Stefan Kraft will have new skis under his feet next season. The 33-year-old Austrian, a three-time world champion, is leaving Fischer, the brand he has jumped on until now, and moving to skis made by Van Deer, the company founded by Marcel Hirscher. ORF reports that Kraft is using the Van Deer skis "ab sofort", meaning with immediate effect. LAOLA1 cites a report by the Austrian daily Kurier.
Built by Van Deer, branded Biogena
The name on the skis will be Biogena, not Van Deer. According to ORF, Biogena, an Austrian maker of micronutrient products, sponsors the jumping skis and commissions them from Van Deer. The company's logo will appear on the skis.
Kraft did not rush his decision, OÖNachrichten reports. Austrian head coach Andreas Widhölzl said: "Er hat im Sommer alle Marken durchgetestet" (he tested every brand over the summer).
Three new brands, three manufacturers
Kraft is one of several athletes switching. Three new ski brands will be on the hills next season: Fischer-Dübel, Biogena and Stiebel-Eltron. All three have their own jumping skis made for them, as Fluege.de, Sport 2000 and BWT have done for years. Fischer builds the skis for Stiebel-Eltron and Fischer-Dübel, and Van Deer builds them for Biogena. Slovenia's Slatnar is the only other manufacturer left.
OÖNachrichten explains the background. Jumping skis are hard to make profitably, and only around 6,000 pairs are produced worldwide each year. Years ago, the FIS began allowing sponsors to put their logos on the running surfaces. Fluege.de went first with blue skis, followed later by Sport 2000 and BWT's pink models. The paper says the change came after several traditional ski makers stopped making jumping skis. Widhölzl said: "Wir müssen froh sein, dass es Firmen gibt, die unseren Sport unterstützen" (we have to be glad there are companies that support our sport).
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Other members of the Austrian team are changing equipment too:
- Jonas Schuster, described by OÖNachrichten as one of last winter's rising jumpers, joins the Fischer-Dübel group, which now has more than 25 ski jumpers.
- Clemens Aigner, who has won repeatedly in the Continental Cup, will be the only Austrian on Slatnar skis. Domen Prevc also jumps on that brand.
- Nordic combined athletes Johannes Lamparter and Thomas Rettenegger are moving to Stiebel-Eltron, according to Kurier. Like the Fischer-Dübel skis, their skis are made by Fischer.
So three more brands will appear on the hills, but the jumping skis will still come from just Fischer, Van Deer and Slatnar.
