De Chiesa, from the blue avalanche to the pink. “Girls are a show”

The former slalomist teammate of Gros and Gustav Thoeni in the heyday today comments on the Cup races on Rai channels with Sabrina Gandolfi

La voce dello sci celebrates the women of the Italian national team. Men are promoted but with reserve, waiting to get to the heart of the season with an eye to Beijing. Paolo De Chiesa without brakes: as in the past, when skis on his feet he won a place in the blue avalanche alongside the sacred monsters Piero Gros and, above all, Gustav Thoeni. Today he comments on the ski races for mother Rai alongside Sabrina Gandolfi.

What better time to make the cards for the restart season?

«The Italian women’s national team is a show. Few but all good with a champion who responds to the name of Sofia Goggia. The world cup this year will be able to give great satisfaction to the blue skiers. After all, the season started in the best way, the results were not long in coming, a sign that the preparation was optimal. Then there is a psychological aspect to note. Our girls have fully understood what their potential is and how far they can go. They are going strong, in the race they are all very fast. Healthy competition can only do well. And then, this is the season of the Olympics which, as usual, offers some more input, especially on a mental level. There is one more goal to reach and possibly cut. February will be the month of truth. The men? Different speech. Here too the big names are few but to fight for a place in the sun it will be necessary to do a little more. In my opinion, the start of the season was encouraging. I like Alex Vinatzer, I am convinced that Dominik Paris will return to have his say and he will do it all the way, but in the World Cup the gap to be bridged with people like Kilde and Pinturault or Odermatt is considerable. Odermatt the new Zurbriggen? The versatility of the athlete would suggest this comparison. After all, he is strong in giant, he is strong in super G but also in downhill. It is probably the big favorite but the competition is not lacking and it is fierce. It will be fun to the end ».

However, the ski season started with a big collective party …

“Seeing people in the arenas was almost thrilling. It was no longer possible to compete, or comment on races in my case, in total silence. The world of skiing offers a spectacle within the spectacle that is what you live on the edges of the finish area. People from many nations who meet to experience a moment of celebration together. The waving of flags, photographs, colored and in some cases whimsical clothing. Then the music. It was time. Finally we can say that we have restarted, the ski has restarted and this must be an element of satisfaction for everyone, regardless of how things go in the race. We can finally say that we are back to normal ».

Cortina always makes a fine show of itself in the ski carousel …

“It couldn’t be otherwise. Cortina lives a second youth, you can breathe crisp air after the awarding of the Olympics. There is little to say about the World Cup: that of Cortina is considered one of the most awaited and spectacular stages, both by athletes and by professionals. The World Cup was an important experience for many reasons, because it was held without an audience and in conditions that were not excellent from a logistical point of view, which, however, the spectacularity of the location managed to mitigate. Now there is great excitement, witnessed by the construction of new facilities, a sign of renewed verve that in the future will represent an additional point in favor not only of sporting activity but also of tourism. When it comes to preparing a trip to Cortina, even the experts are pervaded by a sense of euphoria ».

As a former skier, now a commentator, how have you seen skiing change in recent years?

«Today’s sport is very different from the past. I would almost say that it is another sport. Because too many things over the years have changed to such an extent that the entire business has changed. Just think of the materials, from skis to boots. Today the equipment is particularly performing and largely affects the single technical aspect. Then there are the components that characterize a race. The weather conditions have changed considerably in the last thirty years. Think about the doors. Once they were wooden poles that forced the skier to a certain type of movement that conditioned the entire skiing. Today they are soft, this affects the speed a lot. Men and women have become jets, the rhythms of the past were different. Then there is a final element that must be taken into consideration, but it is very important: the preparation of the slopes. The snow, the scene of the races of the past, was difficult to manage, in some cases it literally had to be tamed. Today the slopes are like white carpets, prepared in a meticulous and almost maniacal way thanks to excellent tools and professionalism. In Italy we are masters in the preparation of the slopes, it is not just a boast with a patriotic flavor. All of this inevitably offered a significant boost to the show. There is no better sport than the other if we look at the present and the past. Times are changing and with them everything that revolves around the technical gesture “