Paula Moltzan / Kransjska Gora GS / GEPA footage
After greater than a decade on Rossignol skis, Paula Moltzan is making one of many largest gear adjustments in ladies’s alpine snowboarding by becoming a member of Marcel Hirscher’s VAN DEER-Purple Bull Sports activities race program.
Moltzan turns into the primary feminine athlete signed by the model and the highest-profile girl so far to make the swap.
“Essentially the most profitable ski racer begins his personal ski model. New crew, new method, new period,” Moltzan stated. “Like everybody else, I used to be blown away when VAN DEER-Purple Bull Sports activities entered the World Cup.”
Why is that this transfer important?
The transfer comes after the strongest season of the American’s profession. Moltzan recorded 4 second-place World Cup finishes in the course of the 2025-26 season and earned Olympic bronze within the crew mixed occasion in Cortina. She additionally received World Championship gold within the crew occasion in 2023 and big slalom bronze on the 2025 World Championships in Saalbach.
“I’m 32 now, however I nonetheless really feel like I’m on my strategy to my profession peak,” Moltzan stated.
Hirscher stated increasing into ladies’s ski racing had all the time been a part of the plan after establishing the model on the lads’s facet.
“We all the time guarantee that character and efficiency potential match,” Hirscher stated. “Paula brings each.”
Can Moltzan proceed enhancing in her thirties?
Moltzan stated certainly one of her largest motivations is proving ladies can stay aggressive later into their careers than many individuals count on.
“I wish to present that snowboarding quick is far much less a query of age than folks usually suppose,” she stated.
The American has steadily developed into some of the constant technical skiers on the World Cup, with half of her profession podium finishes coming this previous season.
Husband Ryan Mooney stays a part of the setup
Moltzan’s husband, Ryan Mooney, will proceed serving as her ski serviceman because the pair start working with the brand new setup forward of the 2027 World Championships in Crans-Montana.
“A brand new period — thrilling,” Moltzan stated. “For somebody as aggressive as I’m, it’s precisely the proper of summer season program.”
Info and quotes on this article are primarily based on a VAN DEER-Purple Bull Sports activities press launch.
