Operation Ciaslat: when the 2031 world championships are celebrated here on the Saslong, many of the athletes competing today will have hung up their skis, excluding – of course – other sensational returns such as that «en rose» of Lindsey Vonn, starting tomorrow in super-G in St. Moritz.
Now that the Alpine skiing World Cup has finally landed in Italy, with the long Dolomite stage between Gardena and Badia, one thing is certain: with every type of snow it is those bumps between Ciaslat and the Camel humps that make it unique, beautiful and This track and this made in Italy overture are very feared. Take Christof Innerhofer: he, like Vonn, is 40 years old. Just celebrated with a small quick party with the fan club, present en masse at the foot of the Sasso Lungo: «In the first 10 years of my life as a skier I never digested these waves, now I love them: I have my own way of dealing with them, because with long skis you have to understand how to do it”, says Inner who admits: “By skiing, you learn”. Certainly everyone here, however, remembers that, on the one hand, the great absentee will be the Norwegian Alex Kilde and that, on the other, right in front of him, last year Dominik Paris even won in the downhill, breaking a 22-year spell after the last blue seal signed by Kristian Ghedina, on a track that has never smiled too much at the Azzurri: «This year I see everything different or better: the track is the same explains Domme but the conditions have changed and will continue to evolve. It’s colder than the first few days, with temperatures even 20 degrees lower for the super-G; then the sun will return for Sunday, where I hope to do better than in Beaver Creek because I didn’t start my downhill season as I wanted.”
It’s the set up’s fault: «Now, however, I’ve sorted everything out and I feel good», assures the champion who makes his own prediction: «It’s likely that someone with high numbers can set good times, especially if it gets cold, but it’s useless think about it too much: everyone has to do their own race.”
The Canadians who dominated the trials with James Crowford are laughing under their noses. But next to him is Mattia Casse who says he is “in love” with this track.
And it seems reciprocated given that the Piedmontese finished well, first and second, in their respective training sessions. Today everyone in super-G, tomorrow the downhill (Live TV Raisport and Eurosport at 11.45). The ladies, meanwhile, warm up in Switzerland, where, tomorrow and Sunday, there will be super-Gs.
Live TV 10.30am and 11am
