Normally, he wouldn’t have time for things that aren’t directly related to his skiing profession. The World Cup season would be in full swing, and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, one of the best in his field, would certainly be one of the favourites. Yet pretty much nothing has been normal for the Norwegian since his ski crash at the beginning of the year. Months of rehab and progress are behind him – but setbacks as well. And then, in October, he knew for sure: the upcoming ski season will again take place without him. His injured shoulder does not yet allow for competitive sports.

And yet we met with a thoroughly cheerful man who seems positive about the future and even the past. “There’s definitely a good side to my situation. I have more time to prepare for my comeback, making sure that I will be at 100 per cent,” he explains while disconnecting his Audi e-tron GT from the wall box in his garage at home. The fact that he at least no longer needs help to get from A to B is a big step and a privilege that he appreciates more than ever.

“I lead a very mobile life. Travelling for sport has always been important to me,” explains the Norwegian, as he lets his Audi roll up the steep driveway of the underground car park with the characteristic e-sound. The sky over Innsbruck, where Kilde has been living for a good four years, is bright and sunny, the nearby mountains are reflected in the windscreen. “At first, it was very difficult for me after the crash,” he tells us. “My body had never limited me before. The question had always been: What can I still achieve, how far can I push myself? And suddenly, I couldn’t manage a wheelchair on my own.” Let alone drive a car.

At least the latter is possible again. “During the ski season, I always travel by car if possible. I like having that flexibility to leave anytime I want.” For him, electric mobility is not contrary to this lifestyle. Back home in Scandinavia, he drove an Audi e-tron for a long time, then switched to a plug-in hybrid model in Austria, and now he drives the white Gran Turismo through the streets and bends of Tyrol. “To be honest, I never had to worry about charging options or access to them back in Norway. Here it is a bit more complicated, especially because I often cross the borders to Switzerland, Italy or Germany.” So, he is quite happy to be able to use his own wall box. Looking at Europe as a whole, he says, there is still work to be done on the infrastructure. Until then, however, he can rely on the digital support in the e-tron GT: “The GT makes things easier for me, because route and charging planning are combined in one system.”

The all-electric Gran Turismo is simply the best car he has ever driven, says Kilde. Apart from the driving experience, he is impressed by the modelled lines and shapes. “It looks fast even when it’s stationary.” Once, he says, he came to his car after a doctor’s appointment and a woman was standing in front of it. “In England, you would call someone like that a lady, and that’s how she seemed to me. I asked if I could help her. But she just smiled and said, ‘I like your car’.” One can’t get much more confirmation than that, says Kilde. He makes no secret of the fact that he likes fast cars. “You sit low, feel the road, I like that.” Quality with a certain something, is how he summarises the e-tron GT and Audi in general. “But” and here the World Cup winner, who is considered one of the fastest skiers, speaks from experience, “speed and dynamics are nothing without control. It handles very nicely, comfortably, confidently. Everything is exactly where you need it as a driver.”

In the gondola on the way up to the Nordkette, Kilde talks again about the time when mobility was both a challenge and a desire. “I had to find something to keep me going without really being able to move,” he says, describing the time after his crash. He found what he was looking for in an online course of the London School of Economics. “I had been interested in real estate and investments for a long time and then I thought: Why not make good use of the time and learn more about it?” For eight weeks, Kilde went back to school, as he puts it. “I enjoyed learning. And I was surprised to see how structured I am today compared to back when I actually went to school.” He is happy to have opened up a perspective for himself for the time after his skiing career. But as far as he is concerned, the end is not in sight for a long time yet.

A gusty wind is blowing on the Hafelekarspitze, high above Innsbruck. Dense, sometimes grey, sometimes dark blue clouds are permanently pushing in front of the sun. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde doesn’t mind. Up here, he feels comfortable even without snow and his skis, and he can be who he is: an athlete looking ahead. “When my body tells me to go, there’s nothing to stop me. No online courses, no investment seminars. I’m a ski racer, and I want to be one for as long and as intensely as possible.” Although it would appear that driving may be the only thing to distract him.