Regardless of last year's record breaking season, Andrea Massi had difficulties to get Tina Maze start training again for the new season with the same enthusiasm. "Some think we're on a honeymoon. But it's not the way it is. You always have to motivate Tina."
The Olympic ski season kicks off this Saturday. As always the first stop will be on Austria's Rettenbach glacier near Sölden. Despite the warm weather the race is not under question. Last year Tina Maze stunned her competition in Rettenbach and announced an unforgettable season. How well is she prepared this year? Is Maze's competition copying her training methods? And will the attention this year shift from defending the big crystal globe to the Olympic Games? We talked with the head of Tina Maze's team, Andrea Massi.

What's your prediction for Saturday? Will Tina kick off the season as magnificently as last year, when she was a class better than the rest?

Anything is possible. In a positive or negative sense. I don't know how the others are skiing, but I presume they will be competi

tive. I'm especially referring to Anna Fenninger and Mikaela Shiffrin, who will also have a say in the giant slalom this year. The first race is unusual. It's difficult. The giant slalom race in Sölden is the most peculiar. You have to take into account the altitude, the length of the course, the particularity, the lower flat section, and the fact that it is the first race of the season, which means everyone will be nervous.

Do you think the competition copied your way of work?
I hope so. If they just copied without the foundation, they'll be making big mistakes. You need to have four or five years of continuity in place. If a skier is not prepared and starts training like Tina but doesn't have the right foundation, she'll sustain injuries in four months.
The fact that Tina hasn't had any injuries is surely due to the extraordinary physical condition she's in, for which you also deserve credit.
I don't like to brag. It's more a consequence of how she feels and the feeling she has inside. She knows when to hold back and when to stand up for herself during training. When she shouts I have to respect that. She always feels when she reaches the limit. She's an intelligent athlete.

So you're saying that you're not hiding anything, although your competition is probably closely watching how the best skier in the world is skiing.
I guess so, but Tina often has average ski performances during practice, so maybe then they're even more puzzled. If you really want to copy someone, you have to be with him/her for a full year and see the whole program. If you just see two ski runs, you don't learn a lot. Maybe during those two runs we focused on something special, maybe she had pain.

After last year's successful winter, was it hard to motivate her to start training with the same enthusiasm?
Of course it was. It's difficult to motivate any athlete after beating world records with such great margins. Some think we're on a honeymoon and that we're having fun, but you always have to motivate Tina. I've always suggested that someone else takes over her conditional training however she has never accepted the suggestion. But that's the way it is. I could never understand a coach with a low blood pressure during training.

What would you choose: a gold medal in Sochi or a new big crystal globe?
Both.

Is it possible for her to again dominate the world cup and also fulfill her wishes in Sochi and win a gold Olympic medal?
Ante Kostelić has a theory, that if you're after the big crystal globe it's hard to concentrate on world cup or Olympic game medals. I have a different opinion. Tina Maze proved last year that it is possible.

Have you thought about Tina missing out on some ski races before the Olympic Games so she could save her energy for Sochi?
We have thought about it, but I think that we won't skip any races. I know her well and I think she functions good at high frequencies. I know that if she's in good condition, she wouldn’t want to miss any races. And if she skis badly she would reorganize and want to compete again.

Maze’s new coach Walter Ronconi doesn't have an easy job. He has to train the best skier in the world. Isn't he in an ungrateful position, just like Pep Guardiola was when he came to FC Bayern?
I think Guardiola doesn't feel like he's in that kind of position. At the most he feels honoured that he's part of the team. Walter has to feel the same way. With an athlete like Tina every coach can get frustrated. We all feel that way because none of us has ever been a world champion.