Omar Visintin: “We just wanted to go home”

Visintin has been considered one of the best boardercrossers in the world for years. Last winter, the Algunder, who won the overall World Cup in the 2013/2014 season, caused quite a stir and was on the podium in every other race on average. Among other things, he took a podium place at the World Cup final in Veysonnaz (Switzerland), which some athletes boycotted because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In retrospect, the focus was primarily on the drama surrounding Visintin's teammate and overall World Cup winner Michela Moioli. A few days after the last race, her grandmother died of the virus , while her grandfather was already in the intensive care unit in Bergamo at the end of the season. In a telephone interview with SportNews Visintin commented on the situation at the time.

They have now arrived home safely. How are you doing?

Omar Visintin: "Thank you i'm fine. I am in Lagundo and have now adapted to the situation. I'm doing what I normally do after the season ends. Namely, getting the house in shape (laughs). After all, I haven't been home for a long time before. Normally I would slowly start casual cycling training at this time. Now I do a lot of yoga and a lot of stretching exercises. Just things that I enjoy to get around the day. I’m also trying to keep myself occupied with reading books at the moment.”

Let's look back a bit: How satisfied are you with the past season?

"I'm really pleased. I finished the overall World Cup in third place and was on the podium three times in six races. Once at the very top. I am very happy with this yield. I just need to work on consistency. For example, I only came 3nd at the home race in Cervinia. That annoyed me a bit. But I ended the season well with second place in Veysonnaz.” Omar Visintin (left) came second at the World Cup final. © instagram

You are talking about the season finale in Switzerland. Some athletes boycotted this race because of the coronavirus. How did you experience the whole situation?

“We traveled from Spain to Switzerland on Monday March 9th. At that time, the situation in the canton of Valais was completely normal, there were no restrictions. But of course we (Azzurri) knew from our families and friends what was already going on in Italy at that time. On the Wednesday evening before the first training session, the Canadians and the Americans packed their bags early so as not to endanger their journey home. By then, at the latest, we had speculated that the race would be cancelled. Ultimately, the competition was moved forward from Sunday to Friday. We as athletes contacted the FIS, after all, other FIS competitions (e.g. the ski races) had already been canceled at this point. But the association said that the decision would not lie with you, but with the host country.”

Finally we drove. How did you particularly experience your teammate Michela Moioli during this difficult time?

“Before we traveled to Spain with the World Cup team, Michela had already been in quarantine in Bergamo. When she was back, she told us how critical the situation in Lombardy was. It was then that we realized that sport had finally taken a back seat. In the end, only those Azzurri who still had a chance of a podium place in the overall World Cup were there at the World Cup final. But we all actually wanted to go home and thought to ourselves: don't these people see what's currently happening in Italy? In the end we were able to focus and drive because it was a whole season. Before her final run, Michela shouted loudly: Forza Italia. Everything was very emotional. After our race on Friday, the Swiss government decided to close all ski areas. But I have to admit that I also understand the organizers of Veysonnaz, after all they have invested a lot of time and money into hosting the World Cup race. You may not have been aware of the situation either. We Azzurri were on our cell phones a lot more than usual before the race.”

“The 2026 Olympics is definitely an issue” What are your next goals for the period after the lockdown?

“I actually wanted to go to Morocco for two weeks in mid-April. But nothing will come of it now, although there are much worse things (smiles). Now we just have to wait and see. When the curfew is over, I will definitely go cycling or going to the weight room more often.”

You are now 30 years old and have been here for a long time. Is the end of your career somewhere in the back of your mind?

“No, I’m not even thinking about that. I definitely plan on driving for a few more years. At the 2026 Olympics, the snowboard races will take place in Cortina. This is definitely an issue. If I stay injury-free and continue to have as much fun as before, I can imagine being there after 2026.”

Questions: David Lechthaler

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Omar Visintin: “We just wanted to go home”

The boardercrossers competed in a World Cup race in mid-March, when many winter sports had already declared the season over. We spoke to Omar Visintin about, among other things, the late World Cup final in Veysonnaz and teammate Michela Moioli, whose grandmother died of the coronavirus.

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