Omar Visintin: Using experience to return to the top

To avoid a repeat of last season, Visintin has made some changes. "I switched skis after experimenting a lot last year. My training program is also different now," Visintin reveals. From a sporting perspective, last season was disastrous, but personally, it was filled with happiness. His daughter Lima was born. He was able to unwind after a grueling winter with a holiday in Lisbon and biking back home. Training began in September at the Stelvio Pass.

“We didn’t have to go to South America this time because we found excellent conditions here. I’ve adjusted my training program so that I train at home in my gym on Mondays and Fridays, and only do three on-snow training sessions instead of four in between,” explains the Algund native, who was also able to train very well and injury-free throughout the summer. “My back twinges now and then, but that’s become the norm for me, and I can live with it. I know my body and know when I need to slow down.”

Omar Visintin is determined to strike back on the field. © FISI

The snowboard cross season kicks off on December 12th in Cervinia. Visintin will also be putting the finishing touches on his preparations there for the winter, which culminates in the Olympics in Livigno. "Of course, the Olympics are the big goal," says Visintin, who won bronze in the individual event and silver in the team event with Michela Moioli in Beijing in 2022, thus breaking the Olympic curse that had plagued him in Sochi (a crash through no fault of his own, resulting in his elimination in the semifinals as a gold medal favorite) and Pyeongchang (another crash, this time in the round of 16).

Visintin wants a medal “I don’t feel any pressure, but I’m a racer and I want to win a medal. That’s the goal,” Visintin states clearly. The fact that his best result last season was an eighth-place finish at the World Cup in Turkey, and that his last podium finish was almost two years ago (February 2024 in Georgia), doesn’t make him doubt himself. “If I didn’t believe I could compete at the very front and fight for medals, I would have quit,” Visintin says. “I’m convinced that, thanks to my experience, I can get back to my old form.”

Visintin draws this confidence from his summer preparation and his current training performances this fall, after having to end last season early due to an ankle injury. "The injury is healed," emphasizes Visintin, for whom this could also be his last season. Perhaps it will end after the Olympics. "I'm not ruling anything out. I want to give it my all until the Olympics, then we'll see." The Algund native isn't yet familiar with the Olympic course in Livigno. "Nobody knows it," he says with a grin. There haven't been any races yet, nor any training sessions. "So at least as far as the course is concerned, there won't be any home advantage for us."

football

Italy

International leagues

International

hockey

tennis

Winter sports

Learn More

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Favorites

Omar Visintin: Using experience to return to the top

Omar Visintin has had a rough season. "Last year was a complete disaster from a sporting perspective," he says. Now the 36-year-old from Algund wants to make a comeback. "I'm not getting any younger, but I see myself as strong enough to be right up there at the front again."

Comments (0)