Industry News
In what can only be referred to as a multi-lingual media spectacle, Dutch-Austrian ski racer Marcel Hirscher discussed the details of his comeback in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands, on Wednesday, July 24. Hirscher’s return to competitive skiing under the Dutch flag was discussed in three languages at a press conference at the SnowWorld Indoor Ski Center in Zoetermeer. After signing orange-colored t-shirts for the fans—the national color of the Dutch—Marcel Hirscher sat down in front of the national and international press to answer questions about his comeback. Hirscher retired from competitive skiing in September 2019 and announced his comeback in April this year, although he admitted in German, “I don’t like the c-word,” although the pun was probably lost in translation.
Hirscher demonstrated his mastery of Dutch by holding interviews in Dutch, German, and English. He emphasized in his opening statement how important it was for him to host the press conference in his mother’s homeland, the Netherlands, and how excited he is to ski for the Netherlands, “I think it’s incredible that I can do this next winter,” Hirscher said in fluent Dutch, tinged with a slight Austrian accent. Hirscher is the son of a Dutch mother and an Austrian father who met on a ski holiday in Austria. Hirscher hopes that his decision to join the Dutch National Team in the upcoming 24/25 season will be a win-win situation and result in a boost for both Dutch Alpine skiing as well as Austrian tourism.
Hirscher explained his decision to return to competitive skiing under the Dutch flag with his desire not to block the future of a young Austrian athlete. The Austrian Alpine selection is naturally much more competitive than that of the Netherlands—a country where more than a quarter of the land mass is below sea level. The Netherlands has only about a handful of Alpine athletes who have qualified for a World Cup race. The last one to do so was Maarten Meiners in Giant Slalom in 2023, but he failed to gain FIS points. Hirscher’s goal for now is to qualify for the 2025 Alpine World Championships in Saalbach, Austria. The last time the Netherlands sent Alpine skiers to the World Championships was in 2017 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Dutch do, however, have a strong program for para-athletes and have sent several athletes to the World Cup, World Championships, and Paralympics. Jeroen Kampschreur, Kees-Jan van der Kloster, and Niels de Lange each have several medals and podiums to their names from international para-events.
With Hirscher joining the Dutch team, the Netherlands stands a chance of not just gaining its first ever FIS points but potentially even winning a podium. Marcel Hirscher is one of the most successful Alpine skiers of all time, with eight successive Overall World Cup season titles to his name, seven World Championship titles, and two Olympic Gold medals. However, Hirscher is realistic about his odds and acknowledged that a lot has changed since his retirement almost five years ago, “There will be a lot of challenges,” the Alpine skier admitted. “But the biggest one could be my body: it’s already 35 years old. But also the skiing: What was the adaption of ski racing in the past five years? I have no idea. I have watched a lot of races on TV and analyzed them. But what does it take to get this pace—that’s the major question. We will have the answer in half a year.”
Hirscher admitted he was inspired last season by Cyrpien Sarazzin, who Hirscher admits gave him “goosebumps.” In general the Dutch-Austrian skier shared his admiration for Marco Odermatt, whose career kicked off when Hirscher retired. Odermatt has won the Overall World Cup season title for the last three consecutive years and is particularly strong in Giant Slalom, Hirscher’s strongest discipline.
After two weeks of off-snow training, Hirscher will head to New Zealand in August for training and competitions, but Hirscher was cautious about his odds of qualifying for the World Cup and World Championships, admitting “Five years is a really long time!” He emphasized that the most important thing for him right now is to enjoy the skiing and to make the most of the time back on snow.
It will be interesting to see how Hirscher will fare at the first FIS competitions of the season in New Zealand. Cadrona will host four FIS Slalom and Giant Slalom events from August 5-8, while Coronet Peak will host four FIS Slalom and Giant Slalom events from August 15-19, and another four FIS Slalom and Giant Slalom events from August 27-31. These events are either FIS Open or National events which allow athletes to earn FIS points towards qualification for a World Cup slot.
