Ski stars well prepared Rast and Holdener want to get back to the top in the first slalom of the season

Three weeks after the season opener in Sölden, the women will be competing in the first slalom of the Olympic winter in Levi on Saturday. Camille Rast starts with a small handicap, Wendy Holdener thinks she is ready.

Keystone-SDA

13.11.2025, 16:30

SDA

High temperatures made for unfavorable training conditions in the north of Finland last week. This circumstance played into the hands of the Swiss pole artists: While others had to rely on the training sessions in Levi and had to switch to an alternative slope with soft snow, the Swiss-Ski athletes were able to train on a perfectly icy slope in Saas-Fee, simulating the conditions expected in Levi on Saturday.

"What the Saas-Fee ski resort and our coaches have made possible for us here is simply brilliant," Wendy Holdener from Valais told Blick before setting off for Levi on Tuesday. The training opportunities on the Längfluh are "enormously valuable", said Camille Rast, who arrived on Saturday.

The signs are also good for a successful Olympic winter for the local slalom trumps. In her second winter after returning to her old ski supplier Head, Camille Rast got rid of her old burdens and made her big breakthrough. The 26-year-old from Valais will start the slalom World Cup on Saturday as world champion and leader of the start list (WCSL). She made it onto the podium for the first time in Gurgl at the end of November 2024 and won in Killington and Flachau.

No pressure, but with a handicap

Rast is not putting herself under pressure after the excellent previous season, on the contrary: "Of course I want more. But the pressure has eased because I have achieved or exceeded many of my goals." When she's having fun, she's fast, says Rast. So she doesn't want to lose her relaxed attitude.

Since her crash in Sestriere in February, however, Rast has been troubled by pain in her left hip. Fluid had to be removed twice in the summer, and she suffered another setback after Sölden. She sometimes struggles a little due to the pain, but the run times are good, says Rast.

Wendy Holdener's preparation went without complications: "I'm happy. If I compare it with 2024 or 2023, it was a quieter summer. I was able to work well, implement my training plan and still enjoy the summer. I was also happy to be on the road again. Those are three key points that were right."

Although Levi is not one of her favorite courses, Holdener has already made it onto the podium four times at the slalom overture in Lapland - the last time in 2022. After the drastic and draining time due to the death of her brother Kevin in spring 2024 and an ankle injury during the 2023/24 season, Holdener regained her old strength last winter, which culminated in winning World Championship silver and two more World Championship medals.

Better than 2023 and 2024

"The goal is definitely to be a force to be reckoned with again. I've always been reasonably good in recent years and have had my podium finishes. It was good that I came back so well last season after a difficult start. If I get off to a better start now, a lot is possible," says Holdener.

The slalom, where the number of contenders for victory has increased in the absence of Petra Vlhova, but where Mikaela Shiffrin could once again set the tone, remains Holdener's hobbyhorse. The 32-year-old from Schwyz will not decide whether to return to the Super-G after almost three years until December before St. Moritz.

Mélanie Meillard, the Swiss number 3 in the pole forest, is focusing entirely on her showpiece discipline after a strong last season, in which she returned to the extended top with eight top 10 results in ten slaloms and eighth place in the discipline World Cup.

More videos from the department