It’s the season of comebacks. <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/alpine-skiing-world-cup-razzoli-3rd-in-wengen-slalom-kristoffersen-makes-a-mistake-braathen-wins-by-recovering-28-positions/" title="Alpine skiing, World Cup – Razzoli 3rd in Wengen slalom, Kristoffersen makes a mistake, Braathen wins by recovering 28 positions”>Lucas Braathen (24) is back for Brazil, Marcel Hirscher (35) is coming back for the Netherlands – and it is rumored that 40-year-old Lindsey Vonn is training to make a comeback.
Braathen has barely been out of the circus, and returns with enough points and is qualified to drive in the World Cup. But for the other two, at least Hirscher who is confirmed, it is different.
He makes use of a completely new rule change.
BACK: Lucas Braathen makes a comeback this year, but does not have to use the new rule.
Photo: Martine Sørhus / NRK /
– In the beginning, there is a bit of discrimination
The Austrian is now back – this time for the Netherlands. And he has been able to come right back because of the new wild card rule. A rule that, in short, means that former greats, Olympic gold winners and World Cup winners, can come back to compete much more easily.
This is the “wildcard” rule
- A wildcard can be awarded to athletes who have either won the World Cup overall, an overall medal in a single event (downhill, super-G, giant slalom or slalom, subject to at least five World Cup victories) or individual Olympic or World Cup gold.
- The practitioner must have worked for at least two years and a maximum of ten years.
- They still have to follow the basic quota rule for World Cup races, but male athletes do not have to be ranked in the top 150 in the world, which, among other things, allows Marcel Hirscher to return. The general rule is that you must have a maximum of 140 FIS points and be ranked in the top 150.
- Athletes with wild cards start at number 31 in competitions in one season.
Hirscher’s comeback has mostly only received praise from current performers and fans alike. Many believe the new rule adds a lot of positive attention to the sport.
– It’s cool that legends are in a way keen to return to the sport. It says something that the sport is fantastic and it is a life you live that is very extraordinary and very cool, says Aleksander Aamodt Kilde to NRK.
– It is always fun to have great people who come into the sport. So really very much for it, says Kajsa Vickhoff Lie.
But there are several people who also believe that there is a downside to the rule.
– Right from the start, there is some discrimination. And there are a lot of people who are in that tier and try to get up to 30. Then you get another one who just comes in from the side and … in a way takes a place. That could be the downside of it, says Kilde.
SPECTATOR: Kilde is injured and will not race himself this season.
Photo: Martine Sørhus / NRK /
He nevertheless points out that Hirscher is an exception, in that he changed his nationality to the Netherlands. Mina Fürst Holtmann is also positive about the comeback, but:
– It may be unfair that they can just jump straight in and start 31 without having to come back the same way that others have had to take. But at the same time, they have already gone down that road before, she points out.
For Henrik Kristoffersen, the new rule is not something he spends much effort thinking about.
– If someone uses the wildcard rule and beats me, then they deserve to beat me, because then he is faster than me. It doesn’t matter that much, he says to NRK.
– If they had asked, I would have said no
Several other athletes in the World Cup express that the new rule is not only positive.
Marco Odermatt, who in recent seasons has been one of the world’s best alpinists, advocated that it could be unfair in the long run for them to start as number 31. Especially for young athletes.
– I don’t necessarily think it’s a good thing, it would have been exciting if he had had a higher starting number, Odermatt said before the start of the season.
BEST AGAIN?: Marco Odermatt is for many the man to beat in the coming season as well.
Photo: JOHANN GRODER / AFP
Some also say they should be included more in the new change.
– If they had asked me, I would have said no to this wild card scheme for old champions, even though Marcel Hirscher undoubtedly brings added value to our sport, Swiss Daniel Yule told Blick before the season.
– It reminds me of last year when FIS wanted to introduce the team combination. Also then they announced that they had spoken to the athletes, although that did not happen, Greek AJ Ginnis told Swiss Blick.
In a way, Odermatt thinks it’s nice that Marcel Hirscher gets an early starting number – i.e. 34 – at home in Sölden:
– But I don’t think that having that number for the whole season is necessarily fair for the young athletes.
But the Norwegians, promising young people, don’t let themselves be stressed just yet.
– If you have become world champion, or become the world’s best, then … Then you will be allowed to start in front of me, says Kaspar Kindem and laughs.
- The Norwegian alpine men will be in action in the giant slalom in Sölden on Sunday. The first half starts at 10.00 and is shown on VG+ Sport.
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Published 27.10.2024, at 08.11
