Italian downhill great Kristian Ghedina is to pull on his skis again three years after quitting the sport.
Ghedina, 39, will leave his newfound love of car racing for a one-off comeback at the Italian skiing championships later this month, organisers said Tuesday.
''But I'm not just taking part for the sake of taking part. I want a result,'' said the exuberant former crowd favourite of the 'White Circus'.
The veteran star will be up against the likes of Peter Fill, who became the first Italian since Ghedina to win a downhill, at Lake Louise last November.
Also competing in Ghedina's other signature event, the SuperG, will be Max Blardone who quipped ''we will all bow down to Kristian''.
Ghedina hung up his skis in April 2006 after 13 wins in 15 seasons, becoming a professional race driver for BMW in the Italian Superturismo Championship as well as for Lola in the F3000 International Masters.
Despite his age, in the latter stage of his career the freewheeling Italian twice thrilled the fans at Kitzbuehel in Austria, cradle of downhill skiing, by doing the flying splits on the legendary Streif's last breakneck jump. 'COMPLETELY MAD'.
He is the only skier ever to perform a spread eagle on the famous course - to gasps of ''Total verrueckt'' (''Completely mad'') from the Kitzbuehel faithful.
The daredevil from the famed Dolomites resort of Cortina di Ampezzo is the only Italian to have won at Kitzbuehel, in 1998.
He last did the stunt in 2005 - the year of his last podium finish. But he had been close enough to the winners in 2005-2006 to make him Italy's top contender for the Torino 2006 World Cup downhill at Sestriere.
In the event he trailed in a disappointing 23rd behind two younger Italians at ninth and 13th.
In his career, Ghedina picked up two World Championship silver medals, one in the downhill and one in the combined event, as well as a downhill bronze.
The irrepressible Italian, who took just as many risks on his motorcross bike as he does on the piste, had his share of spills during his thrilling career, breaking bones in most parts of his body and cracking his head so hard he went into a coma.
His lust for speed then led him to choose an even faster sport for his post-skiing career: motor racing.
It was his friend Alex Zanardi, who has fought back to racing despite losing both legs in a horrific 2001 crash, who persuaded Ghedina to embark on a new career.
Aside from his 13 World Cup wins - 12 in downhill and one in SuperG - Ghedina holds the record for World Cup downhills completed, 169, and became the oldest podium placer in 2005 - a distinction of which Sweden's Frederik Nyberg stripped him earlier this year.
Ghedina also holds the record of four wins on Val Gardena's famous Saslong run - an achievement he shares with Austrian legend Franz Klammer.
He would have had a fifth but for a close encounter with a roebuck.
