Anja Paerson kept the Overall World Cup lead.
In reaching her third consecutive podium since Soelden, Anja Paerson successfully defended her lead in the Overall World Cup standings. She was also happy to see that her slalom form has not suffered too much from her intensive speed training from last summer. So she was satisfied with her day.
“It was a real choc for my body when I skied yesterday,” she explained.
“So many days of feeling really sick, I felt much stronger this morning. The first run was really rough. It's so difficult to keep your skis down and to stay on the snow. To turn was a nightmare. I even had a hard time in staying on the course. It was not so much the crimpy snow…but the tough course and the hard conditions, worst than yesterday.”
To be on the podium
“After the first leg, I just wanted to reach the podium. My goal is to be on the podium in each competition. I was completely aware that I wasn't skiing my best run. I mostly aim to be consistent and to be there all the time and consistently score points. Even if I don't care too much at that stage of the season, I still know that I'm leading the Overall World Cup!”
“I don't put any kind of pressure on myself, either from me or from the people surrounding me. I know that when I really want I can win. I just need to ski the way I'm able to.”
“It's like Tanja Poutianen. She knows now how to do to be on the top. I was just waiting for the moment she will learn it. I know that it would come one day because it was the same for me. Once you have the key you get the rest.”
Total “rock & roll”!
“The second run was total “rock and roll”. I changed the skis. I needed sharper skis, yet after the 3rd gate I already knew that it wouldn't be an easy run. Even if I made some mistakes, I still tried to clock the fastest time. You shouldn't think while you're on skis otherwise you just ski out. I needed to give all I had, fight all way down. Stay positive, that's the key thing!”
“It showed today that you needed to be an experienced girl to be in the lead. Tomorrow I'll go there and try to win, in doing my best. I know what I'm able to do in training, just place it in racing. Of course, I'm still nervous. Most of the girls are struggling, because these races here are so difficult. I was myself very tired at the end of my 2nd run. It was hard to push myself. I wasn't having any energy left. I'll need to recover a little next week before the speed events in Canada.”
Manuèle Lang
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