Florian Schieder: Giving up was never an option

There wasn't enough money for his older brothers Stefan and Thomas. If there were skis under the Christmas tree, they were usually second hand. Only Florian, the youngest of the Schieder boys, got new skis.

And he paid this back to his parents Gertrud and Karl with a huge passion for ski racing. First under Peter Thomaseth at SC Kastelruth, then under cult trainer Arnold Karbon at the Sciliar Training Center, Florian Schieder grew into a solid, but by no means outstanding, South Tyrolean ski talent. From the “1995 vintage” he was overshadowed by Simon Maurberger, but also by the now ski crosser Dominik Zuech and, above all, by Christoph Atz, who moved to the service team a few years ago and was the skis of Nadia and Nicol Delago prepared.

In Peter Fill, Schieder not only had an outstanding role model in his own home village of Castelrotto, but also a supporter who repeatedly spoke to the conscience of the farmer's son, who was often impetuous in his youth. Schieder understood and also realized that the school was not the right thing for him. After a year at the St. Ulrich sports school in Val Gardena, he gave up and trained as a plumber, which he also completed as a journeyman. Only then did his ski career really take off. He fought his way up step by step. He never won any precious metal at a Junior World Championships; in the European Cup he alternated rare top results (a podium finish) with disappointing results.

For Schieder, who always helps his father on his parents' farm with 20 dairy cows when time allows, there was no reason to give up. Two years ago, his endurance and fighting spirit seemed to have paid off: he finished 2th in Kitzbühel with start number 50. The euphoria only lasted for a short time. 14 weeks later, the Atomic rider fell badly at the World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo and tore the cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee. After the operation, he was back on skis 2 months later, but had to stop training immediately. The knee could not withstand the stress and another operation was necessary, this time by Christian Fink in Innsbruck.

That didn't give Schieder any great hopes of continuing his career. “That totally blew me away. I was of the opinion that now comes the operation and then it will be okay again.” Schieder looks back that it wasn’t a given that it was like that again in the end. It wasn't until August 2022 that he knew that things would continue. First in Saas Fee, then during the long training camp in Argentina, he was able to continuously increase the load. With several top 20 results, Schieder not only gained confidence this season, but also made a strong bid for the World Ski Championships. And which was reinforced yesterday with a great moment in South Tyrolean ski racing.

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Florian Schieder: Giving up was never an option

Dolomites editor Andreas Vieider is currently in the ski mecca of Kitzbühel. This time in his diary he looks at the career of sensationalist Florian Schieder.

Suggestions

Comments (0)