First of all, congratulations on your sprint race. I know you were hoping for more, but your result is still impressive.
You finished second in the prelim. Did your prelim finish affect your approach to the heats? Does it give you more confidence, or add more pressure, or not change anything?
For me, having a fast prelim only adds confidence for the heats. It makes you know that you can ski faster than the guys your up against and also gives you the fist lane choice in the quarterfinals. Their are so many fast skiers over here that no matter where you qualify there will be tough racers in your heats but thats what makes it so exciting. Its a little like gambling and getting the luck of the draw in the first heats but I think that makes it more fun too.
Tell us about your quarterfinal heat. You had a tough group of skiers. What was your strategy, and how did it play out?
It was a tough heat but I think I had as good a chance as any with that group of skiers. My strategy was to take control and if I was in the lead at the top of the hill to do a stop and go type of thing to get a gap into the downhill. I knew If a got a gap it would come back together on the downhill but that I could still remail in front. Unfortunatly three skiers were able to get by on the transition. I tried to pass back Tobias going up the gradual hill into the stadium, but prabubly should have tried to be more patient and wait until the lanes to make my move. Live and learn right?
Sprint racing is unpredictable. The fastest skier isn't always the one who wins. Over the past year or so, you seem to have figured out how to advance through the heats at the highest level of competition. Do you enjoy the unpredictability? Does it get frustrating at times?
I do enjoy the unpredictability of sprint racing but its not frustrating. Anything can happen in a sprint but when you look at guys like Lind their just so good at staying out of trouble and being aware of their surroundings that more often than not they make it all the way to the final, and there is no luck in that. I think my time will come with more practice racing against these guys.
You mentioned in another interview that your long-term goal is a medal in 2010, but you were hoping maybe you could get that medal four years early. How would you sum up your Olympic experience?
Last year if you would have asked me if I had a chance at a medal here I would have maybe said yes but deep down I don't think I would have really believed myself. This years results have been such a big step up from last year that its given me the confidence to actually know that I had a chance at the podium here in Torino and thats a great feeling. So in a way this was just a bonus in working towards a medal in 2010, so I'm really looking forward to continuing to butt heads with these guys through the world cups and World Championships next year.
What is your plan for the rest of the season?
We have three more world cups scheduled this year Sweden, Norway, and China and I'm really shooting to make it into another final and take onther stab at a world cup podium. After the world cups I'll make it home in time to head up to spring series and get in some solid racing.
