Fischer Looks Back On Successful 22-23 Season

It's a wrap! Alpine Season 22I23 has ended!

An exciting season with some highlights came to an end last Sunday in Soldeu, Andorra.

From the World Cup final, the athletes unfortunately came home empty-handed, but seen over the entire season, there were definitely some results that were pleasing and partly surprising. A short summary of an alpine season with some highs & lows!

The season

Unfortunately, no Fischer athlete was able to reach the top 10 in the overall World Cup, neither in the women's nor in the men's event. However, things are looking better in the overall rankings for the individual disciplines.

Daniel Yule finished the season in 4th place in the overall slalom standings, Stefan Rogentin in 6th place and Daniel Hemetsberger in 8th place in the overall Super G standings, and again Daniel Hemetsberger in 9th place in the overall downhill standings.

The Races

• Lake Louise The first highlight of the season was delivered by Austrian speed specialist Daniel Hemetsberger with his second place in Lake Louise! He completed the podium in the U.S.A. behind downhill World Cup winner Kilde and ahead of overall World Cup winner Odermatt. The day after, Hemetsberger was also able to finish in the top 10 in the Super G with 7th place.
• Killington Austrian Katharina Truppe also started the season with a podium, finishing 3rd in Killington behind Swenn Larsson and Holdener.
• Lake Louise Jasmine Flury was also able to achieve a top ranking early in the season, finishing 10th in the first downhill in Lake Louise as well. In the Super G that followed, Ramone Siebenhofer was able to advance to 7th place with a convincing run.
• Val d'Isere Stefan Brennsteiner was able to achieve his first top 10 finish in giant slalom in Val d'Isere, with a 7 on the scoreboard in the end. The day after, Kristoffer Jacobsen managed his best placing of the season by finishing in a strong 4th place behind Braathen, Feller and Meillard. Daniel Yule also landed a top result with a 7th place.
• Val Gardena US skier Sam Morse managed a small sensation in the downhill in Val Gardena, with a high starting number he was able to move up to 10th place. Simultaneously with the Swiss Stefan Rogentin.
• St. Moritz With rising form Jasmine Flury showed up at the downhill in St.Moritz, in the end she could reach a strong 4th place at the first edition of the race. At the second edition one day later still the 10th place. In the final Super G, Austria's Siebenhofer and Schmidhofer made it into the top 10 with a double in 9th and 10th place.
• Alta Badia Two giant slaloms in a row in Alta Badia held at least one top 10 place for Raphael Haaser, in the second race he could reach the 9th place.
• Madonna die Campiglio Finally the first win of the season for the #FischerRaceFamily! Daniel Yule wins the last race before Christmas, his favorite slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. It is already the third victory he could celebrate in Madonna. Kristoffer Jakobsen also made it into the top 10 with a respectable 7th place.
• Bormio The first top 10 finish for Switzerland's Urs Kryenbühel came at the World Cup on the Stelvio in Bormio. At the end of the race on the icy slope was a 7th place. The day after, Austria's Daniel Hemetsberger followed up with 4th place and Switzerland's Stefan Rogentin with 7th in Super G.
• Semmering At the home World Cup in Semmering Ricarda Haaser was able to get on the scene for the first time, with an 8th place in the giant slalom.
• Garmisch-Partenkirchen The Slalom World Cup in difficult conditions in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, ended with a good 4th place for Daniel Yule.
• Wengen The first World Cup podium for Stefan Rogentin. At his home World Cup in Wengen, the Swiss skier achieved his best World Cup result to date in the Super G.
• St. Anton Another double top 10 for Siebenhofer and Schmidhofer, with 5th and 9th place in the Super G in St. Anton.
• Kitzbühel Daniel Hemetsberger opens the Kitzbühel weekend with 8th place in the second downhill, before the biggest highlight follows in the slalom on Sunday. The double victory of Yule and Ryding in the legendary race on the Ganslern slope is definitely one of the highlights of the season.
• Schladming At the night slalom in Schladming Kristoffer Jakobsen rides again to a strong 7th place.
• Cortina D'Ampezzo In Cortina D'Ampezzo it was finally time for Matteo Marsaglia to achieve his first top 10 finish. In his farewell season, the Italian skied to 10th place in the Super G. And also at the second Super G in Cortina, Daniel hemetsberger skis to his second podium of the season, behind Odermatt and Paris. With Raphael Haaser in 8th place, a second Fischer athlete makes it into the top 10.
• Chamonix What a show! AJ Ginnis with the first ever World Cup podium for a Greek skier and 3rd place for Swiss Daniel Yule, definitely another highlight of the season.
• World Championships Courchevel/Meribel The double Haasers gave the #FischerRaceFamily a great start to the World Championships in Courchevel/Meribel. Both Ricarda and Raphael Haaser celebrated the biggest successes of their careers to date with bronze medals in the Alpine Combined. Ramona Siebenhofer finished 4th in the combined, before Raphael Haaser raced to a strong 5th place in super G. The first surprise at the World Championships was provided by the Swiss Jasmine Flury, who sensationally skied to the gold medal with bib number 1! The unlucky one of the World Championships was Stefan Brennsteiner, who once again ended up in the ungrateful 4th place before AJ Ginnis provided the bang for the buck at the end of the World Championships in France with his terrific silver medal in the Slalom.
• Palisades Tahoe The Austrian Stefan Brennsteiner once again with a solid performance in the Giant Slalom, in the end it is enough for 5th place. The day after in the slalom then occurred the biggest drama of the season. Man of the hour AJ Ginnis skis into second place in the second run and seems to have his first World Cup victory in the bag for 30 minutes. Then, unfortunately, after evaluation of the TV pictures, he is disqualified because of a straddling.
• Aspen Bryce Benett with a good tenth place at his home race in Aspen and at Steven Nyman's last race at the same time.
• Kvitfjell In Norway, Jasmine Flury is able to achieve another good result with a 6th place in the Super G.
• Kranjska Gora Another top result from giant slalom perennial Stefan Brennsteiner with a 4th place in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
• Soldeu The big season finale in Soldeu started with the men's downhill and a strong 4th place by Daniel Hemetsberger. In the Super G also an Austrian could finish in the top 10, Raphael Haaser with a 9th place. Katharina Truppe also achieved another good result in the last slalom of the season with 10th place.

The Goodbyes

Unfortunately, we also have to say goodbye to some Fischer athletes who had announced their retirement with the end of the season. First and foremost, former World Champion in Super G and World Cup winner in Downhill Nicole Schmidhofer, who is turning her back on professional skiing after 16 years.

Steven Nyman, who was a great role model for many Americans for over 20 years and who competed in his last race at his home World Cup in Aspen, was around even longer. The race in Aspen was also the last for Matteo Marsaglia from the Italian squad, who is taking a well-deserved skiing retirement.

FISCHER REMAINS ON TOP IN THE NORDIC WORLD CUP

The air show in Planica marked the end of this year’s World Cup season as per tradition. Austria’s Stefan Kraft secured the small crystal globe for winning the Ski Flying World Cup with his final flight of the season, rounding out the Fischer Race Family success story. Four of the eight large World Cup globes, and six of the thirteen small globes went to Fischer athletes. 119 World Cup wins, 93 second places, and 82 thirds- making up more than half of all possible podium spots- clearly defined Fischer as the most successful ski, boot, and bindings brand for the fourteenth time in a row since the 09l10 season.

Biathlon

Johannes Thingnes Bø was able to do as he pleased with the biathlon field. The results of this exceptional Norwegian athlete are something out of a fairy tale: nineteen World Cup wins, plus five gold medals, and one each of silver and bronze in the world championships. His extraordinary performances ended up making him the Overall World Cup winner for the fourth time in his career, as well as taking World Cup titles in Sprint and Pursuit. “This season for me was just unbelievable. I was in fantastic skiing form, but you still have to hit those targets. I was able to do that this season like I never have before”, said the amiable elite performer. “A lot of work went into it, and now I’m holding the large crystal globe, which was my goal all year.” With Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden, Tarjei Boe and Johannes Dale of Norway, then France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet taking places five through eight in the Overall standings, that meant four more Fischer athletes wearing Speedmax skis and boots were among the top ten.

In the women’s biathlon, Denise Herrmann-Wick celebrated the perfect end to her successful career by crowning her list of achievements with a victory in the season’s final sprint to take the small globe in the Sprint World Cup. In the Overall World Cup, the individual champion from Oberhof signed off with a strong fourth place finish. “I always wanted to step away when I was at the top. I started as a sprinter in cross-country and was able to end my career as the top sprinter in the biathlon. That was the crowning glory for it all”, enthused the beaming German star. Her fellow competitors, also under the same brand umbrella, likewise gave an excellent account of themselves: Sweden‘s Hanna Öberg -the most successful Fischer athlete at the world championships- took fourth place; Marketa Davidova of the Czech Republic took ninth, Lisa Theresa Hauser of Austria took tenth, and Lou Jeanmonnot of France finished in eleventh place.

Nordic Combined

Fischer athletes clearly set the pace in the Nordic Combined, with all of the individual victories in the 22l23 World Cup season going to members of the Fischer Race Family. Head and shoulders above the women’s field in each of her starts this season- both in the World Cup and world championships- was the highly decorated Norwegian Gyda Westvold Hansen. Unbeatable, she stood at the top of the podium after each of her starts, and easily secured the large crystal globe as Overall World Cup champion once again. A lone shadow falling over her great success is that the women’s Nordic Combined will not be recognized as an Olympic sport in 2026, though women are proving themselves as excellent performers in the discipline. Prime examples are other Fischer athletes Ida Marie Hagen of Norway, Annika Sieff of Italy, Lisa Hirner of Austria, Yuka and Haruka Kasai of Japan, Jenny Nowak of Germany, and Anju Nakamura of Japan in spots three through nine in the Overall World Cup.

On the men’s side, Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber won eight World Cups this season and took gold in each of his four world championship starts. But not even his awesome season-ending spurt as he took four victories in a row, could stop Johannes Lamparter from Austria. The later consistently earned points throughout the season and was ultimately rewarded with the Overall World Cup’s large crystal globe for the first time in his career. Behind him were Jens Luraas Oftebro of Norway and Julian Schmid of Germany. The new Overall World Cup champion was overwhelmed, saying, “It’s just crazy. One of my childhood dreams has been fulfilled. This is definitely the highlight of my career so far.” Jarl Magnus Riiber ended up in fourth place in the Overall World Cup, followed by Estonia’s Kristjan Ilves, Vinzenz Geiger of Germany in seventh, Laurent Muhlethaler of France in eighth, and Ilkka Herola of Finland in ninth, all representing Fischer in the top ten.

Ski Jumping

Three-time Ski Jumping world champion Katharina Althaus of Germany wrapped up her successful season with a strong second place in the Overall World Cup, ahead of Slovenia’s Ema Klinec, Norway’s Anna Odine Strøm, and Germany’s Selina Freitag. Other top ten performers included Norway’s Silje Opseth, Japan’s Yuki Ito, and Slovenia’s Nika Kriznar, who took spots seven through nine in the Overall classification.

Stefan Kraft of Austria used his final flight of the season to secure second place in the Overall World Cup and earned the small crystal globe for his victory in the Ski Flying World Cup as a satisfying finish to his season. “It was a battle of nerves at the end,” gushed the happy winner about his victory. “Winning a small globe is always something unbelievable. At some point you’re running on empty. I’m just happy I could maintain my performance through the end.”

Cross-Country

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo finished up his season with an impressive string of six World Cup victories in a row. Both in sprints and distance events the speedy Norwegian was not be denied, laying down a solid base of performances underpinning a dominating campaign for his fourth Overall World Cup title. He was the season’s fastest sprinter, taking the Sprint World Cup for the fifth time, ahead of France’s Lucas Chanavat and Norway’s Even Northug. Having won the Tour de Ski and being the top world championship medal earner with three golds and two silvers, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo understandably had a positive summary of his season: “20 World Cup wins- what an unbelievable feeling. I never would have dared to dream that, especially with the injury at the beginning of the season. I’m really happy and really proud. This was definitely my best season!” His national teammates Didrik Tønseth, Hans Christer Holund, and Erik Valnes in places five, six, and ten are again among the Overall World Cup elite.

On the women’s side, it was four-time medalists Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson of Sweden setting the pace at the world championships. Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen was elated over third place in the Overall World Cup, her first end-of-season podium finish. An added bonus was her victory in the Distance World Cup. Following her victory in the Tour de Ski, Frida Karlsson took sixth place in the Overall World Cup, ahead of Germany’s Katharina Hennig in seventh, with Norway’s Heidi Weng completing the top ten.

Ski Marathon

The ski marathon series Ski Classics ended up with a pair of statement podium sweeps featuring Speedmax DP skis and Skiathlon boots from Fischer. Team Engcon’s Ida Dahl beamed as she crossed the finish line in second, winning the climbing competition as well as the Overall title, ahead of Team Eksjöhus skier Magni Smedaas and Vasaloppet winner Emilie Fleten of Team Ramudden. The best Youth category skier, Karolina Hedenström of Lager 157 Ski Team, took fourth place in the Overall, ahead of Astrid Øyre Slind of Team Aker Daehlie, Jenny Larsson of Team Ragde Charge, and Kati Roivas of Team Næringsbanken Stora Enso. The fastest sprinter, Anikken Gjerde Alnes of Team Ragde Charge, placed ninth in the Overall.

Following his Vasaloppet victory and eight further victories this season, the honorary yellow jersey for the Overall title went to the runaway winner, Emil Persson of Lager 157 Ski Team. Andreas Nygaard of Team Ragde Charge and Max Novak of Team Aker Daehlie completed the Fischer podium in the Overall men’s competition, matching the women’s podium. Following them were Kasper Stadaas of Team Ragde Charge in fourth place, and Amund Riege of Team Ramudden in fifth place, who also won the Youth category in the process. Fourteen more Fischer Race Family athletes followed, displaying Fischer’s dominance in Ski Marathon. Even the Sprint results were a Fischer Race Family affair with winner Alfred Buskqvist of Team Ramudden and Johan Hoel of Team Ragde Charge taking the climbing competition.