The World Cup is underway, and it is time for another deep dive into national teams. As the men move to the Italian Dolomites, it seems the best time to introduce the Italians.
Italian Ladies: Speed and Might
Sofia Goggia reigns supreme; that much is clear after the races in Beaver Creek when she returned after an injury. However, Goggia is not the only hero of the Italian fast women. First, Federica Brignone focuses on giant slalom and super-G. Still, she can also perform well in downhill and used to ski slalom as well. This makes her an allrounder, earning her an overall Crystal Globe in 2020. Federica started this season with a win in the giant slalom opener in Sölden. She finished fifth in the demanding super-G in Beaver Creek.
We do not see many Italian ladies in slalom in the top 10; the speed disciplines are indeed an Italian domain.
Marta Bassino is a skilled giant slalom skier but lately excels in super-G. The Italian speed squad thrives under the leadership and guidance of Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone. Experienced athletes like the Delago sisters (Nicol and Nadia) or Elena Curtoni support the younger athletes on their way up. This year, we must mention Laura Pirovano (1997), who regularly finishes in the top 20. Great things can be expected from the youngest girls on the World Cup squad: Vicky Bernardi (2002) and Sara Thaler (2004).
The young Italian generation is ready to step into the big girls’ shoes. But such a thing is far from self-evident. Teams need to cultivate young talents, and older athletes need to provide support, guidance, respect, and acceptance of the youngsters in their surroundings. A well-known fact is that a less competitive atmosphere is better for cultivating young athletes, especially in women’s teams, as young girls need more support and less competition to build confidence.
The Italian women’s squad can do that and has plenty of talents to cater for. Let us not forget that the Albanian slalom miracle, Lara Colturi, was born in Torino to an Italian mother.
Italian Men: All Disciplines Under the Italian Flag
The Italian men’s alpine ski squad covers all disciplines. Luca Di Aliprandini is an exciting skier with a dynamic style. He consistently performs at the highest level but usually misses the podium. The following technical specialist in the squad is Alex Vinatzer. Alex used to be celebrated as the next miracle; he entered the World Cup stage as a shooting star. However, he started collecting more DNFs than the podiums, and only last season did he find some consistency in his skiing. The same goes for his younger colleague Fillipo Della Vite (2001), who everybody expected to collect gold medals this year. However, he seems to be in the stage of gathering DNFs. Such fate is not unusual for slalom skiers. It met Vinatzer or even the French Clement Noel.
When the brilliant technicians enter the World Cup, their extraordinary skills bring them victories, and a certain arrogance of youth makes them reckless and confident. But give them one season or two, and the recklessness of youth is gone, sponsors and fans build their expectations, pressure creeps in, and that is when experience comes in handy. The young miraculous skiers need to learn mental skills. We believe Fillipo Della Vite will learn just as much. But, a look at Alex Vinatzer’s career reveals that the way up after the steep fall is slow, painful, and challenging.
Dominik Paris used to dominate the speed disciplines for the Italian team. In season 2019/2020, their neck-to-neck battle with Beat Feutz (SUI) resulted in his super-G overall title and second place in the overall downhill rankings. After his ACL injury, he never returned to such stellar form. However, in downhill, Paris still belongs at the top, especially on the home snow, where he can win. His nickname is “the king of Stelvio” because he seems unstoppable on the famous demanding slope in Bormio resort.
The rest of the Italian speed squad delivers less impressive results. However, Mattia Casse and Florian Schnieder regularly appear in the top ten. Lately, Giovanni Franzoni (2001) seems to have climbed to the top. Still, unlike the women’s team, the line of young athletes waiting to step into the matadors’ shoes is considerably shorter in the case of men.
However, as matadors like Christof Innerhofer (1984) in speed disciplines and Stefano Gross (1986) in slalom show us, Italian alpine ski racers enjoy long professional careers. So, there is still time to raise new talents.
