The path is not always an easy one

Alex Hofer is officially part of the giant slalom World Cup team this season. However, it was decided that he would not be allowed to join the team until October. He initially trained with his sports group (finance guard) on the Stelvio Pass, but when nothing else worked there, he decided to travel to Ushuaia at his own expense. He was then allowed to train with the team there. “You have helped me a lot,” he explains, saying it was very valuable training for him. Hofer, who at 28 is no longer the youngest, has been oscillating between the World and European Cups for years. He hasn't achieved his breakthrough yet, but he's had success stories over and over again that have encouraged him to keep going. End of career not an issue “Of course, at the end of the season I sometimes thought about quitting, but the passion is still too great for that,” says Hofer, who always prepares his skis himself. He has only made it into the points three times in the World Cup, including twice last season. He has already won the European Cup.

Alex Hofer in action. © Pentaphoto

In the financial sports group, Christin Deville and Roberto Griot are his coaches. He raves about Deville: “He helped me a lot.” But he now even has a coach from his own village on the World Cup team. It is none other than Peter Fill, who, like Hofer, is from Castelrotto. “He is a very important reference person for me, and of course he brings a lot of experience with him,” says Hofer, who often drives well when his future is at stake: “I don’t know why that is, but my best I ran when my back was against the wall.” That’s what he’s doing again now. For now he only has a fixed place in the first two World Cup giant slaloms. Zingerle is breaking new ground Hannes Zingerle, who was kicked out of the national team at the end of last season, took a completely different path. Although he belongs to a sports group (Carabinieri), he has joined a private racing group called “Global Racing” and is trained by the American Paul Epstein. He financed this partly himself and partly with the help of sponsors. This group also includes the Belgian Sam Maes, who has already attracted attention in the World Cup. The group mostly trained in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. Zingerle then did a training session with the national team and was immediately told that he could start in Sölden.

Zingerle's career has been up and down so far. He was always on the verge of making a breakthrough, but then there were regular setbacks. In March 2021 he was still the Italian giant slalom champion ahead of Luca De Aliprandini, but last season things didn't go well at all. A 23rd place in the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora was his only placement in the points. That wasn't enough for the association. Fortunately, in Italy there are sports groups that can support such athletes, otherwise it would be difficult to continue their careers.

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The path is not always an easy one

Alex Hofer and Hannes Zingerle are two athletes who are not always on the sunny side of skiing life. This means financing the training out of your own pocket or preparing the skis yourself.

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