Emanuele Buzzi vuole già correre forte sui suoi sci: 'Pronto a crescere ancora dopo l'infortunio'

Alpine SkiingINTERVIEW

Emanuele Buzzi: "I'd like to get on the podium in Wengen for the first time, the track where I got injured"

Emanuele Buzzi, a young sprinter from the Italian team, caught his best career result with sixth place in the Wengen downhill last season. That same day, however, the sappadino was injured at the finish by getting the fracture of the tibial plateau of his right leg and ending the season in the World Cup earlier. Goals, dreams, moods. Here's what Emanuele told Neveitalia.

Sunday 6 October 2019 8 minutes reading time

This summer you are back on skis after the tibial plateau injury of your right leg. How are you feeling? I recovered well. I was able to get back on skis already in July so I had the chance to do all the preparation, especially on skis. I was a month in where I always managed both to ski and to do athletic training. I'm really happy. In Ushuaia the training went well even though we had some problems with the weather. It has often snowed, but I am happy with the amount of work I managed to do. I never had to stop for pain. I feel good, I have good feelings, in certain difficult passages there is a little lack of confidence that mentally loses, but there is still a lack of time at the speed races so I am very confident for the start of the season. You got injured during the Wengen downhill race where you also got your best career result. How did you feel that day? It was a fairly difficult afternoon. It was an alternation of very contrasting emotions. I was happy with the excellent result, but at the same time my season was over. With that result I think I would have also obtained the qualification for the World Championships in Are. There was a lot of bitterness. It was a special afternoon where I tried to understand what I had to give more weight to. In the end I caught the good result and the patience to get back into the race with an extra push. You are lucky enough to have top-level athletes like Dominik Paris, Christof Innerhofer and Peter Fill in the team. What is your relationship with them? With them I felt good immediately. We have been working together for 4 years now. Having them as a team is a great opportunity that I have tried to make the most of trying to emulate them, to steal those things that have more in view their experience and their very high level. They have always given me a great motivation, they give me advice, they teach me. They always helped me when I needed it. Who helps you more than the three? I share the room with Peter Fill, so we talk a lot about each other. I feel very well with Dominik Paris too. He advises me a lot on how to deal with certain races. It is a beautiful stimulus. When you are at the starting gate, do you feel the pressure? I am convinced that a little pressure is good. To me, personally, it helps me to concentrate. As you always do more races in the World Cup, you can learn to manage it. Surely the first few years I had more pressure. Now it helps me to try to do my best. A few days ago you had a party with your fan club. How important is the support of the fans and your country in the races? I've always considered it very important. I grew up in a small town, Sappada, where sport is deeply felt. It's a country of 1300 people, so we all know each other. It is a country that is very attentive to sports results. It is always nice to know that people follow you, that they are happy, that they are proud of me that I carry the name of Sappada around the world. Besides, my fan club is run by Stefano, who has been my ski partner since we were children. It is very nice to see that friends and loved ones can follow me from this point of view. Is there a track in particular where you dream of making the first podium in the World Cup? Wengen itself, where I was injured last season, is a track that I like a lot and where I hope to achieve excellent results. You are the nephew of Bruno De Zordo, a ski jumping athlete who took part in the Olympics in the 1960s. Was your figure an incentive to reach high levels? Unfortunately my grandfather passed away 15 years ago. He saw me as a child, surely he brought me closer to sport as well as my parents who were two competitive athletes. Unfortunately I could not get his push as it was missing a long time ago, but I'm sure he would have been very happy with what I managed to do. What goals do you set yourself this season? The most important thing is the consistency in the results, so being able to be competitive at every race because by doing so, if a day runs in the best possible way and so many things go your way, a great result can come out. The goal is to improve race by race, climb as high as possible in the ranking, earn the finals and try the Cortina track which will be important in the coming years. When you were little, who was your favorite champion? Bode Miller. Are you a young athlete, what do you expect from your career? My goal is to improve year after year. You always aim high. For the results we will see ...

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