The Valanga Azzurra, the team of the Italian national alpine ski team that went down in history for having conquered the top positions in the main international competitions in the seventies, has celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Video 50 years of the Valanga Azzurra: its stars and the heir Tomba
In recent days, the world champions Piero Gros, Gustav Thöni, Helmuth Schmalzl and Tino Pietrogiovanna, together with Linda Stricker (wife of the "crazy horse" Erwin, who passed away in 2010), met in Trafoi, South Tyrol, to commemorate what still remains one of the most spectacular and amazing sporting feats: the placement of Italian athletes in the first five positions of the giant slalom race in Berchtesgaden, in Germany, on January 7, 1974.
The event was also attended by Herbert Plank, Paolo De Chiesa, Marcello Varallo, Chicco Cotelli, together with the heir of the blue avalanche, Alberto Tomba.
The term "Blue Avalanche" was coined by the sports journalist Massimo di Marco to define the extraordinary feat of 7 January 1974 in Berchtesgaden, which sanctioned the Italian primacy in the discipline of alpine skiing in the seventies, after several years of absence from the main international palmares. On that occasion, in a Germany still divided between East and West, Gros, Thöni, Stricker, Schmalzl and Pietrogiovanna achieved a result that was more unique than rare and became a legend.
Recalling the competitions of the 50s, Thöni spoke of a "very beautiful period" in the history of Italian skiing, when "at least three or four of us were always in the top ten positions" in every race. The party was promoted by Thöni's brother-in-law, Stephan Gander, who hosted everyone at the Bellavista hotel. Between vintage skis and black and white photographs, the champions of yesteryear have rediscovered the spirit of the team. And someone even dusted off the national team jersey for the occasion. "I feel like I'm in retreat," said Pietro Gros during the celebrations, "and for me it's like being in training. We could only have the party at Gustav's house, who was the great captain for us, our driving force." In fifty years, the emotion of remembering together the feats of the past has spared no one. "I've been here for a few years: here I am for the <>th anniversary of the Valanga Azzurra. We celebrate among young people, all of a certain age, but it is always a thrill to be together with champions who were my legends," Tomba concluded.
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