ÖSV confirms change of nation
That’s why Hirscher no longer drives for Austria
A big comeback is coming! The media world rumored it on Tuesday evening, now it’s official: Marcel Hirscher is returning to the ski circus for the 2024/25 season.
Published: 9 minutes ago
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Updated: 4 minutes ago
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The sensational comeback is official: Marcel Hirscher will return to the Ski World Cup.
Marcel Hirscher (35) wants to know again. Five years after retiring, the eight-time overall World Cup winner has announced his retirement. But instead of Austria, Hirscher will be competing for Holland, his mother’s home country, next winter.
On Wednesday morning, the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) officially informed about Hirscher’s change of nation – making the announcement from Tuesday evening official.
At the start for Holland because of Van Deer
The comeback is also a marketing coup for Marcel Hirscher. In 2021 he founded the ski brand Van Deer with the support of his long-standing sponsor Red Bull. It has also been represented in the World Cup since 2022. Norway’s technical ace Henrik Kristoffersen is riding on the crossbars of his former competitor. How will they exchange ideas as brand colleagues in the future? When Hirscher was still active, their rivalry was one of the most exciting things ski racing had to offer.
The ski brand is also a reason why Hirscher is changing countries for his comeback: Van Deer is not part of the ÖSV ski pool. Hirscher is therefore not allowed to drive his own brand for Austria. In addition, as a Dutchman, he does not have to take away the starting place in the World Cup from any Austrian athlete.
World Cup in Saalbach as a goal
In order for the former ski dominator to successfully return to the slopes, he wants to fly to New Zealand in the summer and improve his FIS points there – he is currently only ranked 850th in the world. Hirscher’s plan is to return for a season and contest the home World Cup in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. Hirscher won seven gold medals and four silver ones before his retirement in 2019. More are expected to be added in just under a year – for the mini-ski nation of Holland it would be the first precious metal.
He resigned at the age of 30: These were Marcel Hirscher’s career highlights(01:16)
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