Ski Team Selections 24/25 For Switzerland, Norway & Croatia
Excitement is in the air as the first teams and staff structures for the 2024/25 ski season are unveiled! Nations are gearing up for the upcoming winter with selections and strategic staff changes.
Will Swiss-Ski's dominance continue?
One hundred and eleven representatives to try to repeat yet another outstanding season just played out, in which the Swiss squadron returned to win both absolute crystal globes in the same year, with Lara Gut-Behrami and Marco Odermatt.
Swiss-Ski made official the National teams for 2024/25, with 51 women and 60 men on the team, chosen by the director of alpine skiing within the Swiss-Ski federation, Hans Flatscher, along with the sector heads, namely Beat Tschuor in the women's sphere and Thomas Stauffer for the men's.
Among the women, there are 8 in the national group: with Lara Gut-Behrami, there is Corinne Suter, Jasmine Flury, Michelle Gisin, Joana Haehlen, Wendy Holdener and the "promoted" Mélanie Meillard and Camille Rast (last year part of the "A" team)
In the men's team, there are 11 athletes on the National team: Marco Odermatt, of course, leads the troop flanked by the confirmed Daniel Yule, Stefan Rogentin, Justin Murisier, Gino Caviezel, Niels Hintermann and Loic Meillard, but also by those who have been promoted, in particular those who make the double jump are Arnaud Boisset and Franjo von Allmen, at their first podiums in World Cup and who last winter started from the B team. Thomas Tumler and Marc Rochat are also promoted to the National team after having an excellent season.
Will Switzerland consolidate its recent dominance with this formidable team featuring stars and a mix of experience and emerging talent ?
Link to the Swissski selections
Major staff changes with top athletes
Yörg Roten, who coached Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen for 3 years, will now be Wendy Holdener. Yörg Roten, renowned for his in-depth knowledge of ski technique and his ability to cultivate talent, will bring a new dynamism and a solid starting point for the Swiss skier, who injured her foot and had to miss a large part of the 2023-2024 season.
On the men's side, the noisy departure of Alejo Hervas from Lara Gut-Behrami's team at the Saalbach finals last March has been confirmed. The Spanish trainer has decided to take on a new challenge, taking the reins as the physical trainer for Marco Odermatt and his team-mates.
After 8 years of working alongside Kurt Kohtbauer (who is now Lucas Braathen's new physical trainer), Marco now faces a new training dynamic with Hervas. A major challenge for both men, given the spectacular results the Nidwalian has achieved in recent years.
So it will be with a mixture of experience and innovation that Alejo will strive to propel Odermatt and his team-mates to new heights.
Brazil's New Ski Star
After Lucas "Pinheiro" Braathen announced last month that he would compete in the World Cup under the Brazilian flag in the 2024/25 ski season, he has now announced the team that will support him in his quest for victory.
Under the guidance of his father Björn, Braathen has built up his personal team with partners and sponsors.
Peter Lederer and Michael Pircher, two highly experienced ski coaches, will ensure optimum preparation. Peter first worked with Lucas when he was nine years old, and now he's back to support the team with his technical know-how.
Michael "Mike" Pircher, who recently worked with the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV), has already coached former ski star Marcel Hirscher to excellent results. Christian Hoel will reinforce the team as assistant coach.
Regarding fitness, Lucas relies on top-level experts, entrusting Kurt Kohtbauer, who previously worked with Marco Odermatt, in physical training. A physiotherapist will soon complete the team.
Norway's Renewal
Norway showed up for the 2024/25 season, with 31 elements forming part of the national team that will aim to redeem a disappointing and even unlucky last year, with only Timon Haugan's success among the men and Ragnhild Mowinckel's success in the women's side in the downhill in Cortina.
Mowinckel, who retired at the end of the season, is clearly along with Lucas Braathen (who chose Brazil for his return to the World Cup), the big absentee from the roster for the coming competitive winter. "We are in the process of a generational change, but we are increasing the number of athletes in the C team because we have a lot of young people with an important future," the words of the director of alpine skiing norge, Claus Johan Ryste.
The women's A team will count on Kajsa Vickhoff Lie and Thea Louise Stjernesund, while there are five men on the A team with Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Henrik Kristoffersen, Atle Lie McGrath, Alexander Steen Olsen and Timon Haugan.
Link to the Norwegian Team selection
Five athletes feature in the Croatian A teams. The women’s team boasts a strong pairing in Zrinka Ljutic and Leona Popovic.
Ljutic, the class of 2004 has returned from the winter of definitive consecration. Although her first World Cup victory has not yet arrived, Zrinka has conquered three podiums in slalom and has found great consistency in Giant Slalom. For her compatriot Janica Kostelic, Zrinka has the potential to be an overall contender.
As said, Leona Popovic is the other strong point, with the 1997-class slalom skier having started 2023/24 very well with that narrowly missed success in Levi, second only a hair's breadth behind Mikaela Shiffrin, before various physical problems, including the latest knee injury which fortunately is less serious than initially budgeted and won't prevent Leona from having an almost complete preparation for next winter.
The men's A team will count on Filip Zubcic, who has returned to altitude after also caressing a triumph in the first of the two Alta Badia giant slaloms, and on two good slalom racers, Samuel Kolega and Istok Rodes.
