Placing 14th at the downhill event in Kitzbühel, 23-year-old Kosi brought a ray of hope for Slovenia’s male alpine skiing. He arrived at the most important race of the World Cup full of confidence without any fear. It was the last event before the World Ski Championships and Kosi won his first downhill points in the World Cup. With that he proved that Slovenia still has a skier capable of achieving good results in the future.

Your progress is good. Especially if we take into account that in the first race of the season in Lake Louise you were 62nd!
When I looked at the scoreboard in Lake Louise and saw only one name behind me, I was so disappointed. I thought to myself: I put so much effort into this, so many expectations… and what a beginning. But then at Beaver Creek I was close to winning points, I was constantly also getting better at practice, and I arrived in Kitzbühel full of confidence. During the last two seasons I would always arrive in awe, but this time I was only afraid of one thing – that I wasn't afraid. I kept wondering what was wrong. I missed the adrenalin. When you're at the start of the Streif ski run, your heart beats faster by the minute. I don't know what happened. Maybe it's all thanks to the little boy I saw skiing prior to the race, he impressed me so much.
The preparation of the skis is an important part of a downhill race. Are you happy with your ski technician and with the Atomic brand?
My skis were optimally prepared and I'd like to thank my ski technician. After the race in Wengen I felt really bad, because I was disqualified for having slalom skis one millimeter above the allowed. But that also happens. I didn't worry about it too much, although I did lose my 11th position. I believed that it was just destined to be that way. And now I have received confirmation that my skis are the way they should be. I did think about changing my ski technician. Earlier in my career I always changed the brand I was using after three years. After last year's season another three-year period came to an end and I already thanked Atomic for our cooperation. But then I changed my mind. And on Friday in Kitzbühel in the Super G event I was fastest in the diagonal traverse.
You have a quite unusual story about your skis from last year's Olympic Games. What happened there?
I saved my best two pairs of skis for the Olympic Games in Sochi. I used those skis at the Youth World Championships in 2011. And then during warm-up I broke the ski edges on my first pair. During the race the ski edges on my second pair of skis also failed, although it is true that I did make a mistake – I skied right over one of the gate poles. We all definitely gave our maximum.

You're probably also happy not to have to cover your costs at the upcoming World Ski Championships in Vail ...
My costs are covered because I have the A-norm. Otherwise I would have had to cover my travel costs and flight tickets. And those are big costs for me, as I have no regular income.
How much did you earn by finishing 14th in Kitzbühel?
2.000 francs.
Is that your biggest prize so far?
Five or six year ago I won 2.000 euros and a Šarplaninec shepherd dog for winning the Šarplaninski Cup in Macedonia.
Interesting. What kind of competition is it?
It's combination of slalom and giant slalom races. The first day you have two slalom runs, and the second day you have two giant slalom runs. A lot of fans come to watch the races. Believe me when I say that it feels much better competing there then in Lake Louise, where there's no one. When I crossed the finish line they immediately put a microphone under my mouth. At the award ceremony the winners’ podium collapsed and we all fell in the snow.
How did you bring your Šarplaninec dog to Slovenia?
Bojan Križaj helped me. He was invited at the competition as promoter for the event. There weren't any problems in Macedonia, no real checks while getting on board the plane. It was like going to Maribor by train. So I managed to "smuggle" the dog into the passenger area. I was carrying him in a small dog crate, which I covered with a winter jacket. He was right next to me on the seat the whole time and luckily he didn't bark. In Slovenia it was more difficult though, customs officers work at a higher level. Luckily Bojan Križaj helped me out with his connections. I hope I won't be arrested now and put in jail for revealing all this. Let them at least wait until I come back from the World Championships.
Do you still have that dog?
I gave it to my then-coach Dušan Javnik, who is also a winegrower and has plenty of room. The dog is now as big as a cow and looks like a bear.