Alpine: Madi Hoffman eyes World Cup debut in Soelden

With less than a month to go until the first FIS Alpine Ski World Cup event of the season, Madi Hoffman is one of the young Australian talents preparing for the opening Giant Slalom in Soelden. 
 
A member of the Snow Australia National Alpine Ski Team since 2016, Hoffman is coming off a good 2020/21 season that saw her take part in her third World Junior Alpine Championships and achieve some highlight results, including a second place in slalom at the U.S. Nationals. 
 
But the upcoming season will be like no other for the 21 year old, who is set to make her FIS World Cup debut on the Austrian glacier.
 
“It is kind of crazy to think I am going to start my first World Cup,” Hoffman admitted.
 
“I am going in with as little expectations as possible, trying to learn as much as I can from the experience and just rip off the band-aid and see what happens!”
 
Now, with the 2022 Olympic Winter Games on the horizon, Hoffman’s timing could not have been better. Even though she maintains a humble and practical approach to her skiing, her sights will be undoubtedly set on selection for the Australian Olympic Team once the emotions of her World Cup debut subside.
 
“I am definitely trying to make the Beijing team, but apart from that, one of main objectives is to really just get better at skiing. As I am planning on being based mainly in Europe this year and doing a mix of World Cups and Europa Cups, my goal is to feel as comfortable as I can and push myself as much as possible in training and racing.
 
“My skiing is not where I want it to be yet, but with time I know I will eventually get there. I am just glad to be able to work on my skiing and, for the first time in a while, my body is cooperating too, which is nice."

 
Hoffman missed out on a few domestic seasons due to the rupture of her patellar tendon in 2019, so she was grateful to get some time on snow during the recent Northern Hemisphere summer.
 
“It’s the first time in a a couple of years that I have actually been able to get on snow before November and that is helping me find my confidence on the hill,” she said.
 
“I did a short training block on snow in Copper Mountain, CO at the beginning of June and I just recently got back from a training camp in Europe where I was able to ski in Italy at the Stelvio Pass and also in Saas Fee, Switzerland for about a month.
 
“My summer has been really fun and productive. I have also spent a big chunk of time in the gym, which has been very beneficial to my overall strength and fitness,” she said.
 
Hoffman is headed back to Europe at the beginning of October, where she will fine tune her training in preparation for her World Cup debut. Originally from Sydney, she is now based in the U.S. where she competes for the University of Utah ski team. 
 
Hoffman said she managed to squeeze a short visit back home at the end of June even though unfortunately she couldn’t get a taste of Australian snow. 
 
“I was there just as all the lockdowns were starting so everything was up in the air. I have definitely missed being able to ski back home. 
 
“Fingers crossed next year I can get down for the first time since the 2018 winter,” she said.