Alpine SkiingBeijing 2022
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Words to the blue who will face the Olympic debut on Monday. Elena Curtoni, isolated due to the Covid danger: "I try to think only of skiing and cancel this tension".
Saturday 5 February 2022 6 minutes reading time
On Sunday the men will open, wind permitting, then on Monday it will be the giant's turn for the first women's competition of these Olympic Games in Beijing 2022.
They arrived later than many rivals, also for last weekend's commitment in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and even in the last hours Federica Brignone, Elena Curtoni and Marta Bassino have used the time available to adapt to a particular situation like that of Yanging. Less than 48 hours from a test in which Italy can play really important medal chances, here are the impressions, very interesting, of all three blue that we will see at the gate. "The snow is very strange, you do not understand if it is aggressive or not, there are moments that seem to hook you and others in which you slide as happened to me in slalom - explains Fisi.org Brignone - You have to stay on skis but without too much pressure, because otherwise it slows you down. I'm getting used to these conditions, the slopes are very steep and the area is crazy, in the village you eat practically in a telephone booth there are many dividers, but the village is very comfortable because as soon as you get out ... put on your skis and go.
What the Chinese have built is truly beautiful. The only problem is the wind, I'm afraid there won't be regular races especially in speed. My favorite for the gold medal in giant is Sara Hector, I also see Worley well, while Shiffrin and Vlhova remain dangerous and have come to China in advance. It will be a very narrow giant because there is so much difference in height and the doors will be close, with a few meters away, whoever will be less in the curve will make the difference. I'm enjoying it, the sensations are good and I like the skiing. How do you manage all the races that I will have to face? I will use next Wednesday's slalom to train in view of the combined, the supergiant will certainly be the appointment to which I will look more carefully, but first of all we must not overdo it, manage the forces in the best possible way, facing day after day and taking advantage of the "experience accumulated in all these years of career".
Elena Curtoni, isolated as she is referred to as "close contact" and therefore with a greater danger linked to Covid, tells of her first Olympics so particular (with a double PCR test mandatory for her every day). “It was a somewhat stormy start to the Olympics, due to the proximity during the flight to China with a person who tested positive for a swab. In the village I always find a person outside the room following me while I travel, at least for a couple of days, and I don't understand exactly what can be done and what cannot. But I try to isolate myself and think only of skiing, clearly I will use the giant to break the ice and cancel these days of tension.
The race in which I will aim my chances will be the super-g, I really like the snow and I will try to put on the track everything I usually do in the World Cup. The track is very steep, I arrive at this appointment in the state of form and results that I had set for myself at the beginning of the season; the goal is to keep the same level, the race is dry and the variables are many, you need to be ready to exploit them ".
Marta Bassino sees it ... like this. “It was all a bit of a rush in these first three days, but first impressions are good with very aggressive snow. Yesterday we skied next to the race giant's slope, then we'll take a closer look at it. The first piece is steep and overall it is a track that appears to be quite short: we'll see what the marking will look like. I was at the opening ceremony, a very strong emotion especially before going out ”.
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