Alpine skiing-Let's Dance - Pinheiro Braathen aims to samba his way to slalom gold

Jan 16 : When slalom specialist Lucas Pinheiro Braathen announced his return to the World Cup circuit in 2024, his message was simple - 'The time has come, Brazil. Let's Dance.'

In February, the Norway-born 25-year-old will hope to make good on that vow and perform his trademark samba celebration at the Milano-Cortina Olympics.

After switching his allegiance from Norway to Brazil, the country of his mother Alessandra's birth and where he spent his early childhood, Pinheiro Braathen made it his mission to put the sprawling soccer-mad nation on the winter sports map.

So far, he has done a pretty good job.

In November, he gave Brazil its first World Cup victory when he triumphed in a thrilling slalom race in Levi, Finland, beating Olympic champion Clement Noel to top spot.

After clicking out of his skis that day, he sank to his knees in celebration before draping himself in green and yellow.

He was rewarded with a reindeer for that win in Lapland but should he repeat that performance on Bormio's Stelvio course next month, the caipirinhas will flow at the Italian resort.

Pinheiro Braathen, who concedes he rather reluctantly took up skiing aged eight after being introduced to it by his Norwegian father Bjorn, is not your standard Alpine ski racer.

Yes, he has the icy focus associated with Norway's top racers, but he also brings a Latin exuberance on and off the slopes, with regular slots as a DJ, fashion model and designer of his own range of clothing.

His shock decision to quit on the eve of the 2023 season despite being the World Cup slalom champion, following a dispute with the Norwegian federation over image rights, reverberated around the sport.

"I reached a point where I felt I had lost the reason why I began skiing," he later