As if Mikaela Shiffrin had not currently engraved her name in the record of World Cup towering snowboarding, the American starts the brand-new period looking at yet one more spots, aiming to end up being the very first individual to chalk up 100 success on the circuit.
The 29-year-old shut an injury-hit 2024 on 97 World Cup wins, having currently went beyond the previous total document of 86 held by Swedish terrific Ingemar Stenmark.
“It’s like I’m not finished with what I want to give and want to get from the sport,” Shiffrin stated in a meeting with Eurosport recently.
“If I’m in good shape, and if it does happen, I do see it as a really big opportunity to bolster all the stories that are happening in ski racing right now. There’s so much to be excited about, and so many stories in the sport, even beyond my own.”
Another tale of the inclines, Marcel Hirscherwill mark his go back to the snow, 5 years after his retired life.
The Austrian retired in 2019 with 67 World Cup wins, having actually asserted Olympic gold in slalom and incorporated at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, and with 7 globe titles to his name.
His collection of 8 successive total World Cup crystal worlds from 2012 to 2019 stays a document. He stands 4th in profession victories after Shiffrin, Stenmark and Lindsey Vonn.
– Hirscher in orange –
Hirscher, nonetheless, will certainly not be back at a loss and white of his indigenous Austria.
He will certainly rather wear the orange of the Netherlands, the birth nation of his mommy, for one period.
“This weekend will be marked by a historic event, as Marcel Hirscher will make his debut under the Dutch flag,” the Netherlands ski federation stated in a declaration on Tuesday.
“We wish Marcel the best of luck!”
His bitter-sweet move was met with disappointment from Austria, but welcomed in the Netherlands, a flatland country better known for its ice-skating than skiing prowess.
” I assumed it is enjoyable to be in the race once more and it was a lot happiness,” he told AFP this summer.
“Then I believed to myself fine, why not ski one year for the Netherlands?”
Since his retirement, Hirscher, who has rock star status in ski-crazy Austria but revels in the ” tranquility” of the Netherlands, set up his own ski company, Van Deer, supported by long-time sponsor Red Bull.
While he trained during the summer in New Zealand, he returned home earlier than expected.
“Aiming for a location in the leading 15 would not presently be practical,” Hirscher told Austrian television earlier this month.
Hirscher then will be highly unlikely to bother Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, the runaway winner of last season’s overall title.
Lara Gut-Behrami claimed the women’s globe in what was a double Swiss delight in Saalbach, the Austrian resort that will host the 2025 world championships in February.
Shiffrin’s main rival in the technical events, Petra Vlhova, will be missing from Soelden, the Slovak admitting she doesn’t know when she’ll be back on the pistes after knee surgery.
” I wish to return at complete toughness,” Vlhova said.
“It’s been a difficult trip, however my knee remains in great problem currently. I do not have discomfort or constraints, however I require to really feel one hundred percent on the skis. I will not complete simply to end up, I require to reclaim my toughness completely.
“I’m determined to return to my top form, even though I don’t know how long it will take.”
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