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Interviews Interview with Riitta-Liisa Roponen: "Now is my time to do better" |
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| 13.11.2010 | ||
Interview with Riitta-Liisa Roponen: "Now is my time to do better"Info: Weitere Sportlerinterviews und Terminplan | Langlauf Testwettkampf Muonio (FIN)Autor: Cyrill Oracz, Johann Reinhardt Live-Wintersport.com was able to interview the Finnish cross-country skier Riitta-Liisa Roponen. Since the retirement of Virpi Kuitunen, she is Finlands great hope for a succesfull Worldcup. Roponens best saison was certainly 2006/2007 when she won her first Worldcup race and first Gold in Team sprint with Virpi Kuitunen. In 2009 she won another Gold medal with Finnish relay. In our interview she talks about her training in summer in Ramsau and her goals for the upcomming season. Up to now, you won all your medals on large events in relay and team sprint. Is a place on the podium in a single competition one of your goals for the next world championship, too? Of course. I am really confident now and I really look forward to Holmenkollen 2011. Which of your medals is the most important? The Olympic bronze medal from Vancouver. It was finally the chance for us four girls to ski together. Of course, the first victory with Virpi (Kuitunen) in sprint relay is also an important event, which I remember very well. How would you judge your achievements at the Olympic Games in Vancouver 2010? My goal was a medal in an individual race, but I finished “only” in 6th place. But I´m happy about this position, because I got fever just the day before the 10km race, so only 10s behind a medal place was a very good result. In relay I skied very fast. In pursuit I had very bad skis, so let’s not mention this race anymore. So overall, this were pretty good games for me. What are your memories of the Olympic village and the surroundings? I enjoyed being there. It was nice to meet these different sport athletes from all over the world. Did you test something new or did you convert your training, because the Olympic Games are over and a new circle started? The basic training is quite the same, but sure, we wanted to change something to be even better during the upcoming season. During your summer training you were for a couple of weeks in Ramsau. How did you shape the first part of your summer training and how you combined it with the practice in Austria? I love to training in Ramsau! Actually, I was there in this summer season for seven weeks. I have had some small injuries during this summer, but luckily I could do everything what we had planned. Here, in the middle of Europe, are different kinds of mountains like we have in Finland. So I did a lot of roller ski training on long uphill. In your native country Finland, you have the ideal conditions for direct preparations for the first world cup race. Could you please describe your training in the months October and November? I came home from Ramsau on 3rd October and stayed there and trained for two weeks. On 20th October I arrived at Lapland. I have been lucky, because the training conditions have been great for the whole stay. I think that Finnish Lapland is the best place for training in that time of the year. During the first 4 weeks I trained 80 hours and now, a week before the WC starts, I do a little less training, but I do speed training and test new skis. The whole stay in Lapland takes more than a month. What test races will you participate in until the beginning of the world cup season and how valuable are they for you in your preparations? I will take part in two races before WC. Usually I need quite many competitions to get in my best shape, but this year, the world championship is later than usual. So I believe that every race before the WC is only a preparation to Holmenkollen, where I will be in my best shape during the upcoming season. What are your goals in the next season? Do you concentrate on the championship or rather on the Tour de Ski? My goal is the Championship. I have been 5th, 6th and 7th in previous championships and now is my time to do better! Sure, I still will ski Tour de Ski. I have noticed that after those races my form is getting better, so I take the Tour de Ski as a good training period for me. You gained respectable achievements in both freestyle and classic races. What has a good allrounder-athlete to do different in comparison to one specialized on a discipline? I do exercise both techniques at 50% and even when I do better results in freestyle, I still like to do training in the classic style a lot and I feel that this way I am getting better in freestyle as well. I don’t do any specific sprint training, but I like to do some free sprint competitions to get my body in shape. Did your role in your team changed, since the retirement of Virpi Kuitunen? No. Only that now I’m the oldest in our team. But luckily I still look very young. How did you come to your sport cross country? It was by natural choice. My parents like to ski, so my first contact with snow was when I was three years old. My first race took place when I was 4 years old. And I love competing. |
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13.11.2010 | |
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