From the opening World Cup weekend in Neudorf to the finals in Predaia, the 2026 European grass skiing season kept us busy on the slopes and on the road. It was a summer of international races, Czech Cup weekends and regular training, with plenty of moments worth sharing.
Our racing journey began in Germany at the end of May, followed by Schwarzenbach in Austria. Late June and early July brought a busy run of events in Velké Meziříčí, Orlické Záhoří and Jasenská Dolina in Slovakia. August took us back to Austria for Rettenbach, while September brought racing at Obří Sud before the World Cup finale in Predaia, Italy, on 19–20 September. Czech Cup events at Svinec and Štítná nad Vláří, together with the summer children’s camp, added another side to the season: young skiers gaining experience and enjoying time on the grass.
Between the race weekends, I trained twice a week with my son Matyáš and other skiers. Those regular sessions were an important part of our summer—time to keep working, share the slope and prepare for the next races. The training videos capture some of this everyday side of grass skiing, away from the race results and podium photographs.
For Matyáš, his first season as a junior ended with fifth place overall in the men’s World Cup, with 350 points. His strongest World Cup results came towards the end of the summer: fourth in the Rettenbach giant slalom, followed by fifth in giant slalom and fourth in slalom at the Predaia finals. He also took second place in the FIS slalom at Obří Sud. It was encouraging to see him finish the European season with these results.
The Czech team had plenty to celebrate. Eliška Rejchrtová won the women’s overall World Cup with 870 points, ahead of Tina Hetfleisch, while Šárka Abrahamová finished fourth overall. In the men’s standings, Marcel Knapp took the overall title with 695 points, followed by Filippo Zamboni. Aleš Knor finished third overall and won the men’s Super-G standings. The final weekend also brought a second-place slalom finish for Tereza Bláhová.
The European season is complete, but our 2026 racing story still has another chapter ahead: the Junior World Championships in Miyazaki Kunitomi, Japan. Thank you to the racers, coaches, families and organisers who made this summer possible.
The season in photographs
- Neudorf: the opening World Cup giant slalom
- Schwarzenbach: FIS racing in Austria
- Velké Meziříčí: World Cup racing at Fajtův kopec
- Orlické Záhoří: 30 June and 1 July
- Jasenská Dolina: World Cup super combined
- Rettenbach: Super-G and giant slalom
- Predaia finals: giant slalom and slalom
- Czech Cup: Svinec and Štítná nad Vláří
- Summer children’s camp