Athlete

When you have won everything in your career, what's left? Why go on?

It's good to ski for fun, but I still want to win races as often as possible.

This time, I took it easier. I stood up before it so as not to crash again.

It was really tough to race the GS a day after the downhill, but that's over now. I'm looking forward for the rest of the season which is also quite interesting.

I still have many goals left, especially the Overall World Cup standings.

It's good to ski for fun, but I still want to win races as often as possible.

My attitude on skis is different now. I have learned to put less pressure on myself and on the edges of my skis when I'm racing, to be keep myself more under control.

When I was a child, all I wanted was to enter the Austrian team and to compete on the World Cup tour. I had to fight hard to reach this. I wanted badly to win each race.

It was necessary to organize my career to remain at the top level until Salt Lake City.

I sat down with my trainers to check my past seasons and to see what could be done to keep me motivated and in good shape. I had to find a new motivation, a new momentum.

Franz Klammer was my great idol in my younger years.

The crowd is wonderful. There is always a superb atmosphere in the finish area. It's good for the World Cup. I missed it a lot when I had to rest and it's so nice to be back here.

There is no pressure on me, I can take a lot of risks in the coming weeks. I feel free to ski the way I decide on race-day because the overall title was not my main target this winter.

It's funny to have become an elegant skier now. But my drive is still the same.

At my age, you need to verify that everything is fine. I put a lot of pressure on my body, and I feel sometimes pain in my back and in my knees, so I have to be sure that I can keep on training hard before going on.

If I remain healthy, I can win more races, but I don't think so much about setting new records. I'm already proud to have become the leading Austrian World Cup racer.

I planned to stop in 2002 after the Salt Lake City Olympics. I felt able to remain competitive another four years, and I wanted to stop while I'm still at the top.

I still have many goals left, especially the Overall World Cup standings.

I lost races because I wanted too much to win them in beating my rivals.

I'm happy to belong to this group of top champions having excelled here.