Winter is coming…
As we move back into the winter sports season, we catch up with our Caravan ski-mo stars Alba De Silvestro and Michele Boscacci…
Summer is never a time of rest for those who make their living in winter. When the glaciers retreat and the valleys fill with grass, ski mountaineers shed their racing suits, put away skis, boots and climbing skins, and turn to other activities: cycling, running, strength training. Alba De Silvestro and Michele Boscacci, Caravan athletes, are no exception. The goals they’re chasing leave them no respite.
“Three days on the bike, three on foot, two in the gym,” says Alba, listing her weekly routine the way one reels off a recipe learned by heart. Michele, her partner in life and in sport, prefers complete freedom. “I never go to the gym,” he says. “I only train outside. MTB, road, running.” The mountains, an open-air gym. Their summers are made of dust on the trails, technical mountain-bike descents, and long efforts on the road.
There are also regular training camps with the national team. sporting pilgrimages that bind the group together. “A training camp roughly every three weeks,” Alba explains. Moena, the Passo Rolle, Primaluna: each location is carefully selected so they can string together climb after climb, on foot and by bike. There, the athletes meet for long group sessions, a second family with whom they share achievements, future ambitions and doubts. A family from which the best will soon be chosen – one woman and one man – to represent the country at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. All eyes are fixed on that deadline.
Summer is a moment when they step away from competition, but Alba hasn’t entirely resisted pinning a number on. Vertical Kilometre events, among the most demanding races in trail running, are her favourites. She lined up for two of them, in June and July. Local races that allow her to test her body, feel her form, check that the engine runs smoothly. Modest competitions with no international prestige, with a national-team athlete on the start line. Two races on which the skier gave her rivals no chance, twice stepping onto the top of the podium.
The World Cup will begin in the United States in December, and the first races will be decisive in determining the precious Olympic spots. And afterwards, as always, come the great rituals — the mythical races that give ski mountaineering its beauty and renown. Cycling has its monuments, and ski mountaineering does too: the Pierra Menta, the Trofeo Mezzalama, the Adamello Ski Raid. The couple will be there. But to shine, one must prepare.
