Paco Rassat (FRA) continued his breakout season on the men’s Alpine skiing World Cup tour after a decisive victory at the slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland.

Rassat opened with the fourth-fastest run in the first heat, giving himself some work to do in the second phase of the competition. However, Rassat posted the quickest time in the second run to win the event with an overall time of 1:51.22. 

It was a massive showing for the 27-year-old French skier, who entered the 2025-26 season just with a single top-10 World Cup finish in his career. This season, Rassat has claimed three podium finishes, two victories and another pair of top-six results in just six races, finding a whole new level of competition as he prepares for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. 

With the victory, Rassat moves into third place in the World Cup slalom standings, trailing only Timon Haugan (NOR) and French teammate Clement Noel.

Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath skied his way into second place (+0.18), earning his third slalom podium and fourth total of the 2025-26 Cup campaign. McGrath was consistent in both runs, skiing second fastest in the first and fourth in the second to claim his spot on the podium. 

His Norwegian teammate Henrik Kristoffersen rounded out the top three (+0.20), finishing just two hundredths of a second behind McGrath. The veteran racer was the fastest skier in the first run by 0.28 seconds but struggled across his second run, losing nearly a quarter second to McGrath which ultimately made the difference.

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA) nearly collected his second podium of the weekend, but placed fourth (+0.36), following up his runner-up finish in the giant slalom. Austria’s Manuel Feller (+0.38) secured fifth.

The two-biggest surprises of raceday belonged to Haugan and Swiss favorite Loic Meillard, both of whom failed to finish. Haugan, who led the World Cup slalom standings coming into the race, was one of 14 skiers who recorded a DNF in the first heat. He fell to third, with Rassat leapfrogging to first and Noel to second.

The U.S. team also struggled in Adelboden, despite clear conditions on the course. No American qualified for a second run, though Jett Seymour was closest, coming in 32nd and missing the cut-off by around two tenths of a second. Luke Winters was 39th (+2.61), while Ben Ritchie was disqualified in the first run.

With the action wrapped in Adelboden, the men’s Alpine World Cup tour returns for a super-G, downhill and slalom races in Wengen, Switzerland. Competition begins January 16 with the super-G.