Marcel Hirscher's plan to attack again in the World Cup under the Dutch flag is proving to be more complicated than expected. The FIS has apparently canceled the eight-time overall World Cup winner's original season wildcard.
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- On his return to the World Cup, Marcel Hirscher will apparently not receive a wildcard for the entire season after all.
- Following discussions between the FIS and the athletes, it is said to have been decided that the eight-time overall World Cup winner will have to apply for individual wildcards before each race.
Originally, Marcel Hirscher wanted to polish up his FIS points account with starts in the Continental Cup in New Zealand before the upcoming World Cup season and thus recommend himself for a wildcard for the entire winter.
The FIS had announced that athletes with major successes in the past could claim a wildcard on their return to the World Cup after a break of between two and ten years - for the entire season.
This announcement caused a stir in the ski circus. Athletes and officials criticized it and spoke of a distortion of competition, particularly in relation to young talent.
But no season wildcard
FIS President Johan Eliasch reacted to the outcry and announced that the exact interpretation of the wildcard rule would be reconsidered.
No sooner said than done: As reported by "Blick", the federation has now sat down with the athletes and apparently made a decision. According to the report, Hirscher will not receive a wildcard for the entire winter as hoped. Instead, he is to submit an application for each individual race, which the race management will then decide on separately.
Although it can be assumed that Hirscher's applications will be waved through fairly quickly, this is still a damper on the Salzburg native's preparations.
Preparation speaks for Odermatt
This is reportedly not going smoothly anyway. The former champion is said to have material problems and his new boots are apparently causing him great concern. Will Hirscher get these problems under control by the start of the season in Sölden in four weeks' time?
Things are going much better in the Swiss camp. For Marco Odermatt, the new impetus in the coaching team has already paid off. Under Alejo Hervas, the former Kondi coach of Lara Gut-Behrami, the man from Nidwalden has beaten his best mark from the summer of 2023 by around three percent in the strength and endurance tests. Gino Caviezel is also skiing very strong times after switching from Dynastar to Atomic.
