The return of Lucas Braathen: he is already on skis with a couple of months in advance. "I had a very hard time"

The phenomenal Norwegian, who destroyed his left knee on 8 January in the giant of Adelboden, is already working on artificial snow. His words to "VG".

Saturday 29 May 2021 4 minutes reading time

He wants to burn the times and he has already succeeded by returning to skis a couple of months in advance, but at the same time he knows he does not have to exaggerate in order not to fall back into those very difficult moments, especially on a mental level, which he has passed in the post-injury months. Lucas Braathen is returning and, in the 2021/22 season, it will be really interesting to immediately understand the level of the Norwegian slalomgigantista: starting from Soelden, where he will arrive as reigning champion since on Rettenbach he triumphed by surprise (but not too much, considering the talent already glimpsed in some races of the previous season) in the first race of the 2020/21 vintage. The 21-year-old of Brazilian origins then had to live with a slight decline, but just when in the first giant of Adelboden he was regaining his level, here is the dramatic fall on the penultimate door of the second heat on Chuenisbargli. The diagnosis was terrible, with the rupture of the cruciate in the left knee, but when "Pinheiro" went under the knife on the same day as his twin Atle Lie McGrath (last January 27, ed), who had injured his collateral a few hours earlier, it was found that the patella was also damaged. The doctor of the national team, Marc Strauss, then defined the recovery times in 7-8 months before returning to the snow, but yesterday Braathen was already on skis, obviously with caution, in the Lorenskog indoor facility. "I think I was good in my rehabilitation path, but I had a great team behind me and with experience in this area - explained Lucas in the interview granted to the Norwegian media" VG "- But I also went through very difficult moments in the in recent months, it is very hard when you go from a victory to one of the most demanding situations that an athlete can go through ”. Braathen is well aware that "injuries are part of the game", but he needed the support and advice of many champions who have passed this path. “Yes, I tried to get information on the experience of athletes like Kjetil André Aamodt, Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen and Rasmus Windingstad, but Aksel Lund Svindal was also really nice to talk to me about how to handle all of this. In addition, he taught me how to get out of the "ski bubble" and think about a more normal life, sometimes it can do well and it is important on a mental level ".

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