After 15 World Cup podiums, an Olympic silver medal and more than a decade among giant slalom’s elite, Žan Kranjec wasn’t searching for a new career.
He was searching for confidence.
The Slovenian has scored World Cup points every season since 2014, qualified for the World Cup Finals in giant slalom for 10 consecutive seasons, won the 2014 Europa Cup giant slalom season title, and became one of the most successful giant slalom racers of his generation.
Yet after last season, something didn’t feel right.
“I think I went in the wrong direction with the setup,” Kranjec told Ski Racing Media. “I really didn’t have the confidence in the skis and then also in myself to really go to the limit and push.”
For an athlete whose success has always been built on trusting his instincts, that feeling was impossible to ignore.
Instead of accepting it, Kranjec decided it was time for a fresh start.
After a long and successful relationship with a ski company, the 33-year-old begins a new chapter with Nordica—a move that had been taking shape in his mind for nearly two years.
“I wanted to reset a little and also reset my head and to start from zero with setups and everything,” he said. “You never know what will happen when you change, but I wanted a new beginning.”
Nordica delivers an immediate first impression
When Nordica approached Kranjec, he wasn’t interested in making a decision based on reputation or promises.
He wanted the answer to come on snow.
The question was simple: could the equipment restore the confidence he believed had gradually slipped away?
He didn’t need long to find out.
During his first testing sessions in Pozza di Fassa, the transition felt almost effortless.
“A lot of people told me that probably I wouldn’t feel good at first,” he said. “But almost immediately I felt good.”
The encouraging feeling carried from free skiing into the gates.
“Already on the first run in the course, I made a good run,” he said. “The first impression was good.”
Those first days weren’t about finding the perfect setup. They were about rediscovering trust. For the first time in a long while, Kranjec felt he had a foundation on which to build.
The real work, however, begins this summer. He will begin with training on the Stelvio Glacier before heading to Ushuaia, Argentina, where he and the Nordica race team will continue refining his setup ahead of the World Cup season.
“I don’t need perfect conditions now,” he said. “The first camp is more about getting back on the skis after a long time, free skiing and running easy courses, so when I start in Ushuaia is easier.”
A career built on consistency
Kranjec’s journey to the World Cup began much like that of countless young ski racers.
Family ski vacations first introduced him to the sport before his parents enrolled him in a local ski club when he was seven years old. Although neither parent came from a racing background, both encouraged the passion that quickly became his life’s pursuit.
As a junior, Kranjec developed into one of Slovenia’s brightest prospects. Still, he said he didn’t truly believe he belonged among the world’s elite until capturing the 2014 Europa Cup giant slalom season title.
That breakthrough launched one of the most remarkably consistent careers in modern giant slalom.
While traditional alpine powers rely on deep teams of contenders, Slovenia has looked to Kranjec for much of the past decade to carry its hopes at the sport’s highest level.
Perhaps the most revealing answer of the interview came when Kranjec was asked what accomplishment makes him proudest. He never mentioned Olympic silver, his two World Cup victories or his 15 podium finishes.
He chose consistency.
“Probably that I’m on a high level for many years,” he said. “You need to be motivated all the time. You need to enjoy skiing if you want to stay on this level.”
That consistency has carried him through equipment changes, evolving course sets and an entirely new generation of rivals. Yet Kranjec believes the formula for fast giant slalom skiing has never really changed.
“I was always like that, that at the start you need to find a way to be as fast as possible, the straightest line, clean turns and really let the ski go,” he said.
The best runs came when he wasn’t thinking about technique.
“Just push, fight, let the ski go and go as fast as possible,” he said. “When I am in my mind like this, I achieve my best results.”
After last season, that feeling had become harder to find.
With Nordica, Kranjec believes he has an opportunity to rediscover it.
Alta Badia and the run he still loves
Ask Kranjec to choose the best run of his career and he doesn’t point to his Olympic silver medal.
Instead, he remembers Adelboden.
“Probably I would pick Adelboden, where I won the race,” Kranjec said. “Especially the second run was really good. I’m really proud of that run.”
Years later, he still watches it.
“There were also other runs which were really good, in Beijing’s second run and also Saalbach, where I won,” he said. “But this second run from Adelboden, I also skied not just fast but also nice to watch.”
His favorite stop on the World Cup, however, is Alta Badia.
Five of his 15 World Cup podiums have come on the Gran Risa, one of giant slalom’s most demanding and respected courses.
“If I need to pick one, probably I would pick Alta Badia,” Kranjec said. “I made the most podiums there and also my first World Cup points.”
He loves everything about the Gran Risa—the terrain, the rhythm and, perhaps most importantly, the snow conditions that have so often complemented his skiing.
“I like that course,” he said. “Also, most of the time I like the snow there.”
For Kranjec, confidence has always been built on trust—trust in his preparation, trust in his instincts and trust in his equipment. On the Gran Risa, those qualities have combined to produce some of the finest skiing of his career.
Now, he hopes that same feeling will return once again.
Still Chasing Podiums
At 33, Kranjec has little interest in simply adding seasons to an already distinguished career.
He is still chasing the same goals that have driven him since first breaking onto the World Cup.
“For sure, I still want to compete for the podiums,” he said. “I’m not enjoying racing if I am 10th or 15th like I was last season.”
Another victory would carry even greater meaning today than it did earlier in his career.
“For sure, it would mean a lot,” Kranjec said. “Maybe I can say more than the first two.”
One goal, however, stands above the rest.
Despite his success around the world, Kranjec has never stood on the podium at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia’s iconic World Cup venue. Less than an hour from his home near Ljubljana, it is the race where family, lifelong friends and thousands of Slovenian fans line the hill to cheer him on.
A podium there would be unlike any other.
“It would mean a lot,” he said. “Home race, home crowd, a lot of friends, family. That would be a great day.”
For Kranjec, this new chapter isn’t about reinventing himself as a skier.
It’s about rediscovering the confidence that allowed him to become one of giant slalom’s most consistent competitors.
If that confidence returns, the results may follow. And if they do, Kranjec already knows the moment he wants most: standing on the podium at Kranjska Gora, surrounded by family, lifelong friends and thousands of Slovenian fans, celebrating the one result that has eluded him throughout an extraordinary career.
About the Author: Peter Lange
