Vincent Kriechmayr (34) has made his decision: the Austrian is hanging on for another season. In the speed disciplines, he is one of the toughest competitors of Marco Odermatt and Franjo von Allmen.
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- Vincent Kriechmayr is hanging on for another season.
- The 34-year-old is one of the absolute world leaders in the super-G and downhill.
- This is great news for ski fans from Austria, as he is one of the few racers who regularly annoys the Swiss.
After the 2025/2026 season, Kriechmayr has left it open as to whether he will continue for another season or retire from the big stage. Since Thursday, there has been clarity: the 34-year-old is staying on.
A few weeks ago, the 20-time World Cup winner said that he would only continue racing if Peter Meliessnig was brought back to the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV). Meliessnig was Kriechmayr's fitness coach for nine years before moving to Lindsey Vonn's team in 2024.
Kriechmayr commented tellingly at the time: "It's a shame that he wasn't so highly regarded by the federation back then." A clear jab at the ÖSV. However, it is not yet clear whether Meliessnig will actually return. Head coach Marko Pfeifer told the portal "skinews.ch": "We are still interested in bringing Peter back to the ÖSV." However, the return is not yet set in stone.
Regardless of this, Kriechmayr is now continuing his career. The 2021 downhill and super-G world champion announces this step with a challenge: "I want to add another season. A season in which I will once again put everything I have into it."
Kriechmayr holds a candle to the Swiss
Last winter, Kriechmayr won a super-G and finished second on the podium in two races. In the discipline rankings, he finished 2nd behind Marco Odermatt.
He also stood on the podium three times in the downhill. Kriechmayr won one race, came second once and third once. He also narrowly missed out on the podium in two races in 3rd and 5th place. In the discipline rankings, however, this performance was "only" good enough for 4th place behind Odermatt, Von Allmen and Dominik Paris.
At the Olympic Games, the top athlete won the silver medal in the combined team event together with Manuel Feller. The two were exactly as fast as the Odermatt/Meillard duo. Only Franjo von Allmen and Tanguy Nef did even better.
Despite all his successes, Kriechmayr can't really understand the hype and the great interest in his person. He is happy about it, but "I don't quite understand it because I only ski down the mountain on two wooden boards". If he does this just as quickly as in previous seasons, he will remain a tough nut to crack for the Swiss.
