Retirement can wait: Benjamin Karl is back for another season

Well, that didn’t last very long.

After announcing that the 2025/26 season would be his last, signing off with another Olympic gold medal and swapping his snowboard for a bike, Benjamin Karl (AUT) has changed his mind.

The 40-year-old Austrian has confirmed that he will be back in the start gate for the 2026/27 FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup season, with a home World Championships at Montafon 2027 providing a pretty good reason to keep racing.

Back in November 2025, Karl seemed certain about his plans. The upcoming Olympic season would be his last. One final World Cup campaign, one final Olympic Games and then it would be time to move on.

And if you're going to retire, winning Olympic gold on the way out isn't a bad way to do it.

Karl successfully defended his Parallel Giant Slalom title at Milano Cortina 2026, claiming a second consecutive Olympic gold medal and adding yet another major title to one of the most decorated careers in snowboard alpine.

Then came retirement. Or at least a few months of it.

Cycling has long been a major part of Karl's life away from snow, and after finishing his snowboard career he turned more of his attention towards racing on two wheels.

There was even another Olympic dream involved. Karl had hoped that cyclocross could potentially find its way onto the programme for the French Alps 2030 Olympic Winter Games, opening up the rather unusual possibility of chasing another Olympic appearance in a completely different sport.

That door ultimately closed when cyclocross was not added to the programme.

But somewhere along the way, Karl also realised that he wasn't quite finished with snowboarding.

“I’m simply a snowboarder who loves riding his bike,” Karl said when announcing his decision to return.

He explained that several things happened over the summer that he had not expected and that some time away from the sport gave him a different perspective on his career and the opportunity he still has as a professional snowboarder.

So, the bike isn't going anywhere. Neither, apparently, is the snowboard.

There is also one rather obvious attraction waiting at the end of the upcoming winter: the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships Montafon 2027.

A home World Championships in Austria offers Karl another major target and the opportunity to add another chapter to a career that already includes Olympic titles, five World Championship gold medals and 29 World Cup victories.

And this isn't necessarily a ceremonial comeback tour.

Karl's most recent season showed that he remains right at the top of the sport. Alongside his Olympic victory, he was back on top of the World Cup podium in Bansko, proving that even at 40 he remains capable of beating the best snowboard alpine racers in the world.

He is expected to rejoin the Austrian team's on-snow preparations in Landgraaf in mid-September as the squad builds towards the new World Cup campaign.

After that, it will be back to business.

A new season, another World Championships and, apparently, at least one more chapter in the Benjamin Karl story.

Retirement will just have to wait.