Even now I have that picture in my mind, posted by Tina Maze on Facebook during the Olympic Games in Sochi: all the members of the team, each sitting in one of the Olympic circles - Andrea Vianello in the blue circle, Nežka Poljanšek in the yellow, Andrea Massi in the black, Mauro Pini in the red and Tina Maze in the green circle. And the caption under the photo - for this team only the sky is the limit.

A tormenting end to the season
We are also used to Tine Maze's team being in heaven at one point, and then sliding down into hell at the next. Despite winning two gold Olympic medals, Maze's season ending is tormenting. At the World Cup stop in Are, Tina Maze missed her last chance to fight for the big crystal globe. Harsh words were said at the downhill race in Lenzerheide. Tina has once again wrapped herself in silence.

Tina's look says "nothing is alright"
When Andrea Massi congratulated Tina in the finish arena for finishing third place in the super-G on Thursday, there was a great divide between them. Tina’s sunglasses weren't as dark and her look gave the impression that nothing was alright. Then Andrea Massi spoke. He spoke about his great respect for Tina Maze and her accomplishments, about the difficult lifestyle, about not regretting last year's record-breaking season. He said the Olympic gold medals were priceless and that he would never trade them for a crystal globe, and then he added (at first casually, and then when asked again he repeated the same thing), that this was maybe his last World Cup final race, and that he might say farewell.

Massi: a man has to know when to walk away
His words sounded very convincing: "I know I make her life hard, but I have no other choice. For me personally it is very stressful. I risk everything everyday – my career in sports, my health, the relationship I have with her which is always at stake. I see people which don't realize when it's time to walk away and they're funny. A man has to know when to walk away." That certainly is true, but the statement doesn't necessarily imply an end to the Maze-Massi relationship.

As the head of the Team to aMaze added, he will make a final decision on whether to step down at the end of the season. Currently he's focused on Saturday's slalom race. It may also be possible that he remains in the team but in another role and carry on with just a few of his old tasks. At the moment he carries everything on his shoulders – from leading the physical condition training to finding sponsors, from handling the media to finding adequate training grounds.

It’s not necessary that the changes will be so drastic
The team has been going through some difficult times and a statement like this should be taken with caution. Maybe it's a motivation tactic. However it still seems likely that things within the team will change once the season ends. But then again, it's not necessary that the changes will be as drastic as they may seem today.