Peter Prevc walked away with a silver and gold medal from this year's Nordic World Ski Championships in Predazzo. Before the first stop of this year's Ski Jumping World Cup in Klingenthal, we "refreshed our vocabulary" with Prevc and talked about what to expect in the upcoming season and how difficult the first jump on the snow will be. We also touched on his memories of Janne Ahonen and the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Press conferences before every first day of competition are usually the same. Nobody actually knows how good he really is. You all say: let's wait for the first jumps...

Nobody has anything concrete to say, because nobody has done a yet. Nevertheless I welcome our meetings because we do need to refresh our vocabulary.

All the same please tell us how well you're prepared.

It's hard to say, because I haven't compared with anyone. There are oscillations, but it's always like that. I feel good though. My jumps on ceramics were at a high level. I also found out a few other things during my special dry training that can help me out. But Klingenthal will of course give a real indication of where I am and what I've gained.
The national team is heading off to its first competition without a day of training on the snow. Will that be a problem?
In the last couple of years I’ve never had any problems crossing over to snow. I expect it to be similar this year. I'm optimistic. Snow is after all the surface on which we all feel better. It would be more difficult if we would cross from snow to plastic.

Last season you were great. You won two medals at the Nordic World Ski Championships and you finished 7th in the overall world cup ranking. Are you more relaxed because of that, or is just an additional burden?
You can't be relaxed. A set myself a big burden last year, but I tried to use that to train better and now I just can't wait for the season to begin. Since April 21st I've been putting all my energy into training, so why not give everything you've got when competing as well.

"Give everything you've got"? The culmination of the season will be the Olympic Games. Isn't it all focused towards Sochi and won't you be stepping up your form for that?
And what if I win at the first jumps of the season? I'll have nothing to step up then. You have to go into every competition 100%.

So you'll be attacking the top spots from the very beginning, and maybe even get your first victory?
I won't promise anything, but get ready for anything.

You're obviously very self-confident...
Well, if you're overconfident that's not good. You have to keep your feet on the ground and just push yourself during training. If you're overconfident, then you think everything is going to happen without the extra effort.

Have you ever criticized yourself for not giving your maximum at a competition?
No. Moreover you see how you could have changed your preparations for a competition. But that comes with experience. You learn from your mistakes. The bigger the mistake, the more you learn.

Did you do more jumps than last year in the preparation stage?
Yes. There was also more physical training. But I didn't complain. When you "fall in" and then start doing lighter training exercises, it can also become a bit boring. In short, I welcomed the additional training, even though at the beginning I could hardly walk.

Do you think the competition will be tougher this season?
They were all close already in the summer. In the winter they'll be even closer.

It will be a long season. Will you be able to keep going, or will you need to skip an event in order not to be too tired for Sochi?
My coaching team will decide about that.

If you were tired would you tell that to your coach Goran Janus? Would he respect your opinion?
He would, but first he would ask if I needed any tissues to cry in.

The season starts in Klingenthal at the end of this week. This autumn you did a lot of jumps there, also in the Continental Cup. Why did you go there and not at the Grand-Prix event in Hakuba?
Grand-Prix ski jumping events in Asia have never appealed to me. On the other hand continental cups do me good as there's not too much media and pressure. But you can add these pressure factors inside your head and try out a few psychological things.

Your summer season was not really successful. It's as if you didn't take it seriously...
I definitely took it seriously but it just didn't turn out the way I wanted. I did try out some different things and different approaches to a competition, to see what suits me best. I certainly got something positive out of it.

What's your experience like with the ski jumping hill in Klingenthal?
It's mixed. One time I like it, another time it seems to be a difficult ski jumping hill. Everything there changes for me so quickly. It's a challenge to constantly jump well there. It is motivating though that my last jump at Klingenthal was pretty good.

Do you think it would be better to begin the season as before in Kuusamo in the north of Finland?
Hm, the dilemma here is whether it's better to have a big crowd at a competition or a winter atmosphere. I would prefer Kuusamo. That it's cold and icy and you immediately get used to the winter conditions.

The Slovenian Ski Association still owes you some prizes from last year. It's also unusual that they only now signed the contracts with their ski competitors. Did that disturb you?
I wasn't really preoccupied with that, but it is true that you do think about it and you're not really peaceful.
The legendary Janne Ahonen is back in competition. How do you remember him?
Last time he won the Ski Jumping New Year Tour he was my idol. When he finished competing he was still near the top and he was still my idol. Then he returned, after what he quit again, and now he's back. He lost my trust a little, for he's a man that doesn't hold firm to his decisions. Considering how well he was prepared this summer, you have to watch out for him.

At the Vancouver Olympic Games you looked very experienced, although only 17. Don't you feel the pressure at big events?
Some fall under pressure and I don't know why that doesn't happen to me. Maybe because I'm young and not too preoccupied with things. Or maybe because I go into every event 100% and stop thinking about the competition level. The pressure is then smaller even at the biggest events.

Is there anything that can take away your concentration before a competition?
Nothing. I am in my own world then and no one can distract me. And it's better that way.

What if one of your competitors gives you a mean look?
I give him an even meaner one.

But your memories of Vancouver 2010 are nice, right?
Of course, I fondly remember those games. You meet great athletes which are all in the same place. The importance of the event makes your eyes bigger, but when I met legendary athletes my eyes nearly fell off. However I don't carry a lot of impressions with me. I don't like to look back. I rather look ahead.