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As Junior World Champion, 19-year-old Livio Hiltbrand is allowed to start at the Super-G World Cup final.
Livio Hiltbrand has experienced a rapid rise. After his first appearances in the European Cup, the Bernese Oberlander really took off at the Junior World Championships in St. Anton in January. He took bronze in the downhill and gold in the super-G.
The only 19-year-old can therefore also start at the World Cup finals in Soldeu on Thursday and get a taste of the “big ones” in the Super-G for the first time. The nervousness that he felt when he arrived in Andorra has now almost gone, says Hiltbrand. He wanted to “step on the gas”, after all the track invited him to do so.
Meillard as an idol
Actually, he is not the daredevil type. “I tend to approach a track and can improve in the race. I’m not looking for the upper limit, I rather drive with my head,” says Hiltbrand, who will complete his bricklaying apprenticeship in the spring. He actually sees his strengths more in the downhill, where he has more time to get used to it thanks to the training.
Of course, the teenager is not picky. He will be the last to tackle the Super-G on Thursday with start number 23. Loïc Meillard Hiltbrand’s idol from the Swiss team starts just ahead of him. “He has a very cool technique. But at this level you can learn something from everyone.”
In the videos you can find out what experiences Hiltbrand has in the unfamiliar environment, how the trainers assess him and how he imagines his future.