Away from the team

“ÖSV rebel” Gritsch comes second at the start of the season

Franziska Gritsch has already impressed in New Zealand with second place.(Bild: Winter Games NZ/Sean Beale)

While the majority of the ÖSV ladies are currently preparing in South America and the "Speed West" group is only traveling to New Zealand today, another Austrian was already able to celebrate her first podium finish of the season on Thursday in Coronet Peak: "Rebel" Franziska Gritsch finished second in the ANC slalom.

Last year, the 27-year-old from Ötztal made headlines after her love affair with her then group coach Florian Stengg became public and he was subsequently transferred within the ÖSV.

A decision that the couple did not want to live with, which is why they decided to leave the training structure of the ski association and try their luck on their own.

A path that the overall European Cup winner of the 2021/22 season is continuing in the new season. After leaving her longstanding supplier Head, the Ötztal native is now relying on Blizzard equipment. Together with her service man Michael Mattle and coaching partner Stengg, she traveled to New Zealand to prepare.

Franziska Gritsch (left) was only beaten by local hero Piera Hudson (center) in Coronet Peak. Third place went to the Brit Reece Bell.(Bild: Winter Games NZ)

And the mini-team seems to be working. In a slalom as part of the Australian-New Zealand Cup (ANC) - the oceanic equivalent of the European Cup - Gritsch finished in second place, just 0.09 seconds behind the victorious local hero Piera Hudson. While the 2019 World Championship silver medallist was still in third place in the team competition after run one, she improved by one position with the second-best run time in run two.

Christoph Meissl from Bischofshofen finished twelfth in Coronet Peak, leaving a world champion behind him.(Bild: Winter Games NZ/Sean Beale)

Meissl faster than former world champion
In the men's event, in the absence of neo-Dutchman Marcel Hirscher, there was a Swiss one-two victory by Reto Maechler and Joel Luetolf, while third place went to Sam Maes from Salzburg, competing for Belgium. The best ÖSV starter was Christoph Meissl from Salzburg, who is without a squad. The 24-year-old finished 1.79 seconds behind Maechler in twelfth place, just ahead of the Norwegian 2021 Slalom World Champion in Cortina, Sebastian Foss-Solevag.