Three and a half months before the Winter Games, ski stars such as Aleksander Kilde, Cyprien Sarrazin and Federica Brignone are working on their comebacks. A water level report ahead of the World Cup opener in Sölden.
24.10.2025, 14:16
SDA
Aleksander Kilde:
The Norwegian speed skier hit the safety nets hard in the finish S of Wengen in January 2024. He suffered a gaping flesh wound in his lower leg and a complex shoulder injury.
Kilde subsequently had to undergo five operations. The healing process went "pretty well for a long time", says one of Kilde's doctors in an excerpt from the documentary "Downhill Skiers", which will be shown in cinemas from Thursday and in which Kilde and Marco Odermatt are among the protagonists. But then, after almost six months, an infection in his shoulder led to blood poisoning and set the 33-year-old back a long way.
Although Kilde can only bend his damaged shoulder 90 degrees, he is now back on skis and training with the team. However, returning to a high level remains a major challenge.
If Kilde has his way, he will return to the World Cup in December. "I'm not done yet, I still have several years to go," says Mikaela Shiffrin's boyfriend.
Cyprien Sarrazin:
The Frenchman took off uncontrollably at high speed in Bormio in December 2024 and suffered a subdural hematoma, an accumulation of blood between the outermost meninges. The 31-year-old had to have a hole drilled in his skull. He was lucky not to be paralyzed on the right side and to have lost part of his speech center.
"I experienced the best moment of my life, and a year later I almost died. It was a crazy rollercoaster ride. I have to say that I'm very lucky that I'm not suffering any late effects today," says Sarrazin. The tough battle to return to the racetrack is not yet over. "I want to come back and experience these emotions again. But I don't know what the chances are yet. I'm taking it step by step, I'm taking my time. It won't be the case this season," says Sarrazin, who was one of Odermatt's toughest opponents in the fast disciplines before the fall. The 2026 Olympic Games will therefore take place without Sarrazin.
Marcel Hirscher:
The eight-time overall World Cup winner from Salzburg, who has been racing for the Netherlands since his comeback a year ago, suffered a torn cruciate ligament and a capsule injury in his knee in training a good eleven months ago. He has been back in snow training since September. His comeback this weekend in Sölden has been postponed primarily because, according to Patrick Riml, the project manager of Hirscher's sponsor Red Bull, the 36-year-old has been ill for two and a half weeks.
Alexis Pinturault:
A year after his cruciate ligament rupture, a crash in the super-G in Kitzbühel cost Pinturault his participation in the 2025 World Championships. The 34-year-old French all-rounder sustained a fracture to the inner tibial plateau in his right knee as well as an injury to his inner meniscus, but was able to compete normally in summer training after a six-week break. The 2021 overall World Cup winner will make his comeback in the giant slalom in Sölden. Pinturault announced that he would be concentrating fully on the giant slalom in the Olympic season, hinting that it could be his last professional season. He won the giant slalom on the Rettenbach Glacier in 2016 and 2019.
Federica Brignone:
Last season's Italian dominator tore up her left knee at the Italian Championships in spring. She broke her tibia and fibula and tore her cruciate ligament.
Taking part in the Winter Games in her home country is turning into a race against time for the Milan native. "I'm working my butt off to be able to take part," the 35-year-old recently told Corriere della Sera. "Some have taken two years to come back from a similar injury," said Brignone. "When will I ski and race again? I don't know."
Petra Vlhova:
The technician from Slovakia suffered a torn medial and cruciate ligament in her home race in Jasna in January 2024. More than a year later, she had to undergo another operation due to cartilage problems. The 30-year-old overall World Cup winner from 2021 also had personal problems. In November 2024, she split up with her boyfriend Michal Kyselica after five years, and five months later with her Swiss coach Mauro Pini.
"I don't know if I'll ever be able to ski again. It's very difficult to make a prognosis," said Vlhova in May in an interview with a Slovakian radio station. In a podcast, she spoke openly about her personal difficulties. Her situation is like a battle against herself. The outcome is open.
