L a t e s t  n e w s ..... Louise Bain and Callum Henderson win both rounds of Twin Peaks races at Fir Park & Hillend ...

'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams' (Eleanor Roosevelt).

Ivica Kostelić with Fischer for the first time at Giant Slalom in Sölden, Seven out of ten Austrians place their trust in the yellow Fischer package in Sölden

Premiere for Fischer and Ivica Kostelić at the World Cup opener in Sölden at the weekend. The Croatian will be racing with Fischer for the first time. The 27-year-old last competed in a Giant Slalom in December 2005. "Giant Slalom is not my strongest discipline, which is why I have a very high start number. I'm really satisfied with the new equipment and the partnership with Fischer though, which is why I think I have a realistic chance of qualifying for the second run. My focus is of course on the Slalom and Super Combined races," says Kostelić, his priorities clear.

Ten top 30 racers to compete for Fischer in the men's race

Fischer has a strong men's team. All in all there will be 20 athletes from the Fischer Racing Team taking part in the first Giant Slalom of the season in Sölden on Sunday, 28 October. Ten of them placed in the top 30 in Giant Slalom last season. The Fischer Team is led by Kalle Palander (FIN, fourth in the Giant Slalom rankings 2006/07), Manfred Mölgg (ITA, tenth place) and Joel Chenal (FRA, eleventh). "For me the situation this year is quite different to last year. Last year I had to fight my way back after a severe injury," says Palander, looking forward to the first race of the season. "Training in Pitztal went very well recently. I saw others skiing there, which boosted my confidence somewhat. The slope in Sölden is not normally my kind of slope, but you never know."

Seven in a row for Austria's men's team

Austria's men's team was already nominated last week. The ten names on the list include Stephan Görgl, Christoph Gruber, Matthias Lanzinger, Mario Matt, Hannes Reichelt, Rainer Schönfelder and Philipp Schörghofer – no fewer than seven Fischer racers. All seven trust in the full yellow Fischer package comprising skis, bindings and Soma-Tec boots. The first substitute on the Austrian team is Romed Baumann, likewise a racer with yellow equipment. Eyes turned towards Rainer Schönfelder again recently, having put in some good performances in training. "I'm happy to be around, so to speak. But that's not the most important thing for me. I was still at rock bottom in July, I didn't even know whether I could actually ski. The most important thing for me at the moment is the fact that I'm healthy. My expectations are modest, as you would expect," analyses the Austrian. The list of nominations in France is also impressive, not unlike the Austrians: with Raphael Burtin, Joel Chenal, Frederic Covili, Thomas Fanara, Thomas Mermillod and Cyprien Richard there are six Fischer racers on the French team. 

WCH medallist Karbon among the female favourites

The women's World Cup season gets underway in Sölden one day earlier on Saturday, 27 October. With Denise Karbon, Fischer has one of the favourites in its ranks. The Italian racer took the bronze medal in the WCH Giant Slalom in Åre. Nicole Gius (ITA), Sanni Leinonen (FIN) and the two Slovenians Maruša Ferk and Mateja Robnik are further fixed starters.

The following Fischer racers will be competing in Sölden (team as at 23 October):

Men: Bjoergvin Bjoergvinsson (ISL), Raphael Burtin (FRA), Joel Chenal (FRA), Frederic Covili (FRA), Thomas Fanara (FRA), Stephan Görgl (AUT), Aleš Gorza (SLO), Christoph Gruber (AUT), Ivica Kostelić (CRO), Matthias Lanzinger (AUT), Mario Matt (AUT), Thomas Mermillod (FRA), Manfred Mölgg (ITA), Kalle Palander (FIN), Niklas Rainer (SWE), Hannes Reichelt (AUT), Cyprien Richard (FRA), Rainer Schönfelder (AUT), Philipp Schörghofer (AUT), one Russian Fischer racer (Dmitrij Ulianov or Alexander Horoshilov)

Women: Maruša Ferk (SLO), Nicole Gius (ITA), Denise Karbon (ITA), Sanni Leinonen (FIN), Mateja Robnik (SLO); with Fischer Soma-Tec boots: Nicole Hosp (AUT) and Alexandra Meissnitzer (AUT)