Founded by eight-time overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher in 2021, the Van Deer-Red Bull Sports ski company is making some noise in the lead-up to the ski season by scooping up some of the world’s top skiers. The Austrian-based company has already announced that American Olympian Paula Moltzan will be the first woman on Van Deer skis this winter, and a new cryptic Instagram post has alpine skiing fans guessing who might be next.
A black-and-white photograph posted on the company’s official page on June 7 shows a young blonde woman walking past an old fighter plane at Salzburg Airport in Austria. The caption: “Heading toward the next adventure. Always in style.” The somewhat blurry photo intentionally left the woman’s face hidden, which left ski fans guessing: has Hirscher landed another top-tier female skier for his Van Deer team?
The leading speculation is for Lara Colturi, one of alpine skiing’s best young talents. Born in Italy and competing for Albania, the 19-year-old Colturi holds seven World Cup medals: four silver and three bronze. Colturi became the third-youngest gold medalist at the 2023 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships, where she claimed victory in the Super-G category.
The young alpine skier is currently sponsored by Red Bull, which owns a 51% majority stake in Van Deer. Thus, a partnership between Van Deer and Colturi would be logical. As a Red Bull athlete, Colturi spends a significant amount of time training at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center in Salzburg. Van Deer is located in the same town, and a partnership would keep the 19-year-old close to home.
Colturi had also been in Salzburg recently, taking to her Instagram to post a cluster of photos from the Austrian town.
Despite the likelihood of a partnership, Van Deer has not verified or revealed the mystery athlete in its post. Colturi has also skied for fellow Austrian brand Blizzard-Tecnica for many years, and has not yet announced a separation.
As competitive alpine skiing moves deeper into its offseason, eyes will be on Van Deer to see what new skiers they add to their team.
