The Austrian slalom skier Kilian Albrecht landed in Sofia on Sunday to sign the documents for his newly received Bulgarian citizenship.

He was expected to arrive on Friday, but his flight was cancelled due to the thick fog in Sofia.

Albrecht is to compete for the country in next year's World Cup Championships, Bulgarian ski federation vice-chairman Georgi Bobev announced.

Kilian Albrecht, who last competed in the World Cup for Austria in March, plans to make his debut for his adopted country in Alta Badia, Italy, next week.

The 33-year-old finished fourth for Austria in the men's slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. At his peak he was a regular top 10 finisher in the World Cup. He did not compete in this year's Turin Games.

"His presence will be a great addition to the Bulgarian team," Bobev boasted. In his opinion, Albrecht has great experience and will be "priceless" for our young skiers.

The world championships will be held in the Swedish ski resort of Are February 3-18.

Other high-profile Austrian-born skiers have turned their backs on their country in the past after falling out with the powerful Austrian federation or simply struggling to retain a place in the squad, Eurosport commented.

Elfi Eder, the 1996 slalom World Cup champion and 1994 Olympic slalom silver medallist, left in 1997 to race for the Caribbean island of Grenada.

Josef Strobl, a seven times winner on the World Cup tour, took Slovenian citizenship in 2004 but failed to make that country's team for the Turin Games.

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