For a year Patrick Feurstein was unable to contest a ski race due to a headache. The 25-year-old from Vorarlberg made his comeback this season. And in Alta Badia, the Rossignol pilot demonstrated why iconic trainer Ferdinand Hirscher has been keeping a lot of the Bregenzerwald for a long time.
Patrick Feurstein was sitting in the finish area in Alta Badia and couldn’t believe what was happening to him. After the 25-year-old from Vorarlberg had barely managed to qualify for the finals in the first round as 27th, he delivered the ride of his life as a skier with the fastest time in round two. One runner after the other, including his teammates Marco Schwarz and Stefan Brennsteiner, but also overall World Cup winner Alexis Pinturault (Fra) bit their teeth on the dream run of the Bregenzerwald Rossignol pilot. Only Henrik Kristoffersen (Nor), seventh after the first round, succeeded Feurstein – whose 18th place in the giant slalom in Val d’Isere last Sunday was the best World Cup result so far – at the top the entire preseason had to sit out due to a mysterious headache, happy about fourth place and could hardly believe his luck. “I hadn’t set myself any goals at all before the season, I just wanted to compete in ski races again,” says Patrick. He did that in Alta Badia – and how!
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