Olympic champion admits:

“Realize that I don’t always take the last risk”

After seven of twelve decisions in the Snowboardcross World Cup, Olympic champion Alessandro Hämmerle is in second place. Impressive when you consider that the 30-year-old had to miss almost the entire previous season. However, the injuries from back then are still affecting him today.

The rainy weather of the last few days has also left its mark in the Dolomites. "The snow situation is difficult and only those athletes who were intended for the test runs were really allowed on the course," explained Alessandro "Izzi" Hämmerle, who arrived with the ÖSV team in Cortina (It) on Wednesday, where the World Cup will continue from Saturday.

"It's still a comeback season"
Before the last five decisions, Olympic champion Hämmerle is in second place in the overall standings with 319 points, already 301 points behind Canada's Eliot Grondin. This means that Izzi's fourth overall World Cup victory seems a long way off. "But that was never such a big goal for me this winter," explains the 30-year-old from Montafon, who was only able to compete in very few races last winter after suffering two concussions. "It's still a comeback season for me - in which some things are new, even for me. I'm already realizing that I'm not always taking the last risk after the serious injury."

Second place in an ideal scenario
However, he doesn't like to lag behind either. That's why the army athlete wants to step on the gas again in Cortina and the remaining races, "and ideally finish second in the overall standings."