In the World Cup reached Gruber its best results in the second half of the 1990s. In the 1995/1996 season he achieved his first podium places and came third in the overall World Cup. In the 1996/1997 season he finished all six World Cup races on the podium and celebrated his first two victories in Szczyrk and Toblach . With that he achieved second place in the overall World Cup behind Anton Blasbichler and thus his best overall placement. He achieved two wins and two second places in the 1997/1998 season , making him third in the overall World Cup. His last World Cup victory was on January 17, 1999 in Bad Goisern . With another three podium places, he was also third overall in the 1998/1999 season . In the next few years Gruber did not come close to these results in the overall World Cup. The last podium place he achieved on January 7, 2001 with second place in Unterammergau . A little later he was fourth in the single seater at the 2001 World Cup and, together with Renate Gietl , Thomas Graf and Michael Graf, third in the team competition, which was held for the first time. After the 2001/2002 season, he ended his career.
Gruber came into contact with the Brazilian Ice Sports Association through his job as an architect - he was involved in the construction of sports facilities in Brazil - and was the team manager of the Brazilian bobsleigh team at the 2006 Winter Olympics .
Italy
