Two Baltic Buddies Join VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports

Even for children of the Alps, the road to the very top of ski racing can feel like a lottery of life: not every dream comes true. How Tormis Laine from Estonia and Andrej Drukarov from Lithuania got there is the stuff ski stories are made of. Two buddies, one team — and now a shared future at VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports.

Otepää in Estonia is home to some of the great names in Nordic sports. There may be a few small ski areas there, but as a World Cup alpine ski racer, Tormis Laine (25) is still one of a kind at home. In this World Championship winter, the tech specialist — with 52 World Cup starts, six Olympic starts and eight World Championship starts to his name — wants to “let his actions speak.”

Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, sits at 100 meters above sea level. “There is no ski culture where I come from; nobody in my family skied,” says Andrej Drukarov (27). As a child, he moved from Lithuania to Switzerland and only learned to ski at the age of ten. Off-piste, in the park, and eventually in his first races. “I started way back and fought my way forward.” Andrej began training seriously at fifteen at the sports academy in Tarvisio. As a member of the Swiss Ski B squad, and later as part of a private team, he found his place in international ski racing. His clear goal for the new season: “To be in the top 30 in the world in giant slalom.”

Tormis and Andrej, the two Baltic buddies, are connected not only by their unusual paths in ski racing, but also by a shared dream, a private team and from now on, the same ski brand

"Personalities with interesting career paths, international backgrounds and potential: that strengthens the overall appeal of ski racing." said Marcel Hirscher

Just a few days after signing American Paula Moltzan as the team’s first female athlete, Marcel Hirscher is delighted to welcome the new additions from Estonia and Lithuania. Tormis and Andrej agree on what the move to his team means to them: “The professionalism, the attention to every detail, the legends who work there — and this unique spirit: it is truly impressive.”

Andrej Drukarov experienced exactly that professionalism and attention to detail during his boot fitting at the VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports headquarters in Scheffau.

There is still some time before the full force of Baltic power returns to life as a World Cup flatshare. Tormis is enjoying the peace and quiet at home in Otepää, with simple routines and everything close by: “My day starts with a dip in the pond. I live just 150 metres from the sports field and 200 metres from the gym. We spend the evenings as a family, my father barbecues, and I play with the dog. It is ideal for recharging before Andrej and I head back onto snow together.” That will happen in June.

"Tormis and I will start by training indoors at my place in Lithuania. It’s perfect for building technique and getting the first material set-up done. After that, we’ll head to the glacier for a short block and then to New Zealand for five weeks of overseas training."

Before that, there is still some time set aside for their partners. Tormis, who lives in Götzens in Tyrol during the winter, will visit his girlfriend in Hawaii; Andrej will travel to South Africa with his girlfriend for a week after his final university exams in June. And then? “I can hardly wait to test the new equipment in varying conditions,” says Tormis Laine.