WC Notebook: Maier not ready to hang 'em up

Four-time overall World Cup champion Hermann Maier has apparently decided to keep on racing.
    The 34-year-old Austrian, who finished a disappointing 19th in the 2006-07 overall standings after losing his first-seed positions in both downhill and giant slalom, is in negotiations with equipment suppliers.
    Atomic seems ready to continue supplying the Herminator, who managed just one World Cup podium this season — third in the Hinterstoder super G won by Bode Miller.
    But the successful manufacturer, based in Altenmarkt, Austria — which celebrated its 11th consecutive overall victory on the men’s tour with Aksel Lund Svindal’s triumph — is seemingly not ready to spend as much money on Maier as in the past. Atomic has apparently approved Maier racing with Lange boots. Maier feels more confident and comfortable with Lange, which helped him crush the rest of the field at the beginning of his amazing career — before his terrible motorcycle accident from August 2001.
FOUR-TIME OVERALL World Cup champion Hermann Maier has apparently decided to keep on racing.
    The 34-year-old Austrian, who finished a disappointing 19th in the 2006-07 overall standings after losing his first-seed positions in both downhill and giant slalom, is in negotiations with equipment suppliers.
    Atomic seems ready to continue supplying the Herminator, who managed just one World Cup podium this season — third in the Hinterstoder super G won by Bode Miller.
    But the successful manufacturer, based in Altenmarkt, Austria — which celebrated its 11th consecutive overall victory on the men’s tour with Aksel Lund Svindal’s triumph — is seemingly not ready to spend as much money on Maier as in the past. Atomic has apparently approved Maier racing with Lange boots. Maier feels more confident and comfortable with Lange, which helped him crush the rest of the field at the beginning of his amazing career — before his terrible motorcycle accident from August 2001.
     The former bricklayer and ski instructor has always skied and raced on Atomic skis. He has been approached by Head, the current supplier of Switzerland’s Didier Cuche and USA’s Miller, who dominated the speed events this winter. But Head’s management is not so pleased about Maier using Lange boots instead of its own brand, so the discussions with both ski companies will certainly last for a while before reaching an agreement.
     Maier, who came in fifth, only a tenth of a second behind overall winner Svindal in the World Cup Finals downhill at Lenzerheide, remains optimistic about his potential. “I need to be fully confident and determined to attack the courses as hard as I used to. It was certainly not the case this winter,” Maier explained at Lenzerheide. “I also suffered as other favorites from the reverse start-order situation — it’s almost impossible to win races starting from the back.”
 
Berthod, Grugger rehabbing
    Marc Berthod, the 23-year-old Swiss ski star who captured the slalom at Adelboden with bib 60, was hoping to enjoy a heli-skiing vacation in Canada this spring along with buddy Daniel Albrecht, but he may have to wait another year to take up this opportunity offered by ski supplier Atomic.
     The Swiss racer injured his right ankle after straddling a slalom gate at the Swiss nationals at Veysonnaz last month. He will have to take a break instead of testing new models of skis in Austria and flying to Canada. Berthod was eager to test the new (larger) racing skis from Atomic adapted to the new FIS rules.
     Bad luck too for Austria’s Hans Grugger, the super G winner at Kvitfjell in March. He tore ligaments in his left knee in a crash while testing skis in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. It’s not the first time that the 25-year-old has seriously injured himself. He injured an ACL when he fell during his first Europa Cup downhill in 1998.
    Two years ago, Grugger suffered facial injuries after a bad crash at Bormio. He also injured his hip during that spectacular spill on the treacherous Stelvio course and needed a year to regain his best form. This new injury should take him out of action for at least six months. Grugger fell unexpectedly after cutting an edge while skiing on a flat part of the slope. Last winter, he was the only Austrian to win a super G, which used to be the best event of the mighty Austrian team.
 
What’s in store for Janica Kostelic?
    Janica Kostelic’s numerous fans eagerly await the decision of the Croatian superstar to again be a ski racer — or not. The three-time overall World Cup champion, who took a sabbatical this winter, is expected to make an announcement this month regarding her possible comeback on the World Cup tour next season. But the skier from Zagreb, who bought herself a beauty parlour in Rijeka, on the Adriatic coast, to stay closer to her boyfriend — a professional diver who lives there — may postpone her decision for a few weeks or longer.
    People close to the quadruple Olympic champion strongly believe that she is not planning to come back after enjoying her second season far from racing. Kostelic skipped the 2003-04 winter to undergo knee surgery and a thyroid operation. She achieved an amazing comeback in 2005 and 2006, clinching four more gold medals at the 2005 worlds at Santa Caterina and at the 2006 Olympics before capturing her third overall crown with a record 1,970 points thanks to victories in all five disciplines.
    Kostelic was 16 when she started her World Cup career in January 1998, and she won her first World Cup event a year later — a combined at St. Anton.
    Her remarkable career has been marked by unprecedented performances but also by major crashes and injuries. She achieved her first major comeback in 2001, winning her first overall title a season after blowing out her right knee during her dramatic crash while training downhill at St. Moritz.
    She achieved her wildest dream during the 2005-06 season in becoming the first skier ever to triumph in all four alpine specialties and in super combined during the same season.
     Her brother Ivica, who won a super combined this year at Reiteralm, should continue his career until the 2010 Olympics.

More for Meissnitzer
    Austrian Alexandra Meissnitzer, the 1999 world champion and overall World Cup winner, has decided to race for another season. The 33-year-old skier from Abtenau, near Salzburg, still feels enough fire burning inside her to continue her career.
    Meissnitzer, winner of two gold medals in 1999 in super G and giant slalom, suffered a bad knee injury while training in Lake Louise and needed two years to regain her form.
    She has won a few World Cup races in recent years and also silver in downhill at the 2003 worlds and an Olympic bronze in 2006 in super G, but Meissy hasn’t dominated the field as she used to.