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Eight-time overall World Cup globe winner Marcel Hirscher has announced his comeback to international ski racing for the 2024-25 season – but not for Austria.

Hirscher’s sensational return is great news for the international ski racing world. Hirscher dominated alpine ski racing for about a decade before retiring in 2019.

Under the Austrian flag, Hirscher captured an unprecedented eight consecutive Overall World Cup titles from the 2011/12 season through the 2018/19 season. During the same period, he also won the slalom and giant slalom globes six times each. In 2013, he won the then-existing city event World Cup globe. Additionally, the Salzburg, Austria native has captured 67 World Cup victories, five World Championship victories, and two victories in the Olympic Winter Games.

Hirscher’s return to the World Cup will spark great international interest in alpine ski racing.

His mother’s home country

Like Lucas Braathen, who recently announced a ski racing comeback for his mother’s home country, Brazil, Hirscher plans to re-enter ski racing for his mother’s native country — the Netherlands.

Hirscher’s mother is Dutch and his father is Austrian, so he has always held dual citizenship.

According to an April 24 statement from the Dutch Ski Association (NSkiV), Hirscher says: “I retired five years ago and am now 35 years old. My comeback must, therefore, also be seen in that light: I would especially like to have the opportunity to participate in competitions again, simply because I enjoy it. I have an excellent relationship with the ÖSV (the Austrian Ski Association) and am grateful to them for everything we have achieved. This new project is best realized as a Dutchman,” says Hirscher.

Dutch excitement

According to the same statement, the technical director of NSkiV, Wopke de Vegt, says: “We are delighted with Marcel’s choice. We will not only benefit from his sporting contribution but also from the wealth of knowledge and experience that he will share with us.”

De Vegt believes Hirscher and the NSkiV are a great match. He points out that Hirscher has “always” created an individual team and plans and that this model fits within the Dutch system. “That’s how we think: in tailor-made programs that guarantee the optimal situation for our TeamNLsnow athletes,” de Vegt states.

According to the statement, the NSkiV General Director Fritz Avis is also optimistic: “The fact that Marcel Hirscher plans to compete for the Netherlands and the NSkiV is an absolute honor for us. Marcel is a global icon and an inspiration for all skiers and winter sports enthusiasts in the Netherlands.”

FIS regulations

The Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) confirmed on April 24 that they will release Hirscher from his Austrian FIS license. This process is necessary for any FIS-licensed ski racer who wishes to change nations.

The FIS Council must also consider any racer’s application to change a FIS License Registration at the FIS spring meeting. At that time, “Hirscher must have met all of the criteria to change his FIS license to another country,” FIS states on its website on April 24.

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Austrian well-wishes

The ÖSV had hoped Hirscher would make his comeback for Austria. The ÖSV General Secretary Christian Scherer explained to the media on April 24 that the ÖSV has offered Hirscher its best individual conditions if he chose to return to ski racing for Austria.

“We tried to offer him the best possible framework conditions within our structures and explained this to him in detail. As Marcel sees it, this project is probably easier to implement with the Dutch Ski Association,” Scherer said, according to Austrian LAOLA1.at.

“Of course, we very much regret his decision to request a change of nation to the Dutch Ski Association, but in the end, we supported it,” Scherer said, according to a Ski Austria news release on April 24.

“Marcel has achieved enormous accomplishments for skiing and for the ÖSV. In appreciation of this and in the spirit of the internationality of skiing, the ÖSV Presidential Conference unanimously approved his request for a change of association today,” Scherer explained, according to the news release.

Scherer stated that Hirscher racing on his own ski brand, VAN DEER, would not have hindered him from competing for Austria, despite VAN DEER not being part of the ÖSV ski pool, according to LAOLA1.at.

Toni Giger explains Hirscher’s decision

“Anyone who knows Marcel knows that he thinks a lot. A very important thought of his was that he did not tie up any resources in the ÖSV for young athletes or that he did not want any special regulations, such as decisions on starting places,” says Toni Giger, the managing director of VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports, according to LAOLA1.at on April 24.

“The most important thing is that he can live out his passion for racing and, with the commitment he has, that he doesn’t block anyone somewhere and perhaps take away a starting spot that a young athlete would need,” Giger adds, according to LAOLA1.at.

VAN DEER – a nod to Dutch heritage

Since retiring from ski racing in 2019, Hirscher has stayed involved in alpine skiing. After announcing that he would create his own ski brand, VAN DEER, Hirscher has spent the past few years training and skiing, actively participating in equipment testing and development.

The new ski brand began signing athletes during the spring of 2022. In addition, Hirscher’s VAN DEER and the cooperative partner Red Bull hired expert ski technicians and research staff from the ÖSV, Austrain Ski Federation.

Later, the VAN DEER company was renamed to VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports, resulting in a conflict with the FIS. As a result, Henrik Kristoffersen and other VAN DEER athletes had to compete with the ski brand name covered by tape during the 2022/23 World Cup season. In July 2023, the racing equipment appeared with a new logo: VAN DEER Racing—this time with the word “Racing” being spelled out in the shape of a bull.

Noteworthy now that Hirscher will start racing for the Netherlands: Hirscher’s ski brand name, VAN DEER, is connected to his Dutch family ties. Hirscher explained the name choice in an October 2023 story on Red Bull’s website:

“I’m half Dutch, half Austrian — so all the guys used to call me Von Dutch because of that. In German, a Hirsch — yes, just like Hirscher — is a deer. When we formed the brand, we didn’t want to call it Hirscher, so it’s just a little play on words.”

Competing against colleagues

Top World Cup racers Kristoffersen and Timon Haugan, both Norwegians, signed with VAN DEER soon after the company’s start. Both have won World Cup competitions with VAN DEER skis and boots. They entered the World Cup scene with the new VAN DEER boots last season, and Kristoffersen has explained to the media that he has needed some time to adjust to the new boots and the setup.

When Hirscher returns for the 2024-25 season, he might be a contender for top results. His VAN DEER racing colleagues, highly skilled Kristoffersen and Haugan, are expected to be some of his most formidable competiton in the technical disciplines.

We might see a VAN DEER podium sweep during the brand’s third season in the upcoming 2024/25 Alpine World Cup.

Hirscher called Haugan

As rumors regarding Hirscher’s comeback started circulating in Austria on Tuesday, Hirscher called Haugan. Haugan shares part of his conversation with Hirscher with the Norwegian broadcaster and media outlet NRK:

“He retired a bit too early, I would say. He didn’t quite get to finish the way he might have envisioned. So, he feels something is missing, and he wants to complete his career in an orderly way; that’s what he told me,” Haugan told NRK.

“He started getting a little tired of sitting in front of the PC and doing boring office work,” Haugan added. Haugan also told NRK that he is happy about Hirscher’s comeback news.

Preparations

Hirscher never really put his skis on the shelf. Since starting to develop his new ski brand, he has actively trained and tested the VAN DEER skis.

The impressive multi-sport athlete also stays active in whitewater kayaking, off-road motorcycling, and other sports. Year after year, social media and Austrian media have pictured an active and fit Hirscher skiing gates, freeskiing, and enjoying various other sports in the mountains.

Hirscher also showed a high level of physically diverse skills and a solid mental attitude when he participated in the grueling Red Bull Erzbergrodeo Hard Enduro race a few years back. The race demands great strength, endurance, balance, coordination, and the ability to make quick decisions and pick and adjust your race line while in action. In many ways, it is like ski racing.

To prepare for the upcoming World Cup season and the 2025 World Championships, Hirscher will travel to New Zealand and compete in FIS races there to score better FIS points and qualify for a return to this fall’s World Cup start, according to the Swiss newspaper Blick.ch.

Hirscher should be excited to start the 2025 World Championships in Saalbach, Austria, on home snow but under a new flag. Notably, he won the 2013 World Championship slalom gold medal in the same location.

Biggest showdown

One of the biggest showdowns in the upcoming season might be Hirscher vs. Austria’s top slalom racer and 2024 World Cup slalom globe winner Manuel Feller and multi-discipline star Marco Schwarz, returning from his December 2023 injury.

The Austrian crowds at the traditional Kitzbühel slalom, Schladming night races, and the World Championships on Austrian snow will likely increase their intensity when cheering for their Ski Austria athletes and their returning grand hero Hirscher.

The upcoming ski season promises excellent performances from many national ski teams, not to mention the battles that might occur between the Netherlands, Brazil and other small and large national teams.