Atle Lie McGrath achieves the Wengen double and wins the slalom on the Lauberhorn for the second time in a row. In this interview, the Norwegian explains why he loves skiing in Switzerland so much and how he came to be practising "W. Nuss vo Bümpliz".
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- Atle Lie McGrath not only impresses in Wengen with his victory in the slalom, but also with his singing skills.
- On Saturday at the start number draw and on Sunday after the winner's ceremony, the Norwegian sings the Swiss hit "W. Nuss vo Bümpliz".
- In the interview, McGrath explains: "It's a little gift from me to the fans that they always come and watch us ride."
Atle Lie McGrath takes the slalom victory in Wengen again this year after 2025. The Norwegian said after the race that it was amazing to win twice in a row on the Lauberhorn: "The course here is so difficult, the pressure is high, the crowd is magical, but you really have to be focused."
Together with Adelboden, Kitzbühel and Schladming, Wengen is special and the essence of skiing: "Wengen is mythical, Kitzbühel has the biggest ski party, but the Swiss crowd is also really good. They are some of the best fans in Wengen and Adelboden."
McGrath showed that he really feels at home in Wengen when he surprised the audience with a song on Saturday evening and sang "W. Nuss von Bümpliz", the hit by Patent Ochsner. The Norwegian explains: "I sang Vogellisi in Adelboden and it wasn't such a difficult song. Then a girl wrote to me on Instagram and said I had to learn W. Nuss from Bümpliz." So he learned the song, it was a really cool song, but the first minute of the song was very difficult with the Swiss German: "Today at the finish it was better, that was just the chorus."
McGrath explains why he performs the songs in the first place: "I love learning more about the culture of different places, and it's a little gift from me to the fans that they always come and watch us ride."
"Maybe I can have a room in Odermatt's house"
After setting the fastest time in the first run, McGrath called out to the TV cameras in reference to Marco Odermatt: "This is my house". When asked whether it really is his house now after two wins in a row, he replied: "A bit more. Marco has four wins, I have two, so I need two more. It's difficult to compete with Marco, but I might be able to have a room in his house."
The next World Cup venue McGrath would like to make his home is Kitzbühel, where another slalom will take place next Sunday. But he doesn't have a song for it yet: "I only have one Styrian song so far, but it's for Schladming, not Kitzbühel. People have to write to me on Instagram. As a Norwegian, it's difficult for me to know which folk song is needed in Austria."
