VIDEO: Hirscher debuts new limited edition Atomic slalom ski

Marcel Hirscher with his namesake Atomic skis. Atomic

In the last two winters, Marcel Hirscher has won gold at the World Ski Championships, silver at the Olympic Games, the overall World Cup and the slalom Crystal Globe twice. Now he will be first to race with skis he co-developed and co-designed with Atomic, the limited edition Icon Series II.

Hirscher brought all his racing insight and experience, gathered through 10,000 slalom turns raced each year, to create the slalom ski that the world has been waiting for: the new Redster FIS SL Men by Atomic. And the design of this new Icon Series II is as unqiue as the man himself.

“Developing skis is teamwork,” said Hirscher. “A whole group of experts is always looking for the best answer to the same question: How do we achieve the best balance between stability and explosive performance?”

Hirscher’s slalom race results of the last two years suggest his team already found the answer with his Icon Series I. In 22 slaloms (including City Events), he secured 19 podiums, World Championships gold, Olympic silver, and overall and slalom World Cup victory in both winters.

“The new models of the Icon Series II are technologically another step forward,” noted Hirscher. “It is not the style of the Atomic team to say: ‘Let’s keep things as they are because everything is going well.’”

Hirscher didn’t only influence the internal structure of the Icon Series II, but also the design.

“It was another exciting process with the creative minds at Atomic – from the first sketch to the finished design. The look is important to me as it reflects who I am. At the lift, on the slope, hopefully again on the podium – I have my skis constantly in view. A cool design motivates me.”

As soon as Hirscher kicks off the World Championships with his new ski creation this winter, the Icon Series II will be launched as a limited edition in retail stores, with a junior model series also available for slalom racers of all ages.

In slalom races, Hirscher will wear the Atomic Troop SL helmet. It perfectly matches the design of the new MH Icon Series II and Hirscher appreciates the superior ventilation because “to keep a cool head is even more important that one might think for concentration.” For a perfect fit, Hirscher races with the new Atomic Revel³ M Racing ski goggles. Thanks to Live Fit technology they adapt to the contours of his face while the mirrored, spherical dual lenses from world leader ZEISS offer maximum field of vision, even in back light conditions. Low light lenses are also available. All lenses are anti-fog, scratch-resistant and, importantly for Hirscher, “interchangeable within seconds.”

Hirscher will carry an arsenal of about 100 pairs of skis for this World Championships winter. These were chosen from 1,000 pairs of skis after an extensive series of tests during his preparation training. In addition to the Icon Series II for slalom, Marcel will race the Redster Doubledeck models for giant slalom, super-G and downhill. Each ski has been handpicked and uniquely set up to deliver maximum results on race day. His boot, the Atomic Redster WC 170 Lifted is the control center. The ultra-stiff carbon spine provides power transfer and edge grip. And the interchangeable Flex frames in three hardness degrees make it super adaptable to varying conditions.

Release courtesy of Atomic