If she is relaxed, she will also take the slope of Solden quickly

Giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier over Sölden (women’s Saturday, men’s Sunday; broadcast on TV SLO 2) opens the new season of the Alpine Ski World Cup again this year. The girls have 42 matches scheduled at 20 different venues, including in Kranjska Gora (two giant shows on January 7 and 8). 11 downhill races, 9 super giant slalom, 10 giant slalom, 11 races and 1 parallel race are waiting for them. Just like last year, defending champions Michaela Schiffrin and Petra Velhova are expected to battle it out for the big crystal globe. The Slovenian national team enters the season with weakness, Andrea Slokar (the season is already over for her), Mita Hruvat and Tina Rubnik are injured. Only Anna Bosik and Nega Dvornik will perform at Sölden. Right before the start of the season, we had a short chat with Anna Boucek (I trained at Val Senalis for the past two days).

You trained well in Argentina this summer and you look very optimistic ahead of the season. What is the most satisfying achievement at Sölden?
I don’t have a goal for Solden’s result this year. It’s the first game so it’s hard to predict anything, because I don’t know how prepared the rest of the girls are. Above all, I want to transfer the good runs from training to the match.

You haven’t had much success on that slope, in 2020 you were 21st, which is your best achievement. Why doesn’t the terrain suit you?
It’s true that I haven’t been able to put together two good, fast rides in Solden, but I can’t say the terrain doesn’t quite suit me, because it also has a lot of stuff written on my skin. I’ve had quite a few good rides this year, so I need to relax in the first race and ride as much as I can. I think with a good practice run, she’ll also be able to take the incline quickly.

I’ve been competing in Sölden for 10 years. I first performed in 2012, when Tina Maze won. What are the memories of Tina’s winning and your performance?
I remember the first match at Sölden as a great opportunity and something new for me at the time. I have always admired Tina’s ability to adapt so well to different roads and circumstances. I hope to get as close to her good skating as possible.

Snow is expected on Saturday on the Rettenbach glacier. Rain, and only more in the afternoon. However – it may happen that the rule is loosened. Do you expect it to be the hardest to be among the best?
This year I will start the race from a good starting position, so I’m not worried about the conditions. It will surely be possible to ski well no matter the weather.

You can probably expect more slalom this year as well. You confirm that you learned a lot from Petra Velhova and Michaela Schiffrin. Where else did you look for reserves in tech or in line?
There are always little things that could be improved. I think I can learn something from every skater. I focused myself on good technique, and in the last exercises I also tried to shorten the streak a little. However, this is the first match, so some corrections are also waiting for us in training after Sölden.

Is there anything else you have improved compared to last season?
I can say this year I’m more consistent in giant slalom training as well. My main task is to increase the number of good iterations and reduce errors. That comes with good practice and a lot of good roles.

When I turned 30, I became more ambitious, footballer Karim Benzema said when he won the Ballon d’Or on Monday. At around the age of 30, how do you feel about your ambitions? Did you think completely differently when you were 20 than you do now? Are you already completely satisfied with what you have achieved?
I definitely think differently today than I did about 10 years ago. I’ve always had ambitions, but I can say that at the moment I’m more motivated year after year and I’m striving for new goals. Hidden desires must remain hidden.