Ski-Alpin: Hirscher: Thought games heading for speed

Marcel Hirscher has shown with a strong tenth place in the World Cup Super-G in Aare. And fuelled speculation that he could be seen more often on the long slats in the future. I think it would suit me, I’ve been able to show that more than once,” said the seven-time overall World Cup winner.

But it is difficult to reconcile slalom and giant slalom if you want to keep up the same level,” said the Salzburg native. If I should change anything in my plans, as they were in the past years, then that definitely means goodbye to the overall World Cup. But a new challenge.”

Already on Wednesday evening after arriving at the World Championship venue in 2019, Hirscher had said that downhill training on the World Championship track would have been “naturally clever” if he had continued his career. He had left this out because he preferred to prepare at home.

Hirscher’s thoughts, however, do not yet mean that he has made a decision about the future. The 29-year-old still leaves open whether Aare will say goodbye or whether he will be back at the start in October 2018:”We are not even finished with the current season. I really don’t want to stress. It’s more of an emotional thing than anything. “From that point of view, I’d like to waste a little time.”

Until the Olympic Games in South Korea, Hirscher had not completed any speed training this winter. In Jeongseon/Pyeongchang he finished twelfth in the combined descent as later Olympic champion and now climbed the long crossbars for another two days for Super-G training in preparation for the final in Sweden.

Coach Michael Pircher was also very impressed with Hirscher’s performance in Aare. He still doesn’t believe that the man from Salzburg will work towards a participation in the World Championship Super-G. “Just because he finished tenth today, I don’t think so. I think he must have enjoyed it today and he’ll be happy.”

I hadn’t expected that. It’s the speed final. And with Korea as the only speed training and now two super-G days at home, with so little effort to finish tenth, hats off.”