After the successes obtained in the season that has just ended, the giants of the White Circus lived in Trentino from 21 to 26 May between the Trentino shores of Lake Garda and the Paganella Dolomites, engaging in numerous activities, starting from and mountain biking – up to tennis and jiu jitsu, between training and pure fun. As underlined by the director of Apt Garda Dolomiti Oskar Schwazer, “the collaboration between these territories and Trentino Marketing has made it possible to provide athletes not only with ideal conditions for training but also for free time, to be able to enjoy the surrounding beauties and of local food and wine.”
“We are proud to host an extraordinary national team like the Norwegian one – said the councilor for sport and tourism of the Province Roberto Failoni, who was present on Thursday 25 May at the meeting with the press, at the Giardino Verdi hotel in Riva del Garda- which also achieved great results this season. Staying in wonderful territories such as Paganella and Trentino Garda certainly helped the athletes compensate for the fatigue of training with wonderful landscapes and unique hospitality. In Trentino we are already looking forward to the 2026 Winter Olympics: good luck to the Norwegians, even if the hope is that the first place will be conquered by the Italians!” At the press conference there were also the president of the Apt Silvio Rigatti, the councilor for sport and tourism of the Municipality of Arco Dario Ioppi, the councilor for sport and tourism of the Municipality of Ledro Luca Zendri and the director of Paganella Ski Ruggero Ghezzi.
Among the nine Attacking Vikings present, some of the top names in global alpine skiing stand out. The team captain is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, winner of the last two downhill World Cups, as well as having finished second in the general classification and having conquered the silver medal in downhill and super-G at the Courchevel/Meribel 2023 World Championships:
“We are honored to be back here -Kilde said- we trained intensely but we also had a lot of fun. It was great because we did it together as a team and especially in an amazing territory like this, I really hope we keep coming back in the future. In our team we work a lot together indoors in Norway, but this open-air retreat in Trentino is definitely something special that pushes us to bond even more”.
In his wake the young talents are growing, starting with the exuberant Lucas Braathen, winner of the last World Cup in special slalom and fourth classified in the general classification: “Here last year we laid the foundations for a great season, which it gave me great satisfaction. Too bad for the appendicitis that compromised my World Championship, and for Campiglio: I was in the lead after the first heat, getting off the podium in the second hurt. But this year I’ll be back in Trentino to try again: I want to make the enthusiasts dance, in the race and even after…”
The team for the technical disciplines counts on other emerging talents such as Atle Lie McGrath and Aleksander Steen-Olsen, the latter with his first success in the World Cup in 2023, joined by a veteran such as Sebastian Foss Solevaag, winner of the 3Tre di Madonna di Campiglio 2021 and world gold in Cortina 2021: “It’s always nice to be with the team, especially in this period. Trentino is a territory where we feel at home, coming here is always something special. We were one of the first national teams to work so much as a group: we made our first training camps in Garda Trentino ten years ago, now the other teams are starting to imitate us too. There’s a good energy among the members of the team: it doesn’t matter the age difference between us, everyone contributes and for this reason we are a great team,” said Solevaag.
In thanking the Calzà family for hosting the evening in the recently renovated location, President Rigatti underlined how “collaboration with the Norwegian national team represents an important opportunity not only to promote the area but also to consolidate the area’s reputation as a privileged for the greats of sport”. Indeed, it is no coincidence that over the years Garda Trentino has been chosen by many sporting realities as the ideal place for the preparatory stages for the competitive seasons: from football’s Bayern Munich to basketball, from the Italian road cycling national team to the Azzurri and the Austrians of the Nordic Combined, and many other teams of international importance.
Source: Garda Dolomites Tourist Board
