Aleksander Aamodt Kilde is back at the start this week where he has already won five World Cup races. On the Saslong in Val Gardena.
Kilde seems to have an almost magical relationship with the World Cup slope Saslong in Val Gardena. He has already won five World Cup races there. This week he will be at the start again at the legendary Saslong. After his almost two-year injury break, a win is unlikely.
The Norwegian should still remember the last World Cup stop before Christmas. He won the downhill in Val Gardena for the last time in 2022, ahead of the Frenchman Johan Clarey and the Italian Mattia Casse. He seemed to have found the secret of the mystical Saslong slope. He has already won gold there five times between 2018 and 2022. From Thursday (December 18th, 2025, from 11:45 a.m. in the live ticker) it will be possible to see whether the magic is still there even after his long forced break.
Almost two years of suffering
Kilde had promised his parents at his bedside that he would never compete in a downhill race again. Now he has been back at the start since the beginning of this season. Norwegian Aleksander Aamoldt Kilde returned to the World Cup circuit this winter after almost two years of suffering and is working towards the Olympic Games in February. His partner Mikaela Shiffrin played an important role, especially in recent years.
Aleksander Kilde celebrates his victory in the downhill in Val Gardena 2022
life partner Shiffrin as a constant
“We are each other’s rock” Kilde recently said in several interviews about his fiancée, the exceptional American ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin. Without her, he made it clear, he would never have survived the almost two years of suffering that lie behind him. The 33-year-old has often spoken about this time since he returned to the World Cup at the end of November with great emotions – and tears of emotion from Shiffrin.
After Kilde fell heavily in the 2024 Lauberhorn race and crashed into the safety fence with full force, it was unclear for a long time whether he would ever return to the big ski stage. He had to undergo numerous operations and was even in a wheelchair at times. In the meantime, an infection in his shoulder set him back.
This period of healing and rehab challenged him mentally and physically. His fiancée Shiffrin, whose hand he was asking for at the time, accompanied him at all times. Although she had a serious fall herself in November 2024, she was a constant for Kilde. “His positivity and faith during his injury and rehab were a special inspiration to me” Shiffrin, the five-time overall World Cup winner, said of her partner this summer.
Despite the suffering, back in the World Cup
Although the two years have been more challenging than anything before, Aleksander Aamold Kilde is back on skis this season and competing for points in the World Cup. As he explained, he was born for the sport and the fascination he feels for it pushes aside the fears of what could possibly happen. On his comeback he said: “It was crazy, so beautiful. It was actually like a dream to drive. I didn’t think it would be so good. There were a few very good turns and a few that could be made better.”
Aleksander Kilde in action in Beaver Creek
Kilde has not yet made it into the top ten in this comeback season. But many experts have him in their sights for a podium finish at the Winter Olympics in February. Almost four years ago in Beijing, Kilde won silver in the combination and bronze in the Super-G. The men’s races take place in Bormio. On the Stelvio slope, which is even more notorious than the Saslong in the Dolomites.
Kilde will always be aware that alpine skiing is and remains a high-risk sport. But in the end only he decides whether he allows these dangers to control him or not.
Source: Karina Präg with dpa