The new season of the Alpine Ski World Cup kicks off this Saturday with the giant slalom event at the Rettenbach glacier, a place where Tina Maze has already won three times. Compared to last season, when Maze's primary focus were the Olympic Games in Sochi where she won two gold medal, this year she will again focus all her energy on the crystal globe. Maze gets along extremely well with the new coach in the team, Valerio Ghirardi, who replaced Mauro Pini. She doesn't seem to have any problems with the equipment. Andrea Massi, who fortunately enough did not leave the team, despite "threatening" to do so, has made sure that Tina Maze is in great physical condition, probably like no other skier at the moment. We can't imagine the aMaze team without him. We talked to this architect of Tina's success on Monday, that's five days before the glacier premiere. You will of course be able to watch the race on TV Slovenija 2 and on MMC. The ski commentator will be Miran Ališič.

In the last five, six days you've been training in Hintertux. What are the conditions like?
Today (Monday) we really had good practice on a 50-seconds long course. The terrain is similar to Sölden – a steep slope and then flat. On Tuesday we'll have a chance for some hard surface practice. After that we expect a change in weather, so we're still not sure what's going to happen. They expect quite a bit of new snow. Regarding Sölden, Tina is absolutely ready for anything. She loves the hard surface best, as that’s where she takes advantage of her physical strength.

Is the team nervous before the first race, considering that you didn't have any problems while preparing for the season?
We're certainly less nervous than we were last year. However the first race is always something special. There has to be some suspense. When you think that everything's alright, that's wrong thinking. Something unexpected can always happen. Take a look at Svindal. Absolutely foolish, but – it does happen.

Did you only practice for the giant slalom in Hintertux?
We also practiced the Super-G and the slalom. In the Super-G you look for quickness, in the slalom you're looking for frequency. It is however true that we mostly focused on the giant slalom.

One of Tina's goals this season is the slalom event. How's that coming along?
As I often like to say, we definitely have a lot more plastic to eat. That means – repeating the turns again and again on certain courses in different settings. If you haven't done 600 turns, you haven't done anything. It does sound simple. You need a lot of practice. That's why some skiers, who could also win points in the combined event, don't even consider the slalom. It's just too strenuous. Physically, it's probably the most demanding discipline.

Many skiers would probably want to comment on that statement…
When Tina practices for the fast disciplines, she says she rests. Measure the lactate levels in the bloodstream after a slalom practice and everything will be clear.

The World Cup season is very long. Do you have any objections regarding the calendar? Does it suit you to have the first race already in October?
That's an eternal question. It's OK for me as it fits nicely with our own program. Whenever we've performed poorly it was because of other reasons. Like for example because of the equipment or because we were not psychologically well-prepared. The coaching process was never wrong. So I have no objections regarding the date of the first race. There are plenty of other things that do bother me, but other people go to those decision-making meetings.

What exactly bothers you?
It's absurd that officials don't take into consideration the basic physiological principles. They don't know what jet-lag is and what it means to fly from one continent to another, something sports officials are well familiar with in football and tennis… Whoever represented Slovenia at that meeting, and I think it was Vlado Makuc, hasn't the faintest idea of what a professional athlete needs. When I find the time, I'll try go to those meetings myself.

However - the calendar is surely dictated by the biggest ski countries and one vote from Slovenia can't really make a big difference...
Really? We have a two-time Olympic champion, in the downhill and slalom disciplines. If I would go there, I wouldn't be going as a representative of a small country. The results certainly don't show it like that.

What will be the main focus this season? The World Ski Championship or the World Cup?
Most important is the health and well-being of the athlete. Tina Maze's career is already twelve years long, and it is our duty to ensure that for her. All other goals come after. My responsibility is to have her physically well-prepared. And I assure you that she is. My wish is that she becomes more relaxed, confident and enjoys what she does. She slowly realizes that in the last couple of seasons she has already achieved something historical, and so it is only right for this season to go by without any stress.

How much do you copy from Ante Kostelić? It looks like you have great admiration for him.
I don't copy Kostelić, I observe him. He's fascinating. Everybody sees him as someone who pushes his child to the extreme. However they haven't seen his whole concept of training, the difference in settings… He is a coach, who has a sort of culture. If I talk to him for five minutes, I learn more than from a university exam.

Some people attacked Ante Kostelić about the way he set the second course at the Olympic slalom. What do you think of that?
That's nonsense. Just take a look at who was on the winning podium. The best. I agree that the course setting was difficult and arrhythmic. I would set the course that way myself. That way the race is more interesting and you can clearly see which skiers know how to ski on all kinds of settings. To all those critics, who say it wasn't nice to watch all those skiers fall out of the race on TV, I have one thing to say: Skiing isn't ballet.

One day, will you put all your knowledge in a book?
I don't know yet. A book has to have some kind of order, and you know that my statements are sometimes a little confusing (laughter).