In hectic times like these, it would Manuel Feller Especially a doppelganger looks very good. Since he got rid of his unique Rasta mane in the spring, it should be easier to find someone who looks identical to him and could slip into his skin if necessary. The real Feller could then send this fake Feller into the strenuous and nerve-wracking scheduled slalom that the Tyrolean ski star has to complete these days.
Manuel Feller is just coming around like fake money. In the past two weeks alone he has been to the athletes’ gala and video shoots, he has appeared on television and has mandatory appointments with sponsors and his ski company, and on Friday he walked the catwalk at the ski association’s traditional fashion show in the Europark in Salzburg. The English weeks conclude today with a trip to Upper Austria, where Manuel Feller and 750 other ÖSV athletes and support staff are choosing their outfits for the coming winter. The equivalent value for the entire team: more than one million euros.
As a veteran, Manuel Feller now knows the procedure before a season. The 32-year-old knows that preparation suffers a little due to the mandatory and polite deadlines and that he trains one thing above all in this phase: calmness and patience.
“These are definitely the most strenuous weeks of the entire season,” explained Manuel Feller on Friday on the sidelines of the fashion show. Especially for an athlete like him, whose back has always been a problem, such performances are more demanding than the iciest slalom slope.
Glacier training
“It’s not 100% beneficial for the body if you stand around all day and do things that have nothing to do with our sport,” says Manuel Feller. At the same time, he also knows what is expected of a ski star in this country and that the unpopular dates are part of the job of a racer. “Without the sponsors we would be nothing. Of course I’ll be happy when these weeks are over.”
Next week Manuel Feller can be back in his element. Because the snow conditions on the glaciers are so good this year, the Austrians are allowed to make their turns on the World Cup slope in Sölden. The ÖSV men’s squad is still comparatively small due to the injury-related absences of Marco Schwarz and Joshua Sturm: In addition to Feller, Stefan Brennsteiner, Raphael Haaser, Patrick and Lukas Feurstein are considered regular starters, and speed runner Vincent Kriechmayr is also thinking about starting in the giant slalom.
It will probably be up to Manuel Feller to ensure a successful start to the home World Cup winter. The Tyrolean made it onto the podium twice in the giant slalom last season. On the ski slopes it is better if the real Feller is at the start and not a double.