Deserved veterans

“Duel of the generation” for the ÖSV slalom men

Christian Hirschbühl gets another chance in Wengen, youngsters like Jakob Greber (r.) have to be patient (for now).(Bild: Christof Birbaumer/Kronenzeitung GEPA Pictures)

The relief of 34-year-old Christian Hirschbühl from Vorarlberg was palpable after he prevailed against 23-year-old Joshua Sturm in the internal qualification on Thursday and secured a ticket for the World Cup slalom on Sunday in Wengen. This brings the average age of the eight-strong red-white-red slalom line-up for the classic in the Bernese Oberland to exactly 30.38 years.

However, the veterans (still) have good arguments. With Manuel Feller (32 years old / fourth place), Fabio Gstrein (27/15th), Johannes Strolz (32/16th), Dominik Raschner (30/18th), Michael Matt (31/21st), Marco Schwarz (29/25th) and Adrian Pertl (28/26th), seven Austrians are ranked in the top 30 of the World Cup start list and, according to current ÖSV criteria, have their World Cup place secured.

Manuel Feller won the slalom World Cup last year and took silver in the slalom at the 2017 World Championships in St. Moritz.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Highly decorated guard
With the exception of Gstrein, all of them have also won medals for Austria at the World Championships or Olympic Games. Hirschbühl celebrated his first World Cup victory - two months before his injury in January 2022 - in the parallel race in Zürs, was also in the top 30 of the World Cup start list in the slalom and proved this season in Levi - where he qualified for run two but was disqualified due to a single thread - that he is still very fast.

The 23-year-old Tyrolean Joshua Sturm has already finished in the World Cup points three times this winter - in Wengen he will have to watch on.(Bild: GEPA)

The 22-year-old East Tyrolean Kilian Pramstaller has seven World Cup starts to his name - his last to date was in Aspen in March 2024, where he finished 22nd and scored points for the first time.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

21-year-old Jakob Greber from Mellau should have had his first World Cup appearance last season in Bansko, Bulgaria - but the race was stopped after 31 racers due to bad weather.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer/Kronenzeitung)

In January 2024, 19-year-old Moritz Zudrell from Silbertal became the youngest ÖSV skier since Marcel Hirscher to make his World Cup debut in the slalom in Wengen. Until his retirement, he was well on his way to qualifying for the second run.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

European Cup fixed places currently the only chance
The next generation would be there with Sturm, but also the East Tyrolean Kilian Pramstaller and the two Vorarlbergers Jakob Greber and Moritz Zudrell. Marko Pfeifer knows that too. "The situation is not easy. We need fixed places, which we can get in the European Cup by finishing in the top 3," says the team boss. The "young guns" in the ÖSV do not currently have any other opportunity to qualify for World Cup appearances - for example in a direct qualifying duel.