Michi Kirchgasser:

“I didn’t take Marcel’s understatement away from him”

Michaela Kirchgasser is impressed by Marcel Hirscher.(Bild: GEPA)

"I didn't take Marcel's pre-season understatement off my hands." Michi Kirchgasser, together with her Audi brand ambassador colleagues Benni Raich and Hans Knauß, is racking her brains about the new Ski World Cup season. Including Marcel Hirscher, of course.

"There has never been a superstar who has made a comeback after a five-year break - and that's a really long time," says Hans Knauß, still rubbing his eyes. The former world-class runner is really pleased with Hirscher's return, as he muses in the Audi setting. And he still has high hopes for the eight-time overall World Cup winner. "He's still missing the race kilometers, that's the only way to find your limit. If he works on that, he will be really dangerous in the second half of the season and in the World Championship. In any case, I firmly expect Marcel to finish on the podium this season," says Knauß.

"Then he will perform fully"
Michaela Kirchgasser is also still convinced of Hirscher's qualities. "Marcel was away for five years. You can train all you want, but a race is something else," says the Salzburg native. But: "It's not for nothing that he has dominated the last ten years in which he has raced. I didn't believe his low expectations in the run-up to the race anyway, when Marcel Hirscher is at the start, he will perform at his best, that was clear to me."

Raich: "The logical thing to do"
Benni Raich also had his thoughts on Hirscher and the second "comebacker" Lucas Braathen: "For me, the hype was a logical thing. Marcel won the overall World Cup eight times, he dominated the sport, then was away for five years and is back with his own ski company - that's very special and has clearly triggered something. Braathen is also a very special, very intelligent guy with great charisma. Nevertheless, I don't think skiing is lacking in characters, comeback stories like this are good for any sport."

Benni Raich had this to say about the women's opener in Sölden: "Mikaela Shiffrin's fall back was a bit surprising, especially after her half-time lead, but on the other hand it also shows that everything has to fit together. I also think a lot of Julia Scheib. After a slip-up like that, you usually start to hasardize, which rarely goes well. She accepted the mistake and didn't let herself get rattled, that was really strong. I think we'll have a lot of fun with her in the future."

Impressed by Scheib
Kirchgasser on Scheib: "She impressed me. We saw what she can do in training and last season, but to show what she can do in the first race of the season, in Austria to boot, that was really cool.