Federica Brignone trains in Cortina: the plan for the Olympics

Twenty-five days left until the two opening ceremonies of the Milan Cortina Winter Games. One of the most anticipated protagonists, Federica Brignone, counts and recounts them more than anyone else, and not only because she will be Italy’s standard-bearer, together with Amos Mosaner (in Cortina), Arianna Fontana and Federico Pellegrino (in Milan). There is something much bigger at stake, her race against time that began after the near-abyss injury 284 days ago, to be at the start of at least one of the three races that allowed her to win her second World Cup last season: downhill (on February 8th), super-G (on the 12th) and giant slalom (on the 15th). Also for this reason, from today the “La Salle Tiger” will be on the Ampezzo snows, with the idea of ​​competing and tasting the Olympic slope for the first time, under the watchful eye of his brother-coach Davide and the federal staff. No return to the Cup next weekend in Tarvisio, therefore, it is much better to follow the recovery table, which may not even include matches between now and the Olympics.

SCENARIOS

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No decision has been made, but the thought that prevails at this moment is not to nullify the progress made day after day, at the cost of reducing the work. “The decision to compete at all costs before the Olympics is Federica’s – clarifies Gianluca Rulfi, the expert technical director of women’s skiing – For me it wouldn’t make much sense, neither in Tarvisio nor subsequently, including the giant slalom at Plan de Corones on Tuesday 20th. We have planned to return to Cortina also on 24-25 January to try the track with the sprinters and she will be there too. We will however put the pros in front of her, that is to see at what point is, and also the cons, which are above all of a regulatory nature: re-entering the race would mean losing the protected ranking for next season. A compromise to test the condition would be to do a couple of downhill runs as a trailblazer.” The hypothesis, in reality, does not fully convince Federica and her staff, determined as they are to remain as safe as possible from the stresses of a World Cup stage (media and otherwise). Last week’s work in Val di Fassa for downhill and super-G, and what begins today between Cinque Torri and Cortina for the giant slalom, is among the most useful, because it is protected from the normal interruptions that the presence of a world champion brings with it every time she appears in a ski resort. “Today we are certain that Federica will be at the start of the Olympic competitions – explains Davide Brignone – we will evaluate the rest day by day as it has been in the last nine months. As for the ranking, it is true that it would be better for her to skip the whole season to return to the start of the next one in the top 3 of giant slalom, super-G and downhill (in the WCSL ranking, which defines the starting order, ed.). But if she feels the urge to compete, even starting again with bib number 30 will not it would be a problem: Vonn and Shiffrin did it recently, regaining the first group in just a few races.”

SERENITY brignone

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In short, everything must contribute to the serenity of the most successful Italian skier, even in these last weeks of work aimed at the goal of an entire career, the Olympic gold that she lacks. There is the pain in the injured leg, omnipresent but bearable, which decreases in fast disciplines and increases when training in giant slalom; there are transfers that need to be kept to a minimum, because in any case hours are always spent on the roads of the Alpine passes rather than on the track; there will soon be the first chronometric results, because this is what skiing is made of. “Shortcuts don’t exist in sport, we can only do all the right things and see how it goes – concludes the brother-coach – When we get to the point, Federica will have to be good at moving beyond the pain if she really wants to try to achieve something at the Games”. Then there is the mind, to which the two-time World Cup winner has always given great importance, including meditation and hypnosis courses. And take care of herself: she did it again this weekend, treating herself to a relaxing break in the uncontaminated nature of the Dolomites, near Lake Carezza. Together with her friend and former Italian Karoline Pichler she relaxed between thermal baths, selfies at sunset and gourmet dinners, before leaving for Cortina. The key word is always balance, between care and training, as he recalled in recent days in Val di Fassa: “Curve by curve I try to regain confidence, I will never be able to be the same as before, but I can try to make the most of what my leg allows me, that is my goal”.