Pitsdaler wants overall success on the World Pro Ski Tour: In America it’s rock ‘n’ roll for Simon

Fence (Pele). Who is Simon? Many sports fans may not know the name of Jahnhof’s Pitstal skier Simon Breitfuss-Kammerlander. It has something to do with the fact that the TV cameras were often turned off when he raced the slopes at the World Cup. He once found closed doors at the Austrian Ski Association, “Even when I was young, I often set faster times than the ÖSV’s favorite candidates.”

Yet the bitterness did not resonate with him. The ÖSV chapter elected him for a long time. His life was extraordinary. Because after he got to know the ski areas in Argentina and Chile through his father Rainer Breitfuss, who was a ski racer, he wanted to go to Bolivia at the age of 16 and started studying there. Then coincidence played its part: at a festival in La Paz, Simon struck up a conversation with a member of the Bolivian ski association.

As a result, the possibility of the Pitsdal native competing in ski races for Bolivia in the future has been explored. Of course, a lot of patience was required. Because he had the necessary license in hand only in 2015.

Monster plan

In the following years, Kammerlander Breitfuss completed a real monster project: FIS and European Cup races to collect points. There’s always the South America Cup in the European summer. In October 2016, he celebrated his World Cup debut – at the Glacier Race in Solden. There was even some sort of miracle cure. “Before that, I always had problems with my knees, constant pain. In Solden, I had a brutal victory at the end of a steep slope. It exploded – the pain went away from it,” laughs Simon.

Although it wasn’t enough for the top spot, he enjoyed many highlights with the World Cup entourage. The World Championships in 2019 and the Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2021 were on his racing schedule, as were the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

Introduction to Streep

Simon, contrary to today’s trend, is an all-rounder, making his debut in 2019 at the famous Streiff in Kitzbühel. Afraid? “Not a clue, it was the best descent of all. I pushed myself into it. I was only 0.50 seconds behind the eventual winner Dominique Paris. However, on the next flat section, I really stood my ground and the skis completely failed. It was still an experience.

Simon is now at odds with the Bolivian ski association. “For years there were only promises. The promised money has never flowed and disappeared. FIS is not doing anything,” he fumes.

With his license suspended by the Bolivians, Simon will not be seen on the World Cup slopes this coming winter. But he has a bigger goal: overall victory at the World Pro Ski Tour in America, which he missed twice. Because in addition to the other races mentioned, he has been starting in North America for many years, and he has long made a name for himself as a strong parallel driver.

Simon is currently training regularly on the glacier in Solden. He will travel to the US two or three weeks before the first race in January 2023.