Waldner out after 12 years: Plancker leads the men's World Cup from 15 November

The floodlit slopes of Levi, Finland, where the men's World Cup slalom runs on Sunday 15 November 2026. Photo: DanielMichaelPerry via Wikimedia Commons, CC0, cropped.

Raimund Plancker took office as FIS Chief Race Director Alpine Men on Sunday 1 November 2026. The South Tyrolean replaces Markus Waldner, 63, who stepped down on Thursday 8 October after 12 years in the job, citing an "incredible amount of pressure". Plancker's first race in charge is the men's slalom in Levi, Finland, on Sunday 15 November. The race director decides on course, weather and safety for every men's World Cup race, so the change touches each start of the winter.

• Markus Waldner, race director since 2014, announced his exit on 8 October 2026 in a FIS statement.
• Peter Gerdol, the women's race director, ran the men's giant slalom in Sölden on 25 October.
• FIS named Raimund Plancker, assistant race director for speed events since 2022, on Monday 26 October.
• Plancker took over on 1 November; his first race is the Levi slalom on 15 November, then Gurgl on 22 November.
• Hannes Trinkl stays race director for speed, Janez Hladnik for the technical events; a new assistant is being recruited.

The decision came two weeks before the opener. Waldner, from Brixen in South Tyrol, had joined FIS in 1997 as Europa Cup coordinator and took over the men's World Cup in April 2014 from Günter Hujara, who had held the post for 23 years, according to sport.ORF.at.

In the FIS statement of 8 October, Waldner said: "This is not a decision that I take lightly. Being in charge of Alpine Skiing at the highest level is a privilege, but it is also a position that entails an incredible amount of pressure. Through the years, as FIS and the sport have changed and grown, this pressure has been accumulating, to the point that now I feel like I would not have the energy and the mindset to go through another full season as I would have liked to."

FIS Alpine Director Janne Leskinen said that Waldner had been "a true reference point" for 12 years. Waldner supports the handover during the 2026-27 season, and FIS and he discuss "new responsibilities within FIS". As of 3 November 2026, no new role has been announced. SRF wrote that his future at the federation is still open.

The reasons behind the pressure were not in the statement. Blick reported on 14 October that Secretary General Urs Lehmann had created the post of FIS Alpine Director to relieve the race office, that Waldner had applied for it, and that it went to Leskinen in July 2026. The same report said Trinkl was offered the race director job and declined. Trinkl told Blick: "The FIS should do everything to bring Markus back, because in my eyes there is nobody better than him for this difficult task."

LAOLA1, citing the Kronen Zeitung, wrote on 10 October that Waldner and Gerdol had not been invited to calendar and product meetings at the FIS conference in Geneva. FIS has not commented on that account. Salzburg24 and Sport1 both framed the exit as a shock two weeks before Sölden.

Plancker comes from Val Gardena, also in South Tyrol. He joined FIS in 2022 as assistant race director for the men's speed events, working under Trinkl. Before that, according to the FIS statement of 26 October, he spent a decade leading elite teams of the Italian federation. SportNews.bz counts 28 years as a coach and describes him as the formative mentor of downhill winner Dominik Paris. No outlet gives his age.

Plancker said in the FIS statement: "Over the last four years, I have learned a lot and have seen FIS and the sport change and grow. I am convinced that our team is on track to take Alpine Skiing even further and make it even fitter for the future." Leskinen called him "one of the most knowledgeable and respected voices in all of Alpine Skiing" and pointed to continuity: Trinkl stays in charge of the speed events, Hladnik of the technical events, and FIS will recruit a new assistant for speed.

The men's race director is the person on the hill who sets the programme with the jury, calls a delay or a cancellation, approves course and safety set-up, and talks to the teams. In Sölden the men's giant slalom ran under Gerdol, who has led the women's tour since 2020. From Levi on, Plancker makes those calls, with the Gurgl slaloms on 21 and 22 November, the North American speed and technical block and the January classics in Wengen and Kitzbühel to follow.

The Levi slalom is the first technical race on a cold, hard, floodlit slope. The skis the athletes use follow FIS equipment rules; recreational racers can buy near copies. The Atomic Redster S9 FIS is 65 mm at the waist with a 12.1 m radius in 165 cm, according to Atomic. The Völkl Racetiger SL R WC FIS for 2026-27 gives 65 mm and 12 m. For a slalom ski you can live with on a club race and a normal piste, the Head WC Rebels e-SL at 68 mm and the Rossignol Hero Elite ST Ti at 68 mm with a 13 m radius in 167 cm are the makers' consumer versions. Pick-a-Ski ranks the whole catalog for your level and the pistes you ski.

• FIS, "Markus Waldner steps down as FIS Chief Race Director Alpine Men", 8 October 2026, and "Raimund Plancker takes over as FIS Chief Race Director Alpine Men", 26 October 2026.
• sport.ORF.at, 8 and 26 October 2026; SRF, 8 October 2026; Blick, 8 and 14 October 2026.
• LAOLA1, 10 and 26 October 2026; Salzburg24 and Sport1, 8 October 2026; SportNews.bz, 26 October 2026; dpa via Tagesspiegel, 26 October 2026.
• World Cup Levi organiser site, read 3 November 2026.