By André Santos
After the Individual Prologue in Livigno and last weekend’s La Venosta, Mauro Brigadoi, SottoZero Gold Team Zorzi Max Orsaiec, is showing that his dedication has paid off, and he is currently the best ranked Italian skier on the tour, despite not being a professional athlete and having to manage his own business and family while still training at a high level.
Mauro Brigadoi is currently the number one Italian Pro Skier, having finished 31st in the Individual Prologue race and 22nd at La Venosta, some good results that show he has consistently been improving since the beginning of his career as a long distance skier five years ago, and after having competed in several Italian cross-country ski races.
But as we all know, good results don’t come easy and we have to devote a lot of time to training if we want to improve. This becomes more challenging when athletes competing on the Pro Tour are not professionals. “We are not professionals which means that we need to have daily jobs. I have a family business. During the summer, I work as a gardener and during the autumn, I work as a chimney sweeper. This way, during winter, I can devote myself to cross-country skiing. It is not easy to combine everything, and I train mostly at weekends and after work when it is dark,” states Mauro.
It is challenging to find time to train, mostly because it is already dark when Mauro finishes his daily job. With his teammate, he does long roller-ski sessions, mountain biking, trail running and goes to the gym for strenght training. Their favourite training session has been prescribed by the team coach Mirko Filippi and it consists of 30 times 400 meters with 30 seconds of rest.
Mauro Brigadoi is ambitious for the rest of the season. “My main goal is to enjoy and share the joy of long distance skiing with my team. But I don’t hide the fact that I aim to be in the top 5 at least once this season,” he states. Indeed, Mauro would like to finish close to his hero. “Tord Asle Gjerdalen is my role model, as a person and as a skier.”
