Comeback of the year

Robinson faster? Hirscher “really amused”

Marcel Hirscher(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Marcel Hirscher spoke at length about his comeback project in a ServusTV interview broadcast on Monday evening as part of "Sport und Talk im Hangar 7". The many reports and rumors of the past few weeks - keyword Alice Robinson - have "really amused" him, said Hirscher.

Recently, there had been reports from Switzerland that the Salzburg native's preparations for his return to the Ski World Cup after a five-year absence were anything but going smoothly.

Marcel Hirscher(Bild: Miles Holden / Red Bull Content Pool)

Among other things, it was said that Hirscher had problems with his equipment set-up during the training runs in New Zealand in August and was slower than New Zealand giant slalom ace Alice Robinson. "You have to put everything into perspective, after five years things are no longer the way they used to be," said the 35-year-old.

Robinson was probably "sometimes faster", then again not, "I don't know". In any case, he was "really amused" by how much was written about him recently, said Hirscher.

"Realized what it means to return now"
The preparation in New Zealand had been very good in any case, they had been able to "ski perfectly for nine days", then there was a spring break, which is why they flew back earlier than planned. In New Zealand he "realized what it means to return now", says Hirscher.

(Bild: Miles Holden / Red Bull Content Pool)

Whether he will be competing in Sölden in three weeks' time is "my plan and my wish, but I can't answer that yet". When asked, Hirscher said that a top 15 place is "not realistic at the moment". He needs to "have the feeling that I'm ready" - only then will he start.

(Bild: Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool)

Wildcard? "A cool story for the sport"
The plan is for the comeback to be over after a year - but "never say never", the eight-time overall World Cup winner did not explicitly rule out continuing after the 2024/25 season. Hirscher did not want to go into detail about the criticism of the wildcard. When he decided to return to the ski circus, "there was no talk of a wildcard". It was "a cool story for the sport", but "I can't answer how I would have reacted at the time".