On the eve of his departure for El Colorado, Marco Schwarz reveals: “I’ve put on muscle; as far as downhill is concerned, we’ll wait for Chile”

Marco Schwarz will leave for Chile on Saturday, heading to El Colorado together with national teammate Lukas Feurstein, with whom he will work extensively on the speed events.

The move towards downhill in his training and, consequently, the focus on competing in many races in the discipline was also a topic on the eve of his flight to South America, in the interview “Blacky” gave to the Kronen Zeitung, which visited the Austrian ace in Bad Kleinkirchheim.

In the Carinthian resort, the all-rounder born in 1995 inaugurated an off-road trail for mountain bikes and more, which bears his name: on the Marco Schwarz Trail, “I cycled a lot and had fun. I’d like to ride it fast, but I tackle it intelligently,” he told the Austrian newspaper, adding that he was “happy to strengthen my connection, through this initiative, with the place where I learned to ski.”

The Wunderteam champion, with almost three years having now passed since the serious injury to his right knee in the Bormio downhill, has also increased his muscle mass in the gym with an eye to the speed events, in order to withstand an entire season across several disciplines. At the end of last December, he triumphed in giant slalom on the Gran Risa and a few days later in the inaugural super-G in Livigno, but then suffered a significant decline, and things did not go well at the Olympics either.

“I’ve gone through the last few weeks of preparation without pain, and I feel as fit as I was before the injuries,” Marco added. “Yes, there was a target regarding my weight, and I’m two kilograms heavier than I was at this time 12 months ago,” bringing his total to 92 kg.

On skis, there has only been one approach: “Three days in Saas-Fee. I didn’t do much this year, but in Chile we should find excellent conditions. The downhill? I have a fairly clear plan, but I want to wait for the South American training camp; the process, including whether or not to compete in slalom, has accompanied me throughout the summer, and it isn’t an easy decision—there are pros and cons.

But once I make the decision, I’ll stick to it, because last season, without a precise strategy, slalom was always on my mind. I wondered, for example, whether that would be my last time on the Ganslern or the Planai, when those are not thoughts you should have during the winter.”