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PAULA MOLTZAN: THE FIRST WOMAN ON MARCEL HIRSCHER’S RACE TEAM

A female ski racer is speeding through a gate on a snow-covered slope. She is leaning deeply into the turn, wearing a helmet with goggles and a racing suit, and holding ski poles in her hands.

After four second-place finishes and an Olympic bronze medal, Paula Moltzan claims a historic first place in the middle of spring: she becomes the first woman on Marcel Hirscher’s race team.

"The most successful ski racer starts his own ski brand. New team, new approach, new era. And then the project is instantly this successful. Like everyone else, I was blown away when VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports entered the World Cup. When has there ever been a story like that in our sport?” says Paula Moltzan. “If someone had told me, ‘Paula, in four years you’ll be the first woman on this brand,’ I wouldn’t have believed it.” 

A female ski racer stands on a snow-covered mountaintop, holding her skis and looking to the side, with snow-capped mountains in the background.
A female ski racer speeds through a blue giant slalom gate on a snow-covered slope and leans deeply into the turn.
A female ski racer fastens her ski boots.

And yet that’s exactly what happened: after the most successful winter of her life, Paula Moltzan joins Marcel Hirscher’s race team as its first female alpine athlete - and becomes part of its story. Hirscher is excited about this new chapter:

Marcel Hirscher, famous Austrian ski racer, smiles into the camera.

Hirscher had already planned the entry into women’s ski racing when founding the brand: “We needed four years to establish ourselves well on the men’s side. We’ve achieved that, and now is the right time for the next chapter in women’s racing. It’s a big project because there are differences in ski length and construction.” 

Paula Moltzan, a US ski racer, stands in a production hall of VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports.

An impressive run: a medal at every major event 

The timing could hardly be better. Paula raced her first World Cup in Aspen in 2012, and in recent years has established herself as a consistent force in skiing. In 2023, she won World Championship gold in the team event in Courchevel. In 2025, she took bronze in giant slalom at the World Championships in Saalbach. And this year, she fulfilled her dream of an Olympic medal with a third place in the team combined event in Cortina. The confident American has secured five of her ten podium finishes to date this past season. More to come?

Ski racer Paula Moltzan smiles into the camera with her helmet on.

The idea of longevity in ski racing

What drives Paula is the concept of longevity in ski racing. “I often ask myself: what can my impact be in women’s ski racing? What can make us women even stronger? And I think it’s this idea of longevity. I want to show that skiing fast is much less a question of age than people generally think.”

Power couple: her husband is also her serviceman

For Paula, her personal environment is key to success: “My team setup is unique. My husband Ryan Mooney is also my serviceman. Chronologically, it actually worked the other way around: Ryan has been servicing my skis since 2016 and we got married four years ago. I think we’re the only married couple traveling together on the World Cup tour. At the beginning of our relationship, we talked a lot about the pros and cons of love and work. Now I know it’s the best thing that could have happened to me.” 

This skiing power couple has brought home a medal from each of the last three major events to Vermont. Looking ahead to the highlight of the coming season—the 2027 Ski World Championships in Crans-Montana—Paula and her partner still have plenty to work on at VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports. 

“A new era - exciting. For someone as competitive as I am, it’s exactly the right kind of summer program.” 

Several people are standing on a snow-covered ski slope; a man wearing a helmet and goggles is holding a ski and checking its edge.
A female ski racer is speeding through a gate on a snow-covered slope. She is leaning deeply into the turn, wearing a helmet with goggles and a racing suit, and holding ski poles in her hands.

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