Dec 28, 2025
3 min read
This season the Giant Slalom battle between two women: Alice Robinson (NZL / Salomon) and Julia Scheib (AUT / Rossignol). With Robinson out of the picture on Saturday in Semmering, Scheib was heavily used.
'Crazy': Scheib grabs his third GS win of the season
December 27, 2025 · Alpine Skiing The big slalom race of the season was an epic battle between two women: Alice Robinson (NZ/Salomon) and Julia Shebe (AUT/Rossignol).
With Robinson out of the picture at Simmering Saturday, Scheib took full advantage.
The Austrian shuttler sent the home crowd into a frenzy by moving up a notch after the first run to overtake Robinson (DNF) as the giant slalom World Cup leader, winning the third race of the season and career.
With two ski passes on the track and rollers throwing other rollers into the air, Scheib showed off his new style to win in 1:56.46 seconds.
Racing the second-fastest first and fifth-fastest second run, the 27-year-old won by 0.14 seconds over CAMELLE RAST (SWE / HEAD, + 0.40s) who pushed down to third.
“It's crazy, I didn't think it would be a win,” Scheib admitted.
Scheib became the first skier out of the gate, just 0.02 seconds behind Hector, before she became the second-to-last skater in the second run and Rust took the club lead.
Starting with a 0.63s advantage, Austria lost time in the middle of the section and fell behind Rast in the final intermediate break just before the end of a quick run in which Rast fell ahead.
In the end, Hector was in touch but unable to match Scheib in the final section, giving the Austrian his second win of the season after his first World Cup victory in Solden to open the campaign.
"It's amazing, I can't describe it," he said of the home win.
“I love home races – Sölden was something special and I’m enjoying it now.”
Surprisingly, another skier who liked Semmering was Rast, who admitted before the race that it wasn't his favorite course. He finished as runner-up before skiing two great laps from bib number 14.
"A little bit more now," Rast said, answering whether he likes Semmering after all, after he secured the 500th World Cup giant slalom podium in Switzerland in women's and men's alpine skiing.
"It's nice to end the year in the GS on the podium," she said after finishing fifth, fourth and fourth in the last three Grand Slams.“I was very close in Tremblant (two quarters) and I tried to do my best today and it worked out.
In fifth place in the second race, Rast built a lead of more than a second on the final intermediate pass, but was thrown into the air during the finish, closing the gap to the lead and opening the door for those who had yet to ski.
"I knew I was going to make some mistakes, it wasn't that good, and in the end I wanted to see the green light, and it was," Rast said.
Although Scheib used Rast's error, Hector was unable to do so.
The reigning Olympic champion recorded only 12th-best time in her second race, which she described as "really bumpy" as she was the last skier to climb the mountain.
"My outdoor skiing could have been a little better," Hector admitted, although he remains positive about defending his Olympic title from February.
"I think I'm on a good path," he said."I still have work to do, but I'm excited to do it."
New Zealand star Robinson, the first up-and-comer in the first GS in the Ret, Scheib, starts with the gym in the middle and out of his ski in the middle of the skill and out of his ski inside.
On the same turn, three skiers later, Mikaela Shiffrin (USA/Atomic) lost her outside ski and drifted wide, and although she managed to recover, it cost her time and put her into eighth place, over a second behind Hector.
Shiffrin, the 2018 Olympic giant slalom champion, finished sixth in her second run, but missed the GS podium for the 10th time in a row since January 2024 as she continues to face the discipline she endured last November with a serious puncture injury.
World Cup 105 times Sunday for the advantage, and Sandy line will be difficult to cancel, and three of his last four.
Click here for complete results from Saturday's race.
