) is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 Alpine skier

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

, a specialist in Slalom skiing

Slalom skiing

Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...

. Together with Marc Girardelli

Marc Girardelli

Marc Girardelli is a former alpine ski racer, a five time World Cup overall champion who excelled in all five alpine disciplines....

 and Ingemar Stenmark

Ingemar Stenmark

Jan Ingemar Stenmark is a Swedish former skier, active during the 1970s and 1980s. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish sportsmen, and as the greatest slalom and giant slalom specialist of all time. He competed for Fjällvinden Tärnaby.Stenmark was born in the province of Lappland...

, he is one of three skiers to have won 5 Alpine Skiing World Cup

Alpine skiing World Cup

The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA...

 slaloms in a row, which he achieved in the 2005/2006 season: only Alberto Tomba

Alberto Tomba

Alberto Tomba is an Italian retired alpine ski racer. He was the dominant technical skier in the late 1980s and 1990s. Tomba won three Olympic gold medals, two World Championships, and nine World Cup season titles; four in slalom, four in giant slalom, and one overall title...

 (7) has won more World Cup slaloms consecutively. He is currently the fifth in the list of all-time slalom winners, with a total of 11 victories.
Rocca made his debut in the Alpine Skiing World Cup on January 6, 1996, at Flachau

Flachau

Flachau is a village in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Salzburg state, Austria, with a population of 2,639 . Its numerous skiing facilities are part of the Ski Amadé network of ski areas, the largest in Europe.- History :...

. However, Rocca broke his right knee and was forced off the tour for a year. In March 1997 he scored his first point-scoring result in the Cup, at the Shigakogen slalom. He scored his first top ten finish in November 1998, at the Aspen

Aspen

Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...

 slalom.

One year later Rocca finally managed to be on the podium, scoring a third place in the renowned Kitzbühel

Kitzbühel

-Demographic evolution:-Personalities:*Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre , entomologist and botanist*Alfons Walde , expressionist painter and architect*Peter Aufschnaiter , mountaineer and geographer...

 slalom. In 1999 he won the bronze medal at the Alpine World Skiing Championships

Alpine World Skiing Championships

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are organized by the International Ski Federation . The first world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. During the 1930s, the event was held annually in Europe, until interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, preventing a 1940 event...

 in Vail. Rocca began to be considered the legitimate heir of Italy's unrivalled champion of all-time, Alberto Tomba, who had just retired. This responsibility however, seemed to crush Rocca and stunted his progress, together with another knee accident.

After two difficult seasons, in 2001 Rocca was again on the podium, with second places in Aspen and Madonna di Campiglio

Madonna di Campiglio

Madonna di Campiglio is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an altitude of 1,522 m...

. In January 2003, after another 2nd in the Sestriere

Sestriere

Sestriere is an alpine village in Italy, a comune of the Province of Turin. It is from the French border. Its name derives from Latin: ad petram sistrariam, that is at sixty Roman miles from Turin....

 slalom, Rocca finally won his first World Cup race on the Lauberhorn

Lauberhorn

The Lauberhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland, located between Wengen and Grindelwald. Its summit is at an elevation of 8110 feet above sea level....

 Run in Switzerland. In 2004 Rocca definitively became as a major force in slalom racing. In that season he obtained two victories at Chamonix

Chamonix

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...

 and Flachau

Flachau

Flachau is a village in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Salzburg state, Austria, with a population of 2,639 . Its numerous skiing facilities are part of the Ski Amadé network of ski areas, the largest in Europe.- History :...

, and two bronze medals at his home World Championship in Bormio

Bormio

Bormio is a town and comune located in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. It has a population of 4,200...

, in the slalom and the combined.

Rocca won again in February 2005, this time at Kranjska Gora

Kranjska Gora

Kranjska Gora is a town and a municipality on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region of northwest Slovenia, close to the Austrian and Italian borders.Kranjska Gora is best known as a winter sports town, being situated in the Julian Alps...

, and raced for a while for the final victory in the Slalom World Cup.

Rocca started the 2005/2006

2006 Alpine Skiing World Cup

The 40th World Cup season began in October 2005 and concluded at the World Cup finals in Åre, Sweden, in March 2006. The schedule included a nearly month-long break in February for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy....

 season with an impressive series of five wins a row in the first five slalom races. He explained his notable improvements from a psychological point of view, as he has taken advantage of the help of a team of psychologists to solve the alleged fragility that had thwarted him in past seasons.

Rocca currently lives in Livigno

Livigno

Livigno is a town and comune in the province of Sondrio, in the region of Lombardy, Italy, located in the Italian Alps.- Geography :Livigno is located 1,816 metres above sea level. Livigno's main river is called Aqua Granda or Spöl. Trepalle, a frazione in the municipality of Livigno, is...

.

He recited the Olympic oath

Olympic Oath

The Olympic Oath is a solemn promise made by one athlete -- as a representative of each of the participating Olympic competitors; and by one judge -- as a representative of each officiating Olympic referee or other official, at the opening ceremonies of each Olympic Games...

 at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics was held on February 10, 2006 beginning at 20:00 CET at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Italy....

. It was at these Olympics that he was hoping to win gold in his strongest event: slalom, after his great success in the world championships, so he decided to focus on this event. He did not enter the Giant Slalom or Super-G as originally planned, however he did compete in the Combined race where he placed 5th with a total time of 3:10.74. In the Slalom he was the first starter but with so much pressure on him as the favourite, he stradled at the second gate, throwing away his chances of being champion.

Overall

Season	Discipline
2006 2006 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 40th World Cup season began in October 2005 and concluded at the World Cup finals in Åre, Sweden, in March 2006. The schedule included a nearly month-long break in February for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy....	Slalom

Individual victories

Date	Location	Race
19 January 2003	Wengen Wengen Wengen may refer to:*Wengen, a village and winter resort in Switzerland*La Val, a commune in South Tyrol, Italy with the German name "Wengen"*in Germany:**Wengen , a village in the municipality of Nennslingen in Mittelfranken...	Slalom
16 March 2003	Lillehammer Lillehammer is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...	Slalom
11 January 2004	Chamonix Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...	Slalom
22 December 2004	Flachau Flachau Flachau is a village in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Salzburg state, Austria, with a population of 2,639 . Its numerous skiing facilities are part of the Ski Amadé network of ski areas, the largest in Europe.- History :...	Slalom
9 January 2005	Chamonix Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...	Slalom
27 February 2005	Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora is a town and a municipality on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region of northwest Slovenia, close to the Austrian and Italian borders.Kranjska Gora is best known as a winter sports town, being situated in the Julian Alps...	Slalom
4 December 2005	Beaver Creek Beaver Creek Resort Beaver Creek Resort is a major United States ski resort near Avon, Colorado, run by Vail Resorts. The resort comprises three villages, the main Beaver Creek Village, Bachelor Gulch, and Arrowhead to the west...	Slalom
12 December 2005	Madonna di Campiglio Madonna di Campiglio Madonna di Campiglio is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an altitude of 1,522 m...	Slalom
22 December 2005	Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora is a town and a municipality on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region of northwest Slovenia, close to the Austrian and Italian borders.Kranjska Gora is best known as a winter sports town, being situated in the Julian Alps...	Slalom
8 January 2006	Adelboden Adelboden Adelboden is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland.-Geography:Adelboden lies in the west of the Berner Oberland, at the end of the valley of the Engstlige river, which flows in Frutigen into the Kander river.Adelboden is a...	Slalom
15 January 2006	Wengen Wengen Wengen may refer to:*Wengen, a village and winter resort in Switzerland*La Val, a commune in South Tyrol, Italy with the German name "Wengen"*in Germany:**Wengen , a village in the municipality of Nennslingen in Mittelfranken...	Slalom