CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Italian ski great Alberto Tomba said Lindsey Vonn should not have raced at Crans-Montana last month, arguing that the desire to win one more race set in motion a chain of risks that ultimately caught up with her at the Winter Olympics.
The 41-year-old had been in winning form as she prepared for an age-defying Olympic comeback but lost her balance in the January 30 World Cup race in Switzerland and crashed into the side netting, rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament on her left knee.
Despite that setback, Vonn set the third fastest time in training on Saturday on the Olimpia delle Tofane piste in Cortina d'Ampezzo, with a brace on her knee. However, she suffered a horror crash in Sunday's race that saw her being airlifted to hospital for surgery on a broken leg.
"She shouldn’t have raced at Crans-Montana," Tomba told Reuters from the terrace of a hotel in Cortina. "She should have come here and trained, instead."
Vonn, the 2010 Olympic champion, had been on the podium five times in five downhills this season prior to the Crans-Montana crash, with two wins, a second place and two thirds.
The four-times overall World Cup champion started her comeback in 2024, after nearly six years out and following right knee replacement surgery. She had said in December she felt stronger, fitter and faster than ever before.
"When you feel in good shape, you want to win again. One race leads to another. But after five years preparing for these Olympics ... well, she took a risk," Tomba said.
Tomba, 59, was part of a golden age of Italian skiing and won gold at the Albertville Games in 1992, following two golds in Calgary in 1988.
Along with Italian skier Deborah Compagnoni, he was given the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron in Milan on Friday.
Organisers cancelled the Crans-Montana race in worsening conditions with snow falling.
Pressed on whether rule changes were needed to protect athletes, Tomba was cautious.
"It's not easy. You can say that, but when you're in the start gate ... I was maybe the only one who wouldn’t start if conditions weren’t right. Different times, different courses," he said.
(Reporting by Sara Rossi, additional reporting by Marta Fiorin; Writing by Giselda Vagnoni and Alison Williams)
