"I want to win a World Cup downhill race with Slovenian skiers. We don’t put effort in training to be seventeenth or fret over winning any points at all."

That was Peter Pen’s answer to MMC’s question about his wishes for the new Ski World Cup season in the fast disciplines. Pen is the coach in charge of fast disciplines in the Slovenian men’s national ski team. After the giant slalom race in Sölden and the cancelled slalom in Levi, downhill skiers will get their first chance on Saturday in Lake Louise. The same venue will also host the Super G race on Sunday. There are five Slovenian skiers in Canada: Martin Čater, Klemen Kosi, Boštjan Kline, Rok Perko and Andrej Šporn. They will have their first training before Saturday’s downhill race on Wednesday. The Slovenians will be very motivated as in the end two of them will have to sit out the race.

The end of the week will see the start of the season of fast disciplines. Where are you training, how well are you prepared?
In the last few days we have been training at the Nakiska ski resort. Two days we practiced for the downhill, two days for the Super G, and one day for the giant slalom. I assess our trainings in comparison with the Italians as good. It is true though that the ski surface was not at a World Cup quality level.

How many days of training on snow will you have had until the first race on Saturday, compared to last year?
Since the end of July we will have had 56 snow days under out feet. Last year we had 47. We managed to pull it out, despite some difficulties. But there can be no excuses for there has been enough time for practice.

Many times skiers from Europe have difficulties adapting to snow which is different.
I wouldn’t put too much attention on the snow. Our boys have been there many times now. Lake Louise is a specific race. I don’t want to look for excuses, but we really have to be well prepared and we must not fall under the influence of the ski conditions there.

Can one tell that Slovenia’s skiers spent less time in the spring on snow compared to their competition? And does Andrej Jerman’s absence from the fast disciplines team show, as there are now not enough coaching assistants?
I have already presented what we should be doing in the spring and the attitude of Slovenia’s ski leadership towards assistants and servicemen to the expert council. But I do not wish to use that as an excuse. I have good co-workers, who wish to become even better. I have to do the best I can to cover the whole race course and give my skiers the needed information for the three or even more kilometers long course. In short, I have to find a way how to organize a quality training session with only four hands.

What is the situation with Andrej Šporn? At the October gathering in Sora near Medvode, you said he would make a return from his injury in January?
Šporn will start competing in Lake Louise, if he of course qualifies. We made a decision that he starts competing immediately, although you can notice the lack of training he has had. He has no more pains though, and no fear whatsoever.

Will the young Miha Hrobat and Štefan Hadalin also compete in the fast disciplines?
We will gradually start introducing "Hrobi" and "Štef" to some of the World Cup races in Europe, in the downhill, Super-G and combined disciplines.

What did the cooperation with Andrea Massi bring?
Improvement is visible. He hasn’t invented a new training method, but the skiers have reacted well on a mental and organizational level. A competitor is the reflection of his coach and the system. You know what kind of coach Massi is, and with our skiers you can see that on the snow.

What are your wishes before the new season?
I don’t like to talk about wishes. Children have wishes when they write letters to Santa Claus. I want to make a good skier. I want to win a World Cup downhill race with Slovenian skiers. We don’t put effort in training to be seventeenth or fret over winning any points at all. However, it would be absurd for me to say that I would want to win a race this year already in December. But we work in order to be the best, even if it takes six years.

What about our skiers, are they also as ambitious?
The boys work a lot and they invest a lot. If you want to be the darts champion on your street, you have to practice. Because of the presence and influence of capital (tourism, sports equipment manufacturers) Alpine skiing is a very competitive sport. We have our own internal goals. Last year we held partial talks with the boys about what they wanted to achieve, and this year we revived those talks. I wanted to hear what they want. When they train they’re ambitious, but the society they function in is such that they are beaten down time and time again. Alpine skiing is not only divided, is has been dismembered. There are too many interests involved. And our skiers, although least guilty, bear the consequences.

Which World Cup races do you like to travel to the most?
I prefer Europe the best, especially the January downhill races, when the enthusiasm intensifies. Logistically it is also the best. But also special are the February and March downhill events, of course if there is enough snow.

January brings Wengen and Kitzbühel, two big skiing spectacles. What would have to happen for other World Cup venues to also draw such attention from the sports public?
The International Ski Federation FIS makes a lot of money, but very little of it goes to ski associations and skiers. If I compare them to the Four Hills ski jumping tournament, taking into account the number of spectators, viewers, and the winner gets 5.000 euros. That’s similar to salaries in third football leagues. And in skiing, if you’re eleventh in Kitzbühel or Wengen, you get nothing. It’s ridiculous. The prize fund hasn’t changed since 1994. At the same time prices, travel costs and numbers of viewers have all changed considerably since then. FIS does its work well, but it gives too little.