Ski great Marcel Hirscher confirms his first World Cup start in 5 years

By ERIC WILLEMSEN The Associated Press

FILE - Austria's Marcel Hirscher competes during the first run of a men's alpine ski World Cup slalom, in Soldeu, Andorra, on March 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Alessandro Trovati]

SOELDEN, Austria (AP) — Austrian skiing great Marcel Hirscher has confirmed his start in Sunday’s World Cup season-opening giant slalom in Soelden. He makes his return to competitive skiing after 2,051 days and starts for the Netherlands. Hirscher says, “Back to the game that we love.” Hirscher is the record-holder with eight straight overall titles until his retirement in 2019. He surprisingly announced his comeback to racing in April but had yet to confirm his start in the first race of the season after his preparation period wasn’t ideal.