Alpine Skiingthe interview
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The Piedmontese downhill skier talked about himself in an exclusive interview with our director Dario Puppo (which you can watch again on video), a few days after his 3rd place on the Saslong: "I have more confidence to be able to do well in all the upcoming classics too Milano Cortina 2026 on the Stelvio? I think about it, I also have an account open with the Olympics".
Friday 23 December 2022 8 minutes reading time
"On Talk" with Mattia Casse, from that magical day last Saturday in Val Gardena, to the first podium of his career obtained with a perfect descent on the Saslong, to the clear objective and a great awareness of being able to remain at the top, even in the "his" super-g, finally unlocked with a third place that can and must be just the beginning for a crystalline talent like that of the 32-year-old born in Val Susa and stationed in the Bergamo area for some time.
Mattia told Dario Puppo, live on NEVEITALIA (click HERE to watch the complete video interview), starting right from the sensations of that so special podium, also for the whole of Italy in alpine skiing since it is the thousandth top 3 for the national teams in the history of the CdM. “It was nice to do it in Italy for so many reasons, the emotion in the interview with Francesca (Marsaglia, referring to the splendid moment experienced after the match with the former blue, now sent for Eurosport) came out like this, this race meant a lot to me.
I made many changes, from skiing to preparation to mental coaching work. After the missed Olympics, I told myself that it was necessary to get back into the game or to quit, then I also hurt Kvitfjell and I had to recover from that problem. I took a risk, but it went well and this result proves it: I still have three screws in my tibial plateau (to be removed at the end of the season, ed), but I'm happy because this recovery was really faster than expected".
A year after the death of his father Alessandro, to whom he dedicated the podium as well as to his mother ("in the family we literally grew up on bread and skis"), Casse built a masterpiece race... like this: "We only did one test and then the sprint descent, I had decided to do it all at any point on the Saslong, including Ciaslat. I made a mistake in the race, as I did in training, but it clearly emerged much more clearly and I lost the chance to get a result.
During the entire descent, I decided to keep my foot up for a bit, then came that very fast final stretch (with the best partial) which, honestly, I don't know how it came out...
It's just a matter of timing and, after looking for him many times, not only in Val Gardena but also in Bormio, this time he succeeded".
The future, in fact, is already around the corner with the quick tests on the Stelvio, next Wednesday and Thursday: “I aim to always be constant, now Bormio is coming and even there I have a few pebbles to get rid of. I've always done quite well, but I've never achieved the result, so much so that they've already jokingly given me the sled, considering the latest results in Gardena (where he was 7th in 2021, until last Saturday it was his best downhill, ed. ).
I actually like technical tracks like the Stelvio and I want to continue with this confidence and enjoy the classic tracks that come along, they are emotionally so beautiful and important. I will face these races with more certainty that I can do well and also in Kitzbuehel I have an outstanding account, after that failed start once I achieved the best time in qualifying (it was 2016 and the race was stopped after 30 numbers) and with the last two years in which I had difficulty facing the Streif, coming from injuries".
The Stelvio di Bormio will host the men's Olympic races in Milano Cortina 2026 and, for someone who has never competed in a five-circle race, even more so after what happened with the chaos of Beijing 2022 (with Mattia excluded and then called up, the request made by the FISI in Marsaglia and the following controversies), the stimuli are very strong. “Another good open account, the one with the Olympics, and a petrol to go on and get to Milano Cortina to get what I want - underlined Mattia - In these 3 years I will try to obtain great satisfactions and I am convinced that our team will be it, despite the difficulties.
The track and snow of Paris arrives in Bormio, hoping it will be frozen for all of us. There are some youngsters coming back from bad injuries, I'm thinking of Prast who unfortunately had to stop and Schieder himself, who managed to come back great, but also Molteni and Zazzi, but Marsaglia is still fast too, it's just a matter of being able to give trust".
Finally, a joke on Beat Feuz's retirement, announced last Wednesday by the reigning Swiss Olympic champion: “He decided when to stop and how, that's right and I take my hat off, he could have done anything since he won everything. I saw him tired and I think he realized it; even though he's still fast, if you're not 100% satisfied and convinced it's better to stay at home, he's still fine and he's... whole. I understand that perfectly."
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