The youngest winner of the Overall World Cup in 1974, "Pierino" Gros is also the youngest to have won a race at that time. He was only 18 in December 1972 when he beat all the favorites in the GS at Val d'Isere. It was his very first World Cup appearance and he wore bib number 45! A week later he beat everybody again in slalom at Madonna di Campiglio. A silver medal winner in GS in St Moritz at the 1974' FIS World Championships, the skier from Piedmont became Olympic Champion in slalom in 1976 at Innsbruck. It was also his last major victory. Gros competed until 1982 and accumulated a series of top-3 finishes but he could never win a top race again. A very aggressive and spectacular racer on course, the outspoken Piero was the perfect opposite of his teammate Gustavo Thoeni. It was very important for him to become the first to beat Thoeni in the Overall World Cup in 1974 at a race in the former Czechoslovakia. "Pierirno" was strong again during the 1974/75 campaign and won his final World Cup race at Kitzbuhel in January that winter. He settled for in 4th place for the season "helping" Thoeni to win his fourth Crystal Trophy. Gros did so by taking 2nd place in a race in the USA ahead of their rival Ingemar Stenmark. He gave up racing at 28 after the 1982' FIS World Championships at Schladming, Austria. Piero Gros was mayor in his hometown and now manages a sports-shop and is a commentator on Swiss TV (the Italian speaking TSI Channel). His son Giorgio has also started to compete at the junior level.