The return of Austrian superstar Marcel Hirscher to the Alpine Skiing World Cup is a big event for fans. However, not everyone shares the joy of his “comeback” from skiing retirement in the colors of the Netherlands.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) also helped him to return to the top stage, which introduced free cards for those who have been out of the race for a long time and want to return.
However, the condition is victories at the highest professional level from the past, i.e. in World Cup races or gold medals from the World Cup and Olympic Games.
And this is also the case with Hirscher, who is considered one of the best protagonists of technical disciplines in the history of downhill skiing.
Hirscher will have the right to start immediately behind the elite thirty in the opening race of the 2024/2024 WC during the weekend in Söden, Austria, although he does not have the required FIS points in his portfolio.
According to German slalom skier Linus Strasser, it is not right that Hirscher immediately gets a relatively good starting position as a prominent returner thanks to the newly introduced rule. “It’s hard to deal with how they did it,” Strasser said on ORF’s website.
The head coach of the Germans, Christian Schwaiger, thinks that it is an absolutely badly handled situation.
Wolfgang Maier, sports director of the German Skiing Association (DSV), criticized the fact that the free cards were decided by the FIS around the controversial president Johan Eliasch without consultation and coordination with representatives of athletes and teams.
“In principle, we are not against a free card for Hirscher. But the way it was implemented is not right,” Maier said.
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
