Strolz and the departure

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Johannes Strolz was also a downhill racer in the last World Cup season.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Johannes Strolz has returned to the world elite in slalom this season, making it into the top 15. In an interview with "Krone", the Vorarlberg native revealed how relieved he is, how the season will continue for him and what his plans are for the speed disciplines.

After the end of the World Cup season, the next training units on the way to becoming a state ski instructor were on the agenda for Olympic champion Johannes Strolz. From Wednesday, there is more racing excitement in store: First up are the police championships in Montafon, Vorarlberg, before the Austrian championships on the Reiteralm.

Krone: Johannes, how relieved are you to have finished the World Cup season in the top 15 of the slalom World Cup rankings? 
Johannes Strolz: It was very important for me to regain stability, which worked very well. The fact that I managed to get back into the top 15 is really great and I've also achieved one of my big goals for the season.

You are a racer. How difficult was it to take a step back so as not to drop out and score the necessary points? 
It was anything but easy, as you still have to attack in most of the passages. Getting to grips with this interplay, this switching, was difficult at times. But I managed it well and I felt better and better. Which was good and particularly good for me: That after the races in Chamonix and Aspen, where I noticed that things were getting better and better, I still remained patient and didn't try to force it. And then in Aspen, thank God, this fourth place turned out.

Johannes Strolz has been more consistent this slalom season than ever before.

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Before this winter, you had never finished more than twice in a row in the slalom in the World Cup. Now you've scored nine slaloms in a row. 
Yes, that was indeed by far my most stable season in the World Cup. But that's not just down to slowing down. This year things simply went in a good direction in all areas. We worked a lot on the technique, the base. But also on making sure I have a better choice of line, that my turns are more precise. We tried a lot with the material - and in the end we made progress. I also noticed that I reached a different level of communication with my service man Benedikt Auinger. The second year was much more natural and last year's work has now borne fruit.

What's next for your downhill career? 
We haven't finalized anything yet. But I'll be sitting down with the coaches soon to discuss the whole thing. How things have gone this year and what the prospects are for the future. As I've often said, this is a long-term project. But it's certainly important to weigh up how much time you invest when you invest it.

What other races are on your schedule this season? 
On April 4, I'm competing in the police championships in the slalom on the Golm and at the national championships on the Reiteralm I'm racing the downhill and super-G.