Ski aces get going

The young guns in the shadow of the old masters

The ski crossers have now also started the season with the World Cup in Val Thorens. A total of 25 top athletes from the Upper Austrian Association are in the ÖSV squads. The stars such as speed king Vincent Kriechmayr or ski jumping lady Jacqueline Seifriedsberger are getting on in years and the youngsters still need time.

Please wait - that's the message for Upper Austrian ace Christina Födermayr ahead of today's ski cross World Cup opener in Val Thorens, France. After hip surgery and knee problems, the Innviertel native is still gaining competition practice at two European Cup races in Sweden, where she is fine-tuning her setup with former world champion Andrea Limbacher. By contrast, veteran Johnny Rohweck, who only started snow training late following knee and shoulder repairs, is also taking part. "I'm making good progress, but you can't expect miracles from me yet," says the man from Großraming, asking for patience. Christoph Danksagmüller from Mondsee has secured a permanent place in the World Cup thanks to his strong training performance: "If I perform to the best of my ability and qualify, I can be right at the front," the youngster is convinced.

Duo goes into ski retirement

On the other hand, the permanently injured Daniel Traxler, who has been working as a patrolman in Mondsee since October, and the Vorarlberg training partner of the OÖ clan, Matthias Graf, went into ski retirement. Despite winning the World Cup last year, Graf is angry with the Austrian Ski Association and has announced his resignation: "Because it's cheeky that we were sent down the Reiteralm in February under the most adverse conditions and Sonja Gigler promptly tore her cruciate ligament. I can't reconcile that with my conscience."

Old warhorses set the tone

In general, the old masters such as speed aces Vincent Kriechmayr, Daniel Hemetsberger, jump lady Jacqueline Seifriedsberger and neo-father Michael Hayböck continue to set the tone in the Upper Austrian alpine, Nordic and snowboard scene.

Highlight Saalbach

 "I hope that our speed men in particular will be in top form at the World Championships in Saalbach and deliver," says Upper Austrian Association President Klaus Kumpfmüller, who is relying on new young guns in view of the ageing stars. Now that alpine lady Elisa Mörzinger has retired and Elisabeth Reisinger is working on her comeback, hopes are pinned on Nicole Eibl and Yvonne Gadola. In ski jumping, things are looking bleak for the men apart from Hayböck, while Julia Mühlbacher and Sahra Schuller should make it into the elite in the women's event. In cross-country skiing, there is B-squad athlete Kilian Kehrer plus a talented group of youngsters who are striving for higher things as Upper Austrian prospects in the Stams and Saalfelden talent centers. Rosaly Stollberger is regarded as the biathlete of the future. In the rather independent snowboard and freestyle scene, the usual suspects appear to be Sam Baumgartner, Clemens Millauer and Andi Kroh.