MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: MARCEL HIRSCHER RETURNS FROM NEW ZEALAND WITH VALUABLE EXPERIENCE

"The conditions were ideal for starting again from scratch. The long journey was totally worth it. We had great conditions the entire time and gained so many important lessons from the two weeks of testing and training in Roundhill and Ohau."

We have a plan for what we need to do at home now - so it is mission accomplished

says Marcel Hirscher, in summing up. 

The main thing for him was rediscovering the feeling for fast turns in the snow after a five-year break - and that was a great success. Although building up to a race pace in various conditions, sometimes difficult, has proved an enormous physical challenge, at the same time the rapid adaptation to the great strain makes him very optimistic: "For me, this is confirmation that I am building up fitness in the right way," is his analysis.
 

NINE DAYS OF WINTER SNOW,​
COUNTLESS IMPORTANT FINDINGS

It’s the same story when it comes to equipment and set-up from his VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports ski company: "New Zealand was a first fact-finding mission for us, and it was valuable because we were able to carry it out in real winter conditions. Getting nine days in a row with ideal conditions does not happen all the time in New Zealand, so we were very fortunate. This allowed us to get all the insights we had hoped for within a very short time. We now know where we are well positioned, and which details we may still be able to improve on. Timon Haugan is also training in New Zealand and Henrik Kristoffersen in Saas Fee – all the feedback and data is now being put together by our R&D team and being fed into step-by-step development before we train on the snow in the Alps again.” The New Zealand camp was not only important for Marcel Hirscher to see how he stands: "It was also really good to be among fellow athletes again and to meet many familiar faces from skiing on the slopes: Timon Haugan, Lucas Braathen, Alice Robinson, the technicians from the US ski team and many others."

However, the good spirits in New Zealand were recently dampened by a tragic road accident in which three members of the Korean ski team died. "We had been training in Roundhill at the time we got the shocking news of the accident. It was a shock for everyone and puts a lot of things into perspective," says Marcel Hirscher.

SNOW CONDITIONS AND WEATHER FORECAST​
CAUSE EARLY RETURN

After two weeks of ideal conditions, there was disappointment in Coronet Peak, where FIS races are scheduled to be held this week. Marcel Hirscher explains: "We travelled to Coronet Peak as planned but saw there that it made no sense to stay due to the snow conditions and weather forecasts. We therefore decided to fly home a few days earlier than planned."