One year after debut
ÖSV hope for the future in the World Cup waiting loop
Austria's slalom men are still waiting for their first podium finish in the World Cup winter after the first six World Cup events and are "shining" today with an average age of 30.4 years at today's classic in Wengen. Where an 18-year-old Austrian made his World Cup debut a year ago - but has had to wait for a second chance ever since.
"That was one of the best races I've competed in so far in my career," Moritz Zudrell recalls of the slalom in Wengen, where he celebrated his World Cup debut on 14 January 2024 as an 18-year-old - making him the youngest ÖSV skier since Marcel Hirscher. Although the Montafon native was eliminated in the first run, by then he was on course for a top 20 finish and thus qualification for the final. "I want to get back there as soon as possible," admits the head racer.
Extreme density puts the brakes on youth
However, a timely World Cup comeback seems extremely difficult. "There are no prospects in slalom this winter," says the man from Silbertal. "We have a brutal density in the team with seven athletes in the top 30 of the World Cup start list, as well as Christian Hirschbühl and Joshua Sturm just outside." Despite this situation, Moritz is trying to remain calm: "Of course it would be cool if I could gain experience in the World Cup, but it's not the most important thing."
In order to be in the World Cup in the winter of 2025/26, "Zudi" would have to secure a permanent place in the European Cup. Ahead of the fifth of ten slaloms this season, which takes place today in Berchtesgaden, he is ranked 25th in the discipline rankings and is already 163 points behind the top 3 place that would earn him a permanent ticket. "I'm fast in training, but in the race it doesn't work out as I'd hoped," says the army athlete, who has dropped out twelve times in 18 starts. "One time you get caught up, one time you get on your skis and you're already a little off track. Last year, I just skied and knew that I was fast. Even a failure couldn't stop me."
Lack of comparison with the World Cup stars
The Montafon native recently prepared with 21-year-old Jakob Greber from Mellau and 22-year-old Kilian Pramstaller from East Tyrol at Lake Weissensee in Carinthia. "That was good! But it would also be important to have a comparison with the absolute top skiers from time to time," says the reigning junior vice world champion in slalom, who has already had the opportunity to train with Johannes Strolz and Michael Matt for two days this season.
I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of ÖSV men's head coach Marko Pfeifer at the moment. Deciding who to send to the start of World Cup slaloms is anything but easy.
On the one hand, there are highly decorated veterans such as Michael Matt, Adrian Pertl and Johannes Strolz, who regularly deliver solid performances and cement their place in the top 30 of the World Cup start list. On the other hand, there are athletes like Marco Schwarz and Christian Hirschbühl, who are hoping for a fair chance after - in "Hirschi's" case a very long - injury break. And last but not least, there are the youngsters such as Joshua Sturm, Kilian Pramstaller or Vorarlberg's Moritz Zudrell and Jakob Greber, who should gain experience in the World Cup in order to then achieve the successes expected and demanded by the skiing public in three or four years' time. This makes a total of almost a dozen skiers who have plausible arguments for one of the eight starting places.
Fixed ticket only for the top 20
It would be fair to reconsider the ÖSV's internal qualification criteria. For example, whether a top 20 ranking on the World Cup start list is needed instead of a top 30 in order to have a fixed ticket. A solution that could be linked to the age group. On the one hand, this would stimulate internal competition and, on the other hand, the younger generation would be able to compete with the veterans much more frequently and see whether and how much is still missing to reach the red-white-red top.
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