"Mr. Thigh" is ready for snow and trouble with bandages

The downhill specialists have had to watch on in the ski circus so far, no World Cup can take place. Dominator Aleksander Aamodt Kilde is eagerly awaiting the start - even though there is internal strife. Things are only really going well for him in his love life.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde is one of the biggest powerhouses in the Ski World Cup, a few years ago he was nicknamed "Mr. Thigh". Hardly any other downhill skier plunges down the slopes with such brute force as the Norwegian. The 31-year-old is the top favorite in each of the three World Cup races this week in Val Gardena/Gröden - the downhill races in the Dolomites are among the runner-up's favorite races.

In the season - which is finally set to begin for the alpine speed aces after two canceled race weekends - Kilde is even more in the spotlight than in previous winters. And this is not only due to his relationship with star racer Mikaela Shiffrin, with whom he has been in a relationship for almost three years. Rather, the surprising retirement of team-mate Lucas Braathen just before the start of the season increased the pressure on Kilde. As an extroverted athlete and podium racer, Braathen had attracted a lot of attention, but ended his career at the age of 23 due to a dispute with the Norwegian federation. The ski scene was shocked - and many eyes went to Kilde.

Speed dominator wants to change the system

The veteran announced that he wanted to change the system that drove Braathen to retire. Norway's ski association holds the marketing rights to its top athletes, which means that they cannot acquire and show private sponsors. "That's not right," Kilde recently criticized in an interview. "We need the freedom to build our own brand. We also want to be people who can do what we want on our own social media platform."

To get in the mood for this year's Val Gardena/Gröden three-pack with downhill races on Thursday and Saturday as well as a super-G on Friday (11.45 am each day), Kilde posted a photo on Instagram from December 2015, when he celebrated his first World Cup podium in third place in the super-G on the Saslong piste. He is now the speed dominator.

Last season alone, the athlete, who was born near Oslo, took eight World Cup victories, including in the three downhill classics in Val Gardena/Gröden, Wengen and Kitzbühel. The downhill crystal globes went to Kilde for two winters, with only Marco Odermatt bettering him in the overall standings. Surprisingly, the Swiss also snatched downhill gold from him at the World Championships in Courchevel. Kilde won the big World Cup crystal globe in 2020.

He chats about his love for Shiffrin

Kilde has already stood at the top of the podium five times in Val Gardena/Gröden, where things are finally set to get underway after the speed cancelations in Zermatt and most recently Beaver Creek. "It's no secret that the Saslong is one of my absolute favorite courses in the World Cup," said the Norwegian last year and raved: "The snow, the many jumps and the flow from start to finish are something very special."

On Monday, he enthusiastically posted a short video of his training in the Dolomites online and said that the magnificent panorama was also "a bit distracting". His girlfriend Shiffrin posted a love smiley in the comments. The exceptional athletes have been together since the start of 2021. Incidentally, if Kilde had had his way, they could have started dating much earlier, as the Norwegian recently told the Swiss newspaper Blick. He first met Shiffrin more than ten years ago at a training camp in Chile. "I liked her straight away. But because she was only 16 at the time and I was 19, the time was not yet ripe for a romantic relationship."

They initially became Facebook friends. After the accidental death of Shiffrin's father at the beginning of 2020, they became closer. Kilde told Shiffrin that he was always there for her. "And it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to have a romantic relationship with this wonderful woman. But somehow I had the feeling that she didn't want that." He was wrong - and a little later it was Shiffrin who asked Kilde if he wanted to be her boyfriend. "Of course I said yes straight away," the Scandinavian reported. That was almost three years ago - and Kilde's personal happiness also seems to have spurred him on in sport. The powerhouse can prove this at the foot of the mighty Dolomites.

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Aleksander Aamodt Kilde's love for alpine skiing and Winter sports is evident, as he eagerly awaits the start of the World Cup races in Val Gardena/Gröden. Despite internal strife and the retirement of teammate Lucas Braathen, Kilde remains the top favorite for the upcoming downhill races.

Source: www.ntv.de