6 questions with downhill ace Dominik Paris

With an outstanding second half of the season, Italy’s Dominik Paris was a serious contender for the downhill title, but a crash in the training run before the last race ended his chances to grab his first globe. How is he doing now? What were his feelings throughout the winter and what are his goals heading into the 2016-17 season? The South Tyrolean took some time to answer six key questions for the communications team at FIS.

First of all, how are you feeling after your crash in St.Moritz? You didn’t participate in the final super-G and in the Italian Championships. Was it a precaution or is the injury more serious than expected?
I’m OK. I’m feeling good again. I suffered a rupture of muscle fibers and couldn’t start in the last races of the season, but it’s fixed now.

The World Cup Finals must have been an emotional roller coaster for you. You came into St.Moritz with two downhill wins in a row and a good chance to grab your first career globe, then you crashed in the training and couldn’t ski at your full potential in the race. Your teammate Peter Fill took the first downhill globe for Italy. How did you handle these up and downs?
In our sport, things can go up and down very quickly. It’s part of the game. I don’t let this affect me, and always try to look forward and keep fighting.

What an incredible end of the season for you. At the beginning of the winter you were good and consistent, but struggled to hit podium spots. It looks like something changed in February in Jeongseon. In the 10 remaining races you participated in, you finished on the podium six times, including two victories. How do you explain this?
I don’t know exactly. At the beginning of the season, I had little setup problems, and I was missing the necessary confidence. But as the races went on, I got more and more assurance. And in Jeongseon, I felt really good and could attack 100 percent. I didn’t expect it, but it worked out right away.

Your 10 career downhill podiums came in 10 different venues, so you can handle pretty much any type of condition. But where do you see your downhill strengths? What kind of course do you like the most?
I’m not sure of where my strengths are. I think I’m able to adapt to the conditions and the track, and that’s what makes me fast. The flat parts also suit me pretty good. My favorite races are Kitzbuehel and Bormio.

Besides your third place in the downhill standings, you also grabbed your first alpine combined podium and ended fourth in the discipline ranking, only four points off the podium. Is this something you want to focus on next season? Do you like slalom and the challenge with two different disciplines? Or are you a pure “speed guy”?
The main focus will stay on the speed disciplines. I like slalom. It’s fun to ski the short turns, but I don’t think I’ll target the alpine combined. Even though I’d like to improve in the tech disciplines, I’m definitely more of a speed guy.

Tell us about your summer plans up to the World Cup opening in Soelden. What is Dominik Paris doing when he’s not on the ski slopes? And what’s your favorite part of summer training?
Basically, my summer plans are training plans. I’ll do a short break for holidays, but the rest of the summer I’ll be training and looking forward to the winter and being back on the skis.

Release courtesy of FIS