(ANSA) - Italy is hailing a new skiing star they hope will emulate the great Alberto Tomba.
Giorgio Rocca, already a veteran at 30, won the special slalom here on Monday night to make it two in a row after his win in the season's first slalom at Beaver Creek. He now has eight slaloms to his name, tying the great Gustavo Thoeni for success in the discipline - the favourite for skiing fans along with the downhill.
"It looks like we have a new Tomba," said Finland's Kalle Palander who finished third behind Austria's Benjamin Raich. Tuesday's Italian sports press agreed with the Finn.
"We Have A Phenomenon", shouted Corriere dello Sport on its front page.
"Rocca Is A Star Turn" was the headline in La Gazzetta dello Sport which devoted a front-page feature to the man from the northern ski resort of Livigno.
"He's now skiing with a four-wheel drive, just like Tomba used to do," La Gazzetta said.
Rocca has a long way to go to match Tomba's 35 career wins in special slalom but his latest feats make him a clear favourite for the gold medal in next year's Winter Olympics on home ground - the ski slopes around Turin.
"I kept my head together and went for it. Let's hope I can maintain this form going into the February events," said Rocca, who was the first Italian to win at this magnificent Dolomites resort since Tomba in 1994.
Rocca's wins this season and last have helped him shrug off the derisory tag "Rocca non c'imbrocca" (Rocca can't get it right) because of his early-career habit of combining a great first run with a run-out on the second.
"A lot of the credit must go to my sports psychologist, who has given me self-belief and told me to ski in my natural style," said the late-blooming medal hope.
"Maybe now I'll be able to get a sponsor," he added.
With just two months to go to Italy's much-hyped second Winter Games in 50 years, Rocca has been competing with only the UNICEF logo on his chest.
So far his agent has been juggling different offers but the very top names in Alpine equipment are now sure to be elbowing each other aside to get their logos on the new star. And like Tomba La Bomba, Rocca already has a new nickname which the Italian fans screamed out on Monday night.
Hopefully, they'll shout it to the sky again some day in February: 'Giorgione' - not the painter, but an addition to his first name that simply means 'Great George.'
