Max Franz: What his comeback depends on
The Carinthian was recently dropped from the ÖSV squad, but the 36-year-old hasn't given up entirely on his World Cup return.
In 2022, Max Franz broke both his legs in a training crash in Copper Mountain. Last December, after a rocky road back, the Carinthian was back at the start line of a World Cup race for the first time in Val Gardena.
Since then, it hasn't been enough for more than that one World Cup start in Val Gardena.
As a consequence, the 36-year-old was dropped from all ÖSV squads at the beginning of May >>>
However, Franz has not yet given up his dream of another World Cup comeback. "I'm already training with the motivation to come back again," the downhill skier explained in an interview with "Krone".
Comeback only if...
Currently, he is training hard – endurance, strength, and stabilization exercises are on the agenda, after he had to undergo another operation at the end of April.
"By now, I've lost count. But it must have been the ninth or tenth operation since the accident," said Franz, who can only imagine returning to the World Cup under one condition:
"I just don't want to have any more pain. I've had enough of that."
If that succeeds, there could be another major push: "If I'm pain-free, I want to try again. But whether that will happen remains to be seen."
Last Victory Was Seven and a Half Years Ago
Max Franz won three World Cup races in his career, his last victory coming in 2018 in the Super-G in Beaver Creek. In 2017, he also won World Championship bronze in downhill.
