in the discipline rankings.
Fourth fastest in the first round, the Savoyard achieved a breathtaking final wall in the second round to finish with a lead of 18/100th and 20/100th respectively over the Norwegians Atle Lie McGrath and Henrik Kristoffersen.
“This start of the season offers me magnificent surprises,” the Aillons skier rejoiced at the microphone of the Swiss channel RTS.
A late-blooming technician, Rassat took part in his first World Cup stage in Adelboden, only four years ago. “To win in front of this wall of madness, I am moved, it’s incredible,” declared the person concerned.
The Savoyard explained that he “vibrated” on Saturday “behind the podium” of his compatriot Léo Anguenot, third in the giant won by the Swiss Marco Odermatt. “Long live France, long live the Republic!” “, he concluded, with a smile on his lips.
“Winning in front of this wall of madness, I’m moved, it’s incredible”
In the discipline rankings, Paco Rassat therefore takes first place from the Norwegian Timon Haugan, eliminated in the first round, with 26 points ahead of Noël, eighth on Sunday after a less fluid end to the second round than usual.
The general classification remains largely dominated by Marco Odermatt, four-time holder of the big globe who does not line up between the tight stakes, with 417 points ahead of the Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen.
If Rassat had already briefly worn the red bib as slalom leader after his unexpected victory in November in the Austrian slalom of Gurgl, the impression left on Adelboden is different.
Already the fastest during most of the first round, Rassat had come close to going off the track in the final wall, but this tightrope rescue hardly seemed to move or inhibit him. “I scared myself a lot, but I had a lot of fun at the top,” he analyzed to RTS. “I am in the fight for the “two” (second place), so everything remains to be done.”
In addition to this mental strength, for a skier who had never been on a World Cup podium before this season, he demonstrated in the second round a rare ability to regain speed even after a slight brake application.
The advent of Paco Rassat also confirms the regained health of the blue slalom racers, whose performances no longer rest on the sole shoulders of the reigning Olympic champion, Clément Noël.
The French indeed achieved a nice group shot since Steven Amiez, Clément Noël, and the veteran (36 years old) Victor Muffat-Jeandet took 7th, 8th, and 12th place respectively. “I’m still young in my head, so I’m super happy,” said the latter after the slalom.
The slalom racers will continue on Tuesday with the night event in Flachau, Austria, before returning to the Swiss Oberland on Sunday in Wengen. The home stretch with the Games. “Before looking ahead to February, we still have three great races in January to which I attach enormous importance, and I will concentrate on the Games only afterwards,” the winner of the day confided to AFP.
