Disappointingly, no white smoke rose over Sölden. But that would probably have been too much for the highly official announcement of the return of the former ski pope Marcel Hirscher. A simple short video did the trick Instagram.
The good news reached the world on Friday at exactly 4:10 p.m. Then Marcel Hirscher finally decided to put his words into action and officially start his comeback. If the eight-time overall World Cup winner doesn’t change his mind by Sunday, he will be at the start of the giant slalom. As a Dutchman and on his own boards.
“I’ve decided: I’ll do it,” explains the 35-year-old in the video message and describes his comeback as a “big project close to his heart.” He wants to look out of the starting house and think: “It’s unbelievable where I’m at.”
The return was preceded by a weeks of guesswork and a difficult decision-making process in which Hirscher appeared to be torn. 48 hours before the Sölden giant slalom, the 35-year-old is said to have been undecided about whether to start.
Marcel Hirscher may have proclaimed the motto “Experiences instead of results”, but anyone who knows the ambitious Salzburg native knows that results don’t leave him indifferent. This almost insatiable hunger for success has always been the serial winner’s greatest strength throughout his career. It’s hard to imagine that this positive obsession has turned into a stoic calmness in recent years and Hirscher has become a different person.
The veteran was planning his last race in the World Cup 2,051 dayswhen he had the large crystal ball presented to him for the eighth time. He hasn’t forgotten how to ski in the last five and a half years, emphasize trainers and colleagues who saw Hirscher on the slopes in the last few weeks.