Aksel Lund Svindal
Aksel Lund Svindal doesn’t feel old and certainly doesn’t race like it.
Still, the Norwegian great sees some of his contemporaries leaving the World Cup scene for other endeavors and this cold, hard dose of reality hits home: “Before you know it, you are the old, experienced guy,” he said.
A month shy of his 33rd birthday and with his surgically repaired Achilles tendon almost good as new, Svindal is in no hurry to slow down. Especially since he’s keeping up in training sessions with teammate Kjetil Jansrud, who’s as fast on skis as they come these days.
Svindal’s quickly rounding back into top form, too, turning in the best time yesterday (Macau time) during a downhill training run in Lake Louise, Alberta.
“I enjoy the process and that’s a sign I could do this for a while,” Svindal said. “As long as I’m healthy and able to be fast and have good friends — some of my teammates are my best friends — there’s no reason not to do this.”
He’s far from the oldest guy on the tour, with Italian Patrick Thaler racing at 37. But the scene is different this season with Benjamin Raich retiring and Bode Miller taking a hiatus. Those are racers he used to contend with for overall titles.
“Definitely feel a lot older than I used to,” Svindal joked. “I don’t care. I enjoy it.”
Svindal can take comfort in this: Didier Cuche of Switzerland won four World Cup races at 37.
Since making his World Cup debut in 2001, Svindal has captured 11 medals at major championships, including three at the Vancouver Olympics, where he took home gold in super-G, silver in downhill and bronze in GS.
“Aksel’s back now after the injury and he’s as good as he was,” said Jansrud, who finished second in the downhill training session Wednesday, 0.72 seconds behind his countryman. The season-opening men’s downhill is tomorrow. “He’s pushing us in training and making sure we’re not becoming sloppy. It’s important (to have him back) and it’s cool.”
Svindal demonstrated he heals just as quickly as he races. Last October, he tore his left Achilles tendon while juggling a soccer ball. No one thought he would return four months later for the world championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Nearly impossible, everyone told him.
“My reply was nothing is impossible,” he said. AP
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