Huge improvement

Feurstein jumps into the top 10 after double pack

Lukas Feurstein proved in Chile with two victories that he is heading in the right direction.

(Bild: AP)

Thanks to Lukas Feurstein from Vorarlberg, the ÖSV men were able to celebrate their first two downhill victories of the season back in September. Something that also surprised ÖSV coach Sepp Brunner. The former coach of Beat Feuz (Sz) also revealed to the "Krone" how things should continue with Feurstein and when the 23-year-old could make his World Cup debut in the downhill.

"The fact that I was able to win both downhill races here surprised me," revealed Lukas Feurstein after the Mellau native landed a double victory in the South American Cup on Wednesday in the Chilean ski resort of La Parva. "The victories also came as a surprise to us, as it's a downhill run with very long turns," said coach Sepp Brunner, who has now had the 23-year-old under his wing for the second season.

Surprising also because the man from Bregenzerwald had only competed in one downhill race before and was ranked 934th in the FIS points list. However, this will change on Thursday when the ranking is updated. Feurstein should make the leap into the top 80 downhill skiers in the world in terms of points. Within the ÖSV, the head pilot will then also be ranked in the top 10 active downhillers for the first time.

ÖSV coach Sepp Brunner.

(Bild: Kronenzeitung/Christof Birbaumer)

Clear objective
Nevertheless, you probably won't see him at the start of a World Cup downhill race for some time yet. "He will do the training sessions, as it's good for the super-G. He has already improved a lot as far as jumping is concerned," explains Brunner, who has already shaped Beat Feuz (Sz) into a winning skier. "The downhill needs a lot of experience. Lukas will decide for himself in a few years whether he wants to compete in this discipline."

The 2021 junior giant slalom world champion also has other goals to achieve before then. "We want to get him to the top of the world in giant slalom and super-G and make sure he stays healthy," outlines Brunner.