Sofia Goggia, Milan Cortina 2026 can change everything

Sofia Goggia arrives at the highly anticipated Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games with mixed feelings: on the one hand, the awareness of still being the main reference of Italian speed (it was certainly not a surprise, in this sense, to see her name among the summoned for the five-circle event), on the other hand, the need to regain continuity after some performances that are anything but sparkling. After her success in Val d’Isere last Dec. 21, the Bergamasque in fact failed to take further satisfaction, raising more than one question about her state of form.

Francesco Lucivero

More than the results in the giant slalom (eighth in Semmering, 11th in Kranjska Gora, fall in Plan de Corones), it was the 17th place in the downhill in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee and the colorless tests in Tarvisio, with the 11th position in the downhill and the sixth in the super-giant, that surprised fans and insiders. An almost unprecedented scenario for a champion accustomed to staying steadily at the top: Milan Cortina 2026 may represent, for this very reason, the stage where the Azzurra will have to turn difficulties into emotional fuel.

In Beijing, four years ago, came a silver that tasted like gold, which came in a downhill that was tackled to the utmost despite a bad fall three weeks earlier that had jeopardized the Bergamasque’s very presence. On that occasion Goggia made an appointment right at her home Olympic event: there&#8217s a chance to rewrite history in front of the Italian public and the pressure will be enormous, but it&#8217s a kind of pressure that the 1992-class champion knows well and that, more than once, has made her even more fierce.

The atmosphere within the blue environment also seems more relaxed: the rivalry with Federica Brignone, which has never been denied and never quite subsided, now expresses itself in much softer tones. The two champions have found a more mature balance, partly because they both know how much they count for the Italian movement. The two, in Milan Cortina 2026, will have very different goals: Goggia is aiming straight for the medal, Brignone is mostly happy to be there, given everything that has happened in the last nine months.

The two have a lot of different goals.

In this context, Goggia’s Olympic ambitions remain intact, and the last few races do not change the substance: when it comes to showing up at the gate, she will still be one of the women to beat. The goal is to win at least a second Olympic gold medal, after Pyeongchang’s in the downhill.