Maurberger speaks plainly: “The last option”

Maurberger changed his ski brand practically from one day to the next: Instead of Fischer, with whom he had agreed a two-year contract last spring, Maurberger switched back to his “old love” Blizzard. “I've been toying with the idea of testing other material for a long time. Despite the optimal and extremely professional support from Fischer, I never had the feeling that the coordination was great. We tested around, tried things out, tried out new things all the time – but the results were sobering.”

After Maurberger himself finished in the European Cup (42nd giant slalom in Val Cenis, 34th slalom in Gstaad), the decision was clear: “I have to change something, and immediately. After all, I've already won the European Cup (6 times) and now I'm miles away from that. In addition, he was not nominated for the USA World Cup tour. That was a tough slap, but an understandable one.”

Manni Mölgg as a helper Maurberger didn't want to lose another day and asked Blizzard if he could return to where he was from childhood until after his 2019 World Cup team event bronze with the "Azzurri". The fact that Manni Mölgg, his old mentor and long-time teammate, was in charge at Blizzard was no disadvantage. “He said yes to me straight away. But I have to do without a service person, which means that I prepare the skis myself.” At the same time, Maurberger called Fischer racing director Siegfried Voglreiter, who let him out of the two-year contract early. At Fischer he shared a service man with Olympic slalom champion Giuliano Razzoli.

But why Blizzard? “It's a long and short story at the same time,” explains Maurberger, “on the one hand, I know the material from my past, I'm very familiar with the company and I know all the decision-makers. In total, I was at Blizzard for 11 years before moving to Atomic in May 2019 and Fischer in spring 2023. Now we’ve come full circle again.”

But Teldra also knows that changing materials alone is not enough. “I don’t need to deny it. It's a crisis, but at some point the reboot head is due. I see it as a last resort to flip the switch again. I have to get back to my basics, reset everything and start again. I basically took the last exit.” “I see it as a last resort to flip the switch again.” Simon Maurberger The fact that Simon Maurberger was not considered for the USA tour is probably also an indication that he will no longer be part of the national team next season. The 29-year-old doesn't want to deal with this situation for the time being. His focus is on the next two European Cup giant slaloms at the beginning of next week in Pass Thurn in Tyrol, where he will compete with new material for the first time. Maurberger is combative: “I have already won European Cups and was in the top 2 in the World Cup. So I know how to get there. And yes, it's frustrating, but everyone has been through phases like this. I don't have high hopes for what's to come. But I'm going to work really, really hard to get back to where I was before. “

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Maurberger speaks plainly: “The last option”

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