Marcel Hirscher's warning on skiing return

To start or not to start? That's the big question ahead of the World Cup in Sölden on October 27. And in five weeks at the latest we'll know whether Marcel Hirscher will actually be back on Austrian soil and back on the ski trail after six years as a Dutchman.

Like the Swiss daily newspaper view According to reports, the 35-year-old from Salzburg is likely to face major problems. At his winter training camp in New Zealand, several “spies” are said to have noticed that Hirscher had massive problems coordinating the material. According to the report, even New Zealand’s RTL specialist Alice Robinson is said to have set faster times than the former skiing dominator.

Sunshine instead of ski slopes

The planned time trial races in New Zealand were cancelled due to poor conditions, so Hirscher himself left Coronet Peak in advance. So he still lacked any comparison in race mode. After an early trip to New Zealand, he was able to gain some insights, but he did not accumulate any race kilometres.

Since then, the Nieuw Orangi has probably covered only a few kilometres of slopes. Instead of another trip to a glacier, Hirscher recently trained in Spain in the bright sunshine. When asked by oe24, Hirscher’s team said the calculated fears were unfounded. However, the possibility of starting in Sölden remains open. Hirscher said weeks ago that he would decide on this at short notice. If he didn’t feel ready, there was no start.

Neurother speaks clearly

But not everyone is skeptical about Hirscher's comeback. His long-time World Cup rival and friend Felix Neureuther is taking aim at all the critics. “I recently saw a current photo of Marcel on Instagram. His thighs are absolutely massive, and he's in the best physical shape ever.”