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Another
great win for Hermann Maier
“Yesterday, I lost the race
in the upper gliding section. If you
are slow there it’s difficult
to catch some time afterwards. Today
I was fast up there and then I made
some good turns, I had very good equipment.
It was a technically a good race for
me”.
“I lost a lot of training and
almost two seasons, and I had to train
very hard to find back momentum. The
goal is to find the right feeling.
For me to race here is the best training”.
The conditions changed so much between
the training run and today’s
race, that you can’t really be
relaxed at any moment, even if you
had great runs the day before. Ski
racing is tough. You have to find
the right combination between everything,
included equipment. It’s not
like biking on a hill. My bib number
was OK, for sure now I’ll go
up and up, but I can tell you that
if you are in good shape, it’s
like the bad visibility - it doesn’t
matter, with which bib number you
start”
”What I like the most about this
hill is that it’s technically
so demanding
that you don’t have a minute
to think about anything between the
gates. When there is a gliding section
you may think a lot, then you get
tired. It’s a gate-by-gate race,
then you have those jumps and no time
to relax, you are at the finish…”
“For sure I know the lines here,
the fastest from the past. And today
I took the exact one”.
“Last year at this time, my friend
opened a bar in Obertauern, and I
was watching the race drinking some
beers in thinking that maybe it will
never be possible for me to ever compete
again. It was tough! One year later,
I win the race here. It’s a big
dream for me. It changes so much from
last year to this year”.
“This year my goal will be to
go as fast as I can and get better
and better from race to race. Also,
I don’t want to think too much.
My coach and I didn’t imagine
that I would be winning a race so
early in the season”.
“It was a great performance in
Lake Louise, winning the Super-G,
and the training run was also great
here. It gives you some more confidence,
and this is important especially on
this downhill, you have to ski very
good at every turn, you can loose
so much time, but if you have great
self- confidence, you’ll be on
the podium for sure”.
“I don’t think at the Overall
Standings, I just want to look race
by race. It doesn’t mean anything
to be leading today, what about tomorrow?
If the last race would be tomorrow,
then it would look very easy for me.
But in giant slalom too, things are
not that easy to do”.
“The downhill is pretty much
the same than before, I did find everything
where I left it a few years ago. I
always think that I feel when I’m
more skiing on the left or on the
right side. But on this hill, everything
is normal - maybe something changes
on the mental part, a little bit”.
“Daron Rahlves is very strong
this year too. He’s making some
course records, but I think that this
will change by next year. Last year
he was 2nd in the downhill rankings
and he’s a top-favorite for sure.
He won Kitzbühel too! He’s
be the guy to keep an eye on”.
“
It’s not a disadvantage to set
records; it depends so much from the
weather conditions, every year can
be a total difference”.
“I guess for me now, I see how
hard it has become to win the race,
and how much work you have to do for
this result. To be strong physically
and mentally. It’s much better
now than before. I ski every race
100%, and I give my best”.
“For sure my shape is always
getting better, and for me it’s
important to train, every run has
its importance. I realize how much
work you have to do, I think before
everything seemed so easy for me.
I know was it means to win a race”.
“For sure, to be eventually passing
Marc Girardelli’s mark of 45
in the total of World Cup wins means
a lot to me. In such a small period
of time, and I lost almost 2 seasons.
It’s great!”
“This present for my birthday
is my best ever because I won a Super
G but I didn’t win a downhill
after my accident, so now, its’
done, and everything is perfect! For
sure tomorrow would be incredible
too, but I just want to enjoy my moment
now”.
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