Marcel Hirscher Won't Return for Ski World Cup

Marcel Hirscher has decided to postpone his return to the Ski World Cup. After competing in only two events in this second phase of his career, the Van Deer team member suffered an injury while preparing for the slalom in Gurgl (Austria), tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Paradoxically, this is the first serious injury of his professional career. During the eight consecutive seasons in which he won the Crystal Globe, he barely suffered incidents that temporarily sidelined him from competition, and he always managed to reincorporate quickly.

On this occasion, the recovery process is much slower, and Hirscher does not wish to force his return as he did last year, when he appeared in Sölden after only a few weeks of training, having spent five years without undergoing a coach's routine. This haste probably explains why he ended up out of competition so quickly.

This year, the situation remained similar. Following his ACL recovery, he could not resume ski training until mid-September, just weeks before Sölden. Therefore, he decided not to participate in the Austrian event, nor subsequently in Levi, Finland. Uncertainty remained regarding his participation in Gurgl (Austria) the following week, but through a message posted on social media last Saturday, Hirscher confirmed that he has no intention of returning to competition until January.

The athlete is still considering exactly which event he will make his return. That month will feature no less than seven technical events, the same ones in which Marcel Hirscher competes. If he manages to successfully rejoin the slalom on January 7 in Madonna di Campiglio, he would have several consecutive competitions that would allow him to fine-tune his performance for the Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 Games. Subsequently, he would have an extended two-week period to continue his preparation for the Olympic giant slalom and slalom events, scheduled for February 14 and 16, respectively, at the Bormio stadium.