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Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (28) claimed his second win in two days at Val Gardena. That makes him shrug for the rest of the season.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde leads the World Cup after scoring two victories in two days. Photo: LEONHARD FOEGER / REUTERS
But the world leader in alpine skiing does not have time to taste the caramel. On Sunday he is already on the starting grid during the Alta Badia Giant Slalom.
– I still can’t rest on my laurels, he says.
In general, Kilde has hectic months ahead of him. From Alta Badia you will continue to Innsbruck. There he will celebrate Christmas with his parents and recharge his batteries for five days. Then Bormio waits for the competitions to go hand in hand until the World Cup.
– I’m very prepared for the sequel. It’s great to go to Christmas with two wins in your pocket. I’ve never done that before so it feels really cool.
The pressure that disappeared
With victory in both downhill and super-G in two short days at Val Gardena, Kilde has shown that he is serious about this year’s World Cup as well. Last year he won.
– At the beginning of the season, I felt like I had to show what I’m good at considering last year, he says.
Therefore, the two victories this weekend have made Kilde feel that the pressure that both he and others put on him has diminished.
– These two days have meant that a lot of weight has been lifted from your shoulders. There is always pressure there, but now I know that the speed is there and that the ski works. So it’s just a matter of squeezing.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde won the World Cup last year. After the victory in Saturday’s downhill race, he is back in the driver’s seat. Photo: ALESSANDRO GAROFALO / REUTERS
Stunned by tactical choices
Saturday’s victory is the sixth in the World Cup. And it is his second descent in Val Gardena. When he won the same course in 2018, it was noted that Norwegian runners use more pole vault and more power in skating at the start of the course than their competitors.
Television images showed that this was one of Norway’s winning recipes also in 2020. This was noted by NRK expert Kjetil André Aamodt.
– I’ve been asking myself that question for ten years soon. Norway has had an advantage there, and maybe that’s why they dominated that hill. Source bets and skates more than most, he said.
Kilde is also surprised that the competitors don’t do what he did at the beginning of the hill.
– It is very strange that other countries do not pick it up as well. I think so, but maybe the nervousness will take them a little before the start. Then they can forget that the beginning really has something to say, he says.
Long focus area
Using a lot of energy to create speed straight from the start has been something the Norwegian national team has had as its focus area for a long time.
– We have been very focused on the start and have had it for several years, says Kilde.
– Be aware that it is important, we are good at it.
For a long time it seemed that Norway would get a double victory in Italy. But Kjetil Jansrud was relegated to bitter fourth place by Beat Feuz, who came in third, and American Ryan Siegle-Cochran, who came in second.
In the women’s downhill in Val d’Isere, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie ranked fourth. It is the best descent of his career for the 22-year-old. For Ragnhild Mowinckel it was 25th.
