It’s Go Big or Go Home for Giovanni Franzoni

Franzoni Wengen Switzerland Photo: GEPA

Junior World Championships multi-medalist Giovanni Franzoni has ambitious goals for the upcoming winter season. After winning the Europa Cup last year, the young Italian alpine skier wants to take a leap forward in the World Cup and continue his progression to perform at the highest level.

“Every year, I push myself to improve,” Franzoni recently told Ski Racing Media. “The European Cup is done; I won it. My goal now is to achieve good results in the World Cup. It’s time for me to say, go big or go home.”

‘I love winter’

Ski Racing Media caught up with the 21-year-old Italian during his training camp at Ushuaia, Argentina. Franzoni said that since flying to South America on August 22, he has enjoyed the resort’s excellent and varied skiing conditions.

“At first, we found hard surfaces, but then it snowed and later it even rained,” he said. “The resort is at a low altitude, about 800m above sea level, which means conditions change all the time.”

“It’s an advantage compared to glacier skiing, as you don’t get as tired,” he continued. “We are staying here for a month, so I have a good amount of time to train in GS and speed on different slopes. Five years ago, I went to New Zealand to train, which was very different. They water-injected the training runs there and it was harder to find conditions as variable as we have here.”

Franzoni’s off-season has been very busy, particularly after having a plate and some screws removed from his collarbone in May. It was a follow-up procedure to his original surgery 12 months before addressing a skiing-related injury. 

“I’ve been working really hard,” Franzoni confessed. “I knew I had to have another surgery and miss at least a couple of weeks of training, so I took every opportunity I had to train and rarely stopped.” 

Except for a few skiing days at Les Deux Alpes and in the ski dome at Peer (Belgium), Franzoni’s summer training has been taking place in the gym. “I like it more and more, even though it can be repetitive sometimes,” he said. “But after pushing hard with the lifting and the rest of the physical conditioning, I felt exhausted, and I was looking forward to getting back on skis.”

Franzoni is not a huge fan of hot days at the beach. He took only five days of summer holidays between Sardinia and Hossegor (France). There, he enjoyed some surfing. That was enough for the Italian skier to reinvigorate himself ahead of the next FIS World Cup campaign. “I definitely prefer it when it’s cold,” he admitted.

From Lake Garda to the mountains

Giovanni’s family is from Manerba del Garda, a lovely town on the western shore of Lake Garda. It is located far from the snow and ski slopes. As a child, he started having fun on skis with his twin brother Alessandro, “mainly to keep ourselves busy,” he explained. When he was young, he enjoyed the sport without worrying too much about its competitive side. 

When Giovanni was in second grade, the Franzoni family moved to the mountains, settling down in Carisolo, a small village not far from Madonna di Campiglio.

“My parents have always loved sports. My mother wanted us to continue skiing, which would have been harder if we had stayed by the lake. So, we went to school in Carisolo and returned to Manerba during the summer break.” 

At the time, Giovanni did not see himself as a future champion, and things got challenging again when he started high school in Brescia – a bigger city located in Lombardy, about 75 miles away from Madonna di Campiglio. However, by then, Giovanni was resolute not to give up skiing.

“School was a must for my parents, and I had to study to be allowed to ski. After school, my mum would pick me up and drive me to Madonna di Campiglio for training. I used to get changed, eat in the car, train on the slopes, and then mum would drive me back home. It wasn’t easy.”

Things got better for the young skier when he enrolled in a ski academy at Falcade in the Dolomites. Giovanni quickly earned a spot on the national team in his junior year of high school. 

Giovanni’s relationship with his twin brother during those years was key to his development. “We were always together,” Giovanni said. “We used to fight all the time, which is normal. Then when our lives started growing apart, we got closer than ever.”

“I like to talk about skiing with Alessandro as he also raced and has now become a ski instructor. More than anything, he knows me better than anybody else. I show him my videos and he gives me great advice, which I value a lot. He’s genuinely happy for my good race results and I know he’ll always be there for me.”

Looking up, building up 

Since he was a kid, Giovanni has been eager to learn and improve beyond training time and the coach’s advice. 

“I used to watch skiers who were better than me carefully,” he explained. “I wasn’t the best out there, so I started studying skiers who were winning races when I was little. Also, I remember spending hours in bed when I was fifteen watching World Cup runs repeatedly.”

“My role models were athletes like Kristoffersen or Ligety, and I tried to ski like them. Now I look up to athletes like [Lucas] Braathen, [Atle] McGrath and other Norwegians. In GS, I also admire Marco Odermatt. He raised the bar.” 

Now a promising young talent, Franzoni is no longer just trying to imitate his role models, but he still thinks it’s important to have high benchmarks and he’s keen to revisit them regularly. 

“I keep comparing myself to others to push myself,” he said. “Growing up, I’ve learned that I must create my way of skiing, take the best from other skiers and adapt their solutions to my technique to find my way.” 

Teammates also play a big role in a young skier’s development, and their tips are even more precious for a World Cup rookie. Since last year, Franzoni has been able to count on advice from the likes of fellow national Italian team members De Aliprandini, Borsotti, and even Dominik Paris, one of the most experienced and fastest skiers on the circuit.

“Dominik always finds the time to have a word with me at the races. Now that we’re training together, we’re building a good relationship. He is very open and always shares valuable tips. He’s great.”

Franzoni is not the only young talent the Italian Skiing Federation is investing in. A promising group of athletes born around the year 2000, which also includes Filippo Della Vite, Matteo Franzoso, and Marco Abbruzzese, are all quickly developing their skills within the national team. 

“The Federation believed in us and has invested in our program,” said Franzoni, who had already been given the opportunity to train in South America with the third-tier Italian ‘C’ team in 2019.

“I’ve always had great coaches, including former top athletes like Peter Fill, and great support from ski technicians like Riccardo Coriani. Riccardo and I have been working together for four years and he’s going to follow me exclusively this season,” he said.

The last step

People who know Giovanni well describe him as humble and down-to-earth. With five medals at the Junior World Champs, seven podiums and the overall title in the Europa Cup, plus some World Cup points and a top-15 finish at Cortina 2021, his junior years were far from disappointing. Yet, the Italian struggled to believe in himself at times. “During the races, I often wondered, what am I even doing here? I don’t think I will do so well,” Franzoni confessed. 

“I can take stock of my weaknesses, but I have a hard time recognizing my strengths. Even after a good result, after a podium, I quickly turn the page and think about the next race. Sometimes I haven’t been able to enjoy my success.”

Franzoni might try to appreciate his good days more in the future but being always hungry can be a positive state of mind for an athlete. “My motivation is high because I can see the next step forward. That’s a great push,” he agreed. 

After making his debut in December 2020 in Alta Badia, one of the most challenging Giant Slaloms on the circuit, Franzoni has earned a spot in the World Cup for the coming season thanks to his Europa Cup rankings. He’ll be focusing on Super-G and Giant Slalom – the two disciplines in which he achieved his best World Cup results to date, the 24th place in Adelboden and the 30th place in Super-G in Wengen.

“I find the Super-G very fascinating. You have no training run and no second run. You must learn the course and know it by heart, just by inspecting it. I dedicate much attention to that; I keep skiing down and stepping back up at almost every gate. I love that feeling when I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m skiing free,” he said.

“I’ll challenge myself on some Downhill official training runs during the season, but my focus will be on SG and GS. I believe more in myself and know I can ski fast when I don’t overthink and distribute my efforts throughout the turns, filling in the spaces between gates. I’m working on a slightly higher position and keeping pressure on the outside leg.”

As he continues his development, Franzoni said he hopes to be selected for the Italian team for the World Championships next year. Merely participating won’t be enough for him, however. If he makes it to the start in Courchevel, he will aim to achieve “a good result.” Go big or go home!