When the alarm clock rings at 6 a.m.: A World Cup day with Nadia Delago

By Alexander Foppa from Cortina d'Ampezzo

I meet Nadia Delago early on Friday afternoon on the edge of the World Cup circuit. She has just completed the last training sessions and is now fully focused on the descent on Saturday. Before doing so, she pulls back the clock hand again by a few hours and helps to reconstruct her daily routine.

6 clock: The alarm clock rings in Nadia Delago's room at the Park Hotel Franceschi. It's time to get up! The Azzurre are staying in the same accommodation as their male teammates in the heart of Cortina. They also had to get up early on Friday to inspect the slope before their training trip. But there is no sign of a dense crowd in the breakfast room. The doctors and supervisors in the team pay close attention to ensuring that safe distances and seating arrangements are maintained. “I’m pretty excited” Nadia Delago 7.15 clock: Departure to the gondola lift, which takes you to the starting area of the “Olympia delle Tofane”. “I had already done my first warm-up in the hotel,” says Delago. “Once you get to the piste, you immediately try to memorize the key points – even when skiing freely.”

10.15 clock: The first training begins. The 23-year-old from Val Gardena had recently eaten something in the hospitality area of the individual nations and relaxed for a few minutes. Sister Nicol gives tips from home Delago recorded 24th time in the first test drive on a shortened route. Immediately afterwards, an initial video analysis followed - together with her sister Nicol Delago, who had to watch from home due to an injury. “We spoke on the phone for around half an hour. She looked at the video very carefully and told me where I needed to drive a little more decisively.”

13.42 clock: Now Delago can implement her sister's tips straight away; she pushes herself powerfully out of the starting box for the second time that day. The debutante gets off to a good start at the top, but then loses time in the lower part of the route. At least: 17th place and one more test drive in the legs with a view to the big day tomorrow. “Every meter that I ride here brings me a little more safety.” It is the first time that she has ever skied a descent in Cortina.

When Delago leaves the finish area at the foot of the Tofane, it is already shortly before half past three o'clock. This is due to their high starting number in training. However, the chef at the team hotel knows about it and serves her lunch at an unusual time. Delago is then allowed to spend the afternoon freely, with two tasks given to her: a short dry training session and the corona test, which has to be carried out routinely every three days. In between, the downhill skier can put her feet up.

19.30 clock: Now it's time to be on time, because the team meeting begins in the meeting room. The trainers only grudgingly accept delays. Immediately after the meeting we have dinner together. As soon as the plate has been emptied, the cutlery has been put aside and the mouth has been wiped, all athletes go back to their individual rooms. “I'll jump into the shower again and then lie on my ear.” However, it is not certain whether Delago will immediately fall into a deep sleep that evening. “I'm pretty excited. This is my World Cup premiere and then right at home on my doorstep. It’s really cool here in Cortina, I want to enjoy it to the fullest tomorrow,” says Delago, visibly happy. The next alarm ringing marks the start of the most important day of her career so far.

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When the alarm clock rings at 6 a.m.: A World Cup day with Nadia Delago

She describes it as “really hard and stressful”, but this day is just a warm-up for what will follow on Saturday: Nadia Delago’s first appearance at a ski world championships. In this time lapse, the 23-year-old from Val Gardena lets SportNews readers share her daily routine in Cortina.

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