15.02.2008 - 14:49 h

Overview of the first part of the season

It is useless to make excuses, the start to the World Cup season has not been what I hoped.

In January 2008 I expected I to have more points and better results enabling me to on par with the other racers by autumn. Our sport is strongly influenced by the frenetic numbers on the clock… never an absolute calculation. Take for example Solden where everything was looking good with a thirteenth place in the giant slalom and a satisfying third party place in one of the two runs at the race in Solden. Next, an incredible race at Lake Louise dealt us a fierce wind that nearly blew us all away. Soon after, a solid seventh place in the downhill at Beaver Creek gave me confidence. However, by December my results were not great. They included a 16th in the downhill and a 21st in the SuperG at Val Gardena, and finally a 15th in the downhill at Bormio – none netting the rankings that I know am capable of. I won’t even talk about my disappointing results in the giant slalom!

In my defence, I feel there has been a contributing factor to my less than spectacular results. New FIS rules have modified technical specs so I have had to spend some time getting in tune with the new materials. I hope though that these will eventually make a big difference in my performance.

I have to thank my wonderful fans for keeping me motivated. There is a long season and I still have plenty of time to mould man and ski for great results!

As I am writing this letter for my friends at SCI - I am putting the race in Adelboden behind me. It was a painful one! I was heading down the mountain and hit a gate hard, leaving me wounded and with a large bruise. The doctors advised me to take three weeks of total rest... ideal with a full January of races! As you read this, you already know if I am in bed or am racing again!

Now, concentrating on Wengen, the past is behind me, and this is a race I really like. It is a very difficult run but I generally perform well there. This time - pain or not - I hope to improve on my last performance. I do dream my first World Cup win will come soon and it would be a dream for it to be here.

Kitzbuhel is another mountain I like. Winning a race there would be equal to winning a world championship in my eyes. For various reasons –illness, snow cancellations – I have had little chance to show myself on this challenging run. Another mountain I think about is Chamonix. Even with its relatively easy slopes, I have never performed well there, but perhaps this is my year!

Maybe I need some help from my phenomenal cousin, Denise Karbon, a champion who recovered from serious injuries and surgery and has recently returned to the top. Maybe like Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, she can give me a little magic powder to help me fly ahead of everyone... after all my name is also Peter, right?







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