The Italian dedicated the podium to Matteo Franzoso, who died during training in Chile. Surprise victory for Zabystran who precedes Odermatt
And the day came Giovanni Franzoni. A wonderful one third place in the super-G in Val Gardena on the day in which Odermatt remained first for a long time and then was outwitted by the Czech Zabystran who came down with the number 29 and who took advantage of a track which seemed to become faster over time. The Italian dedicated the great result to his teammate Matteo Franzoso, who died at just 25 years old during training in Chile. As soon as Giovanni crossed the finish line and realized the great feat, he immediately raised his eyes to the sky to remember his deceased friend. The Italian team demonstrated that they are going through an excellent moment in view of the Milan Cortina Olympics: fifth Innerhoffer, Casse finished in tenth place while Paris, third yesterday, ended up seventeenth penalized by the low pectoral number.
The dedication
Franzoni looked at the time achieved, raised his arms to the sky and then burst into tears with emotion. “It seems like a dream to me. I still don’t know whether to believe it. Having a race like this here is truly madness. I thought I was lucky yesterday. Today I had great confirmation: I’m also improving on the easy ones, my awareness is growing and I’m freer in my head”. So Giovanni Franzoni, after his first career podium in the world cup obtained in Val Gardena. “I said to myself ‘Either you start skiing hard, or you won’t get to the front’ but I didn’t expect to get so far ahead – he said -. It’s the great confirmation that I can also have my say on these slopes. I have always been an insecure boy, receiving compliments from Alberto Tomba today is crazy. My last three years have been complicated, also due to the injury and I had to believe it. And I say the same to everyone else: believe it, believe it.” The thought then also went to Matteo Franzoso, died last September during training in Chile. Franzoni, a friend and roommate in the national team, raised his fingers to the sky to remember him as soon as he reached the finish line. “I feel that yesterday and today someone from up there was watching me. This dedication can only be for Matteo Franzoso: we’ve had some tough times, but the work pays off. Since he left, I know that he will do all the races with me and I wanted to dedicate a podium to him, because he only deserved something really great.”
