After a twenty-one-month break in the World Cup, do you have reason to be satisfied?
Halfway. There were races with which I was satisfied, for example the 20-kilometer fighter in Oberstdorf I was sad. Even the fact that he was ten seconds short of the elite fifteen… But you always want to go higher and try to find mistakes.
Photo: Barbora Reichová/Union of Skiers of the Czech Republic
Kateřina Razýmová (right) and Kateřina Janatová were ready to jump after the Tour de Ski.Photo: Barbora Reichová/Union of Skiers of the Czech Republic
After the Tour, you talked about the fact that you lack even more courage and penetration. Can it be learned?
With each race it gets better if I can hold a higher pace. Especially in the last two stages, I had the feeling that I started to finish unnecessarily late and that I could have started even earlier. But I was afraid that I wouldn’t understand and it wouldn’t be a problem.
You didn’t really know what to expect before you returned after giving birth. Did you surprise yourself with something?
It’s true that I couldn’t have had a harder start, it would be better to come back at some weekend World Cup, but it worked out that way and I was glad to be able to jump. And I was surprised that in the final I was much less tired than in previous Tours. Probably because the body was set in the mode that something is always happening, it doesn’t have time to adjust to rest and it’s better. Even the day after the Tour I feel at ease, even though the transfer to the cars was difficult.
Was there even a moment during the Tour when you would say to yourself: Great that I can race again?
For sure, that’s what I was looking forward to when the races started again. Of course, there will also be nervousness about what it will actually be like, but I think the return was successful.
The final slope of Alpe Cermis is a nightmare for many skiers, it obviously suits you, you even beat the overall winner Frida Karlsson on it…
I was afraid too, everyone is afraid of her, because you fight with your own ability to overcome pain. When you’re already driving, you tend to perceive how many switchbacks you still have ahead of you, but of course it hurts. I had the advantage that I had already gone up several times, Frida for the first time.
With the help of your husband, who also trains you, how did you combine racing with taking care of your daughter?
Of course, he took care of us during our races, I am very grateful to him for that. But we lived together, we tried to alternate and were either in the room or out with the stroller.
The tour is demanding in terms of moving and changing the environment, even a small one wasn’t a problem?
She handled the transfers the best of us, she slept through most of them… (smile) She was really nice.
She arrived at the top of Alpe Cermis behind you in a pram, my husband must have been sweating.
We joked that he could ride the Chariot (stroller)but I don’t know if he would be such a hero… (Laughs) Finally, they took advantage of the opportunity to go up the cable car with a folded stroller.
How did your opponents react to your return? They probably don’t often see babies at races…
I think I was the first to complete the Tour with a baby. For example, Russian women returned after giving birth, but left the children at home with their husbands or nannies. We tried not to take the little one to the area around the start and the finish line, but the girls I’m friends with came to watch, it was nice.
After your return, did you also notice how the Czech team moved? Tereza Beranová, Michal Novák, Kateřina Janatová also achieved quality results…
He has certainly moved on in the last few years. There were seasons when, for example, no one even scored points, now several people can drive in the top fifteen. This is also good from the point of view of healthy rivalry and motivation, as well as for ensuring that their work has meaning.
