Comet-like rise

Strong! From junior to the ÖSV elite group

Moritz Zudrell was one of the most positive surprises in the 2023/24 season and is now allowed to train with World Cup Group 4.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

After the season is before the season! Many ÖSV aces are already starting the World Championship winter this week. A lot has happened in recent weeks, not only in the squads but also in the composition of the training groups. Particularly noteworthy: the rise of a young man from Vorarlberg.

After the Austrian Ski Association recently announced the squads for the upcoming World Championship winter, the individual training groups have now also been published. There have also been some changes. For example, following the departure of Mike Pircher as coach of the WC4 group, Salzburg giant slalom specialist Stefan Brennsteiner has moved to Martin Kroisleitner's WC3 group and is now team-mates with Manuel Feller, Marco Schwarz, Johannes Strolz, Michi Matt, Adrian Pertl and Fabio Gstrein.

WC4 becomes the West Group

There have been changes in the WC4, which will now be coached by Tyrolean Wolfi Auderer - who coached Tina Weirather from Liechtenstein for many years and has been with the Swiss team for the last five years. Particularly noteworthy: Moritz Zudrell, just 18 years old from Vorarlberg, one of the runner-up junior world champions in the slalom, made it straight from the junior ranks into a World Cup training group. His compatriot Jakob Greber, with whom Zudrell also took bronze in the team combined at the Junior World Championships, is now also part of the WC4. With Patrick Feurstein, Noel Zwischenbrugger and Christian Hirschbühl, three more Vorarlbergers are part of Auderer's team, which is also the sporting home for the three Tyroleans Dominik Raschner, Joshua Sturm and Kilian Pramstaller.

Vinc and "Hemi" as team leaders
There were far fewer changes in the speed teams: Sepp Brunner is in charge of the WC1 group led by Vincent Kriechmayr, Daniel Hemetsberger and Stefan Babinsky, which also includes Daniel Danklmaier, Andi Ploier and Lukas Feurstein. Coach Werner Franz's WC2 group includes Stefan Eichberger, Felix Hacker, Stefan Rieser, Otmar Striedinger, overall European Cup winner Manuel Traninger, Christian Walder, youngster Vincent Wieser and the convalescent Max Franz and Christoph Krenn, a total of nine athletes.