Rasmus Bakkevig leads Norway 1-2 in Men’s Giant Slalom at Narvik

Rasmus Bakkevig overhauled teammate Jarand Husby Haugen with a smooth second run as Norway clinched a 1-2 in the Men’s Giant Slalom at the FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships in front of an exultant home crowd in Narvik, Norway.

Bakkevig upgraded his silver medal from the 2025 edition as he became the first Norwegian man to win the title since Alexander Steen Olsen at Panorama 2022.

Husby Haugen came through with a late surge for silver ahead of Aleix Aubert Serracanta who became only the second Spanish male to take a medal at the junior worlds and third Spaniard overall.

Husby Haugen and Bakkevig occupied the top two spots after the first run with the former enjoying a 0.23secs lead.

Serracanta was third, 0.41secs behind, followed by Sebastian Hagan (NOR). Freddy Carrick-Smith (GBR) and Nash Huot-Marchand (FRA) with reigning champion Flavio Vitale (FRA) eighth, 1.11 off top spot.

Giuliano Fux was 21^st after the first run, 1.75secs adrift, but the Swiss athlete delivered a blistering 1:03.82 on his second outing for a total 2:09.26 to elevate himself into pole position.

A further 17 athletes came and went without dislodging Fux – including defending champion Vitale who DNF - until there were only three skiers to go, starting with Aubert Serracanta. 

Despite errors on the upper section, the 20-year-old recovered to post 1:05.11 for a combined 2:09.21 and a 0.05secs lead.

Where some had struggled on the steep upper section, Bakkevig was smooth and solid, his 1:04.99 second run and 2:08.91 total launching him 0.30secs clear at the head of the field.

Husby Haugen faltered on the upper section and was still in trouble through the lower part of the course.

However, he managed to pull things back around the final couple of gates to post 1:05.38 for a total 2:09.07 and the silver medal, 0.16secs shy of Bakkevig.

Fux – who had led for so long – was fourth, locked out of the podium by one place and 0.05secs despite the fastest second run of the entire field.

It was a second medal of Narvik 2026 for Bakkevig following bronze in the Team Combined with Sebastian Espen Bengston.

Cheered on by his friends among the home crowd, he said: “I was like yeah, I just have to deliver. My dad is here and it was awesome, the best feeling ever.”

He added: “Thank you to all the crew in Narvik and everyone that made this race possible because it was a good one.”

Husby Haugen was aware before his second run that Bakkevig had gone ahead. “I knew I had to really perform and hopefully I will take him,” he said. “But I am so happy to be standing on the second place with him.”

He added: “The first one (run) was really rough especially on the flat part. So, the second I knew I just had to go for it and I did and it pays off so really happy.”

Ander Mintegui was the first Spanish man to claim a medal at the junior world ski championships when he won Super G silver at Haute-Savoie 2024.

Aubert Serracanta now joins him after writing his own line in the Spanish history books.

“I did some mistakes on the top but in the end, I just pushed through and made it to the finish line and saw it was green and just broke,” he said. “It’s my dream to come here to win but still third place is amazing.”

It followed disappointment in the Team Combined where he and teammate Roger Barcelo Castellet missed the podium by one place and 0.04secs.

He said: “Just some days ago I was fourth by a couple of hundredths so now being the other side of the hundredths feels really nice.”

You can catch the next generation of talent in action at FIS TV which will livestream the competition with English commentary: FIS TV (https://watch.fis-ski.com/home)

You can also watch on the FIS Alpine YouTube channel: FIS Alpine - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/fisalpine)

Athletes and NSAs will have access to the FIS Content Exchange Platform, a centralized digital hub where they can access and download high-quality competition footage including personalized runs and action pictures.

These can then be shared on the athletes’ and NSA’s social media platforms.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fisalpine

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fis.ski

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fisalpine

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fisalpine