Lara Colturi full-court press between the upcoming season, Matteo Franzoso and… tennis
At the inauguration of the new headquarters of Reusch, a company specializing in the production of gloves and sportswear, in Vignate, in the province of Milan, we met Lara Colturi, daughter of 2002 Olympic super-G champion Daniela Ceccarelli, who will be 19 years old next November 15 and who has been competing for Albania since she landed in the World Cup, that is, since the end of 2022, winning three podiums, two seconds and a third place, all last season.
“The summer preparation went very well, I was in New Zealand more or less for about 40 days with wonderful conditions and very nice slopes. We also had a chance to train with other teams such as men’s Switzerland and men’s Norway, they go much stronger than us women but they are a great source of inspiration, plus we also crossed paths with Alice Robinson and Lindsey Vonn.”
“Goals for next season? I’m just going to try to have fun and do the things I can do so far, then I don’t try to set goals for myself, such as results, otherwise I would put pressure on myself. I just want to bring what I can do to the race as best I can.”
Not everyone knows this, but Lara was also a strong figure skater as a child, as well as a very strong skier. But does she still skate? “Yes, I still skate and next week I am going to get new skates! I love it so much, when I’m out and about I’m always looking for something, even a frozen lake. Skating clears my mind.”
“Other sports? I play tennis with my brother Yuri, and then I do a lot of swimming as soon as I can, especially on those few days I spend at the beach. In short, I can’t sit still and I’m always moving. Tennis champions, I follow them, of course, especially Djokovic. My brother cheers Alcaraz because of that strong masculine instinct he has, I like even just watching them play for all those hours and the mental attitude they have is really impressive.”
Yuri is also a great prospect on skis, after all, with a family that breathes skiing, nothing else was to be expected: “He’s coming along too unfortunately! (laughs, ed.) And I hope he doesn’t start beating me because he is five years younger (he was born in 2011, Lara in 2006, ed.)! For now he is pushing me to go harder but he is starting to worry me! Anyway, he is now competing among the students, last year he won a few international races (for example, the Alpe Cimbra FIS Children Cup, ed.).”
Closing with a thought for Matteo Franzoso: “He was from Genoa and used to ski at Sestriere and I got to talk to him many times when he was in our area, we also used to go to the gym together and they are family friends of ours, so yes, we used to see him very often.”
