“I won’t judge it based on results, but based on experiences. With every experience I have, the project will be a success,” said the eight-time Alpine overall World Cup winner on Monday in the ServusTV program “Sport and Talk”. “For the first time in my life, the results are truly irrelevant.” Hirscher recently made international headlines with the announcement that he would return to skiing under the Dutch flag. Since then he has received “a lot of encouragement,” said the 35-year-old. Regarding the duration of his comeback, Hirscher said he would do it as long as he was having fun. “I have two companies, the kids, and there’s a lot to do on the side. Which disciplines remain to be seen.”
The 67-time World Cup winner emphasized that skiing has “developed massively” technically since he ended his career five years ago. “In that time, the world has turned on its own axis five times. The big changes are that there are new players, new, big heroes of skiing.” During this time, the Salzburger, by his own admission, rarely flew through the bars. “In total there were five training days in poles per season. That means five times five is 25.”
Like many others, former slalom specialist Reinfried Herbst can currently only speculate regarding Hirscher’s true motives. “I can already hear that he obviously wants to go back, but at the end of the day I still don’t believe that his goal is so specific that he matches with Odermatt in the giant slalom in the World Cup,” said the 45-year-old . In addition to the fun factor emphasized by Hirscher, Herbst also mentioned the advantages for the Hirscher ski brand Van Deer. “When he skis there now, it’s also regarding finding more feedback from the material. It’s his company, his ski.” About Hirscher as a Dutch citizen, Herbst said: “I see it like a semester abroad, but he is and remains an Austrian.”
