Andrei Ragitli is honing his great flying skills and finally wants to fulfill his duties in Chur.
When it comes to balance, Andrei Ragitelli can’t be fooled: whether in the air, on the bars, on self-paced courses, or now, on the railings of the track. The freestyle skier recently posted a video on social media of himself making an amazing run down a railing in special shoes.
On Friday, the Graubünden native will race through the air again, this time on his usual ski poles. The World Cup season begins in Chor-in-Big Air, a home match for Rajitli, who only needs 20 minutes to travel.
“I’m really happy,” says the 25-year-old from Films, who competed in the Chur Race for the first time last year and finished fourth, having missed out on the podium by half a point. However, he has very good memories: “It was crazy: there were 15,000 to 20,000 people. Everyone is screaming your name and you’re standing on top. That’s a really great feeling.”
Rajitli will be the big star in Graubünden. He realizes this and says mischievously: “When I go out among people, I don’t get very far… but I like to be the center of attention, I have no problem with that.”
Short and tough
Starting the World Cup with the so-called “City Big Air” presents a special challenge. “The jump has only a short approach and a short distance,” Ragitelli explains. This is why landing is so difficult, especially backwards. The fairly soft snow in the landing zone due to the temperatures doesn’t make it any easier either.
Large aerial competitions also generally require more difficult jumps than ramp style, which is Ragitli’s actual primary discipline. “I was always a little behind in the big air. That’s why the focus this summer was clearly on that.
However, his favorite section will still be downhill, where he became world champion in 2021: “It’s more demanding. You have to show the perfect run from top to bottom, over bars, kicks and guardrails. It takes more mental strength.” We know that Ragitli knows a lot about the fence.
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