While winter is advancing in small steps in Italy, in Levi (Finland) snow and freezing cold arrived a long time ago.
Winter in this ski resort is one of the harshest in the world: 170 km north of the Arctic Circle, Levi turns white as early as late October and holds onto its snow until April. The altitude could be described as hilly, with the highest point of the ski area standing at 530 m above sea level, yet that is no issue on Scandinavian soil, which during the winter reaches temperatures close to -40 degrees.
It is here, amid the icy snows of the far North, that the national alpine ski teams will compete in the Alpine Ski World Cup Slalom.
Saturday, November 15 will be the turn of the Italian women’s team, who in recent hours have been inspecting the course in light of weather forecasts calling for morning snow; the team (Manuela Moelgg, Michela Azzola, Sabrina Fanchini, Sarah Pardeller, Marta Benzoni) will face this Slalom race without being in peak physical condition, as injuries and long layoffs take their toll, but the Azzurre are determined not to fall behind. Among them, the most motivated seems to be Sabrina Fanchini, who stated:
“After the giant slalom in Soelden I was very disappointed not to have qualified for the second run. Then I thought it over calmly and realized that after 11 months out with injury I couldn’t expect much more. So I took part in the qualifiers for this slalom with a different mindset, bringing out my grit. And I will have to do the same in the race, even though I will be starting far back.”
The ski slopes of Levi in the distance
On Sunday, November 16, taking to the course will be Cristian Deville, Giuliano Razzoli, Manfred Moelgg, Stefano Gross, Patrick Thaler, Roberto Nani, Riccardo Tonetti, and Giordano Ronci.
In recent days, the Italian men trained on the slopes of Zinal in Switzerland, while prior to that our very own Presena Glacier in Italy hosted the Slalom champions.
Here the Italian national team does not boast a strong track record, and perhaps for that very reason our slalom skiers will do everything they can to claim a spot on the podium—the talent is there, and a great show is guaranteed!
Tomorrow the Levi World Cup Slalom will be broadcast live by RAI and Eurosport; here is the info to watch the Ski World Cup via live streaming
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