PARIS: As if Mikaela Shiffrin hadn’t already etched her name in the annals of World Cup alpine skiing, the American kickstarts the new season eyeing yet another landmark, looking to become the first person to chalk up 100 victories on the circuit.

The 29-year-old closed an injury-hit 2024 on 97 World Cup wins, having already surpassed the previous overall record of 86 held by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark. “It’s like I’m not finished with what I want to give and want to get from the sport,” Shiffrin said in an interview with Eurosport last week.

“If I’m in good shape, and if it does happen, I do see it as a really big opportunity to bolster all the stories that are happening in ski racing right now. There’s so much to be excited about, and so many stories in the sport, even beyond my own.”

Another legend of the slopes, Marcel Hirscher will mark his return to the snow, five years after his retirement. The Austrian retired in 2019 with 67 World Cup wins, having claimed Olympic gold in slalom and combined at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, and with seven world titles to his name. His collection of eight consecutive overall World Cup crystal globes from 2012 to 2019 remains a record. He stands fourth in career wins after Shiffrin, Stenmark and Lindsey Vonn.

Hirscher in orange

Hirscher, however, will not be back in the red and white of his native Austria. He will instead don the orange of the Netherlands, the birth country of his mother, for one season. “This weekend will be marked by a historic event, as Marcel Hirscher will make his debut under the Dutch flag,” the Netherlands ski federation said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We wish Marcel the best of luck!” His bitter-sweet move was met with disappointment from Austria, but welcomed in the Netherlands, a flatland country better known for its ice-skating than skiing prowess. “I thought it is fun to be in the race again and it was so much joy,” he told AFP this summer.

“Then I thought to myself okay, why not ski one year for the Netherlands?” Since his retirement, Hirscher, who has rock star status in ski-crazy Austria but revels in the “calm” of the Netherlands, set up his own ski company, Van Deer, supported by long-time sponsor Red Bull.

While he trained during the summer in New Zealand, he returned home earlier than expected. “Aiming for a place in the top 15 wouldn’t currently be realistic,” Hirscher told Austrian television earlier this month.

Hirscher then will be highly unlikely to bother Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, the runaway winner of last season’s overall title. Lara Gut-Behrami claimed the women’s globe in what was a double Swiss delight in Saalbach, the Austrian resort that will host the 2025 world championships in February.

Shiffrin’s main rival in the technical events, Petra Vlhova, will be missing from Soelden, the Slovak admitting she doesn’t know when she’ll be back on the pistes after knee surgery. “I want to return at full strength,” Vlhova said.

“It’s been a tough journey, but my knee is in good condition now. I don’t have pain or limitations, but I need to feel 100 percent on the skis. I won’t compete just to finish, I need to regain my strength fully. I’m determined to return to my top form, even though I don’t know how long it will take.” — AFP