A Season Full Of Success For One Way Ski Poles
Over the winter, the athletes of the ONE WAY Race Team caused quite a stir on the World Cup with their eye-catching orange poles.
After its second year in the Alpine World Cup, One Way has taken another big step forward. Significantly greater visibility across every discipline and at the top of the sport means that the pole brand is making strong waves at every level. With four World Cup victories in alpine racing, three crystal globes in the freestyle World Cup and several European championship titles in ski mountaineering, the brand is just getting started after the successes of the 23I24 season.
Before the start of the 23I24 season, new signings were already making waves. With Linus Strasser (GER) and Ramon Zenhäusern (SUI), not only were absolute shooting stars of the slalom scene signed up, but Stefan Rogentin (SUI), Justin Murisier (SUI), Elian Lehto (FIN) and Arnaud Boisset (SUI) became the first speed racers to be integrated into the team.
These additions took little time to make a big impact. Linus Strasser (GER) had an absolutely outstanding season, winning the classic races in Kitzbühel and Schladming, finishing on the podium in Palisades, Aspen, and Saalbach, and coming second in the overall slalom rankings. Daniel Yule (SUI) also showed once again that he can be relied on for big results. With his record-breaking victory in Chamonix, where he was able to move up to first place after finishing 30th in the first run, as well as another podium in Kitzbühel, he showed once again that he is always a force to be reckoned with.
Stefan Rogentin seized the last opportunity of the season to claim his first World Cup victory at the finals in Saalbach. With his win in the Super G, the speed specialist also secured the first ever World Cup victory in a speed race for ONE WAY. This fantastic result was rounded off by a podium finish from Arnaud Boisset (SUI). Albert Popov (BUL), AJ Ginnis (GRE), Justin Murisier (SUI) and Elian Lehto also showed a solid season with some Top 10 results.
Freestyle ace Mathilde Gremaud (SUI) conjured up an incredible record season in the snow. In nine World Cups in Big Air and Slopestyle, she ended up on the podium nine times, including six first place finishes and three second place results. At the end of her incredible season, she took home the small crystal globes in the Big Air and Slopestyle discipline rankings, as well as the large crystal globe for the overall Park & Pipe World Cup. Gremaud’s season was rounded off by a strong second place at the X-Games. Lukas Müllauer (AUT) was also able to provide a highlight at the end of the season. With his second place at the slopestyle season finale in Silvaplana, he earned the Austrian Ski Association’s first ever World Cup podium in slopestyle.
ONE WAY athletes were also impressively represented on the podiums of the various disciplines in ski mountaineering with Thibault Anselmet (FRA), Sarah Dreier (AUT) and Marianne Fatton (SUI). The season runs until the beginning of April, so Thibault Anselmet could add to his two victories and seven podiums in the World Cup, meaning he has a strong chance to win the overall World Cup. Sarah Dreier could add another result to her World Cup victory and European Championship title, as could Marianne Fatton, who currently has three World Cup podiums and a European Championship title to her name.
ONE WAY also made its debut at the Freeride World Tour with Kendall Goodman (USA). The orange poles were represented at the very highest level of freeriding for the first time, where Kendall put in a strong performance in his rookie season, finishing as the highest-ranked American on the FWT and narrowly missing the cut for the finals in Fieberbrunn and Verbier.
With 76 podium places across all Nordic disciplines - including 34 World Cup victories – the team surpassed the previous winter's successes. In addition to dominating the World Championships in Biathlon, ONE WAY was the most successful pole brand in the IBU World Cup with 45% of the podium places. Three overall World Cup victories and five discipline World Cup crystal globes put a brilliant end to an already exceptional season.
At the biathlon season finale in Canmore, Canada, the crystal globes shone just as brightly as the glowing orange Premio poles in the radiant sunlight. After winning six medals at the World Championships in Nove Mesto (CZE), Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR) demonstrated his superiority with a hat-trick in Canmore. The current best biathlete confidently won the overall World Cup for the fifth time as well as three of the small globes in the Individual, Pursuit and Mass Start disciplines. The exceptional Norwegian athlete joined the ONE WAY Race Team this season and was more than satisfied when he summed up his performances: "I fought hard. The world championships were great. The hat-trick at the end of the season makes me very happy. A perfect end to a perfect season." Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (NOR) made it onto the podium in the overall World Cup for the first time with third place. Four other ONE WAY athletes also made it into the top ten in the overall standings: Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR, 5th), Endre Strømsheim (NOR, 7th), Tommaso Giacomel (ITA, 8th) and Martin Ponsiluoma (SWE, 10th).
Lisa Vittozzi from Italy can also look back on an outstanding season as a fIour-time medal winner in Nove Mesto. With her victory in the final Mass Start, the likeable athlete secured the overall World Cup for the first time and won the individual and Pursuit events. "I’ve been through so much in recent years that this victory in the overall World Cup means so much to me - I can't even describe the feeling," said a visibly overwhelmed Vittozzi in her winner's interview. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (FRA) just missed out on the overall World Cup podium in fourth place, followed by Julia Simon (FRA) in fifth. Vanessa Voigt (GER, 8th), Karoline Offigstad Knotten (NOR, 9th), Janina Hettich-Walz (GER, 10th) and Franziska Preuss (GER, 11th) also contributed to ONE WAY's successful performance.
Ida Marie Hagen was the dominant athlete in Nordic Combined and was an early winner of the overall World Cup. In 15 World Cup races, the Norwegian stood on the top of the podium an incredible nine times and took six second places. In cross-country skiing, Emma Ribom (SWE) attracted attention for the ONE WAY Race Team with two World Cup victories and a third place, as well as Lauri Vuorinen (FIN) with a second place. In the Ski Classics series, Emilie Fleten (Team Ramudden) has a comfortable lead with three races to go.
