Thirty-five-year-old Hirscher ended his successful career in 2019. Now the owner of a record eight overall World Cup triumphs has decided to return and the change of the national team has already been officially approved by the Austrian federation.
The union unsuccessfully tried to keep Hirscher by offering the best possible conditions, including individual training, but in the end, out of respect for the results in the Austrian national team, they unanimously granted his request.
“Of course, we are sorry that he is leaving for the Dutch national team. But we have decided to support him,” said the general secretary of the union, Christian Scherer, to Hirscher.
“I would like to race sometimes. Simply because I enjoy it,” said the owner of a record eight overall World Cup triumphs, which he continuously ruled from 2011 to 2019.
“And the future of Austrian skiing belongs to the young, so I don’t want to take away their starting places or resources. In the Netherlands, it will be easier from that point of view,” he added.
But now Hirscher faces the hardest part of the journey back. He dropped to 850th place in the world rankings and will therefore compete in the lower category FIS races in New Zealand in the summer to start collecting the points needed to start in the World Cup.
“We are excited,” added Dutch Ski Association technical director Wopke de Vegt. “Not only will he help us directly in the races, but we will also benefit from his wealth of knowledge and experience,” he said.
