Q&A with Benni Raich after his 30th career WC win

Eight years and a few months after winning his first World Cup race in the spectacular “Night Race” in Schladming, Benjamin Raich celebrated his 30th win Sunday in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria, where he won the slalom race ahead of Sweden’s Jens Byggmark and Italy’s Manfred Moelgg.
    The 29-year-old Tyrolian from Pitztal was pleased by his first win of the season yet he didn’t make a big deal out of it afterward while talking to the media after the post-race press conference.
Eight years and a few months after winning his first World Cup race in the spectacular “Night Race” in Schladming, Benjamin Raich celebrated his 30th win Sunday in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria, where he won the slalom race ahead of Sweden’s Jens Byggmark and Italy’s Manfred Moelgg.
     The 29-year-old Tyrolian from Pitztal was pleased by his first win of the season yet he didn’t make a big deal out of it afterward while talking to the media after the post-race press conference.
 
Ski Racing: Benjamin, how important is this 30th win for you – you are now in sixth position on the career wins list, only 10 wins behind Swiss legend Pirmin Zurbriggen?
Benjamin Raich: It’s fine of course, but I’m not so much a man of statistics you know. I live on a daily basis. The most important is to be successful, healthy and in good shape. Today’s win was important to me because I was aiming for a strong performance on this challenging slope in front of my fans. In fact, I felt a lot of energy when I was at the start after I heard them encouraging me at the finish line. It’s quite exciting and a strong boost for my morale too.   
    Regarding the amount of wins, it’s of course nice to have won so many races in past winters but I hope to add a few more in future. My goal is not to set records but to give my best when I’m racing. But for sure it’s a good feeling to belong to the group of top champions having won major competitions and medals.
 
Ski Racing: You seem to charge with even greater determination when it really counts — on home soil like in Schladming or in big races like at the Finals in Lenzerheide. Are you specially motivated in these cases?
Benjamin Raich: You always try your best, but sometimes it’s true that you are more focused and more aggressive in important situations. It’s also exciting to face the challenges of strong rivals as Byggmark or Moelgg who are in great shape for the moment. You surely concentrate on your own run but somewhere you feel the adrenaline and the desire to beat them at the start. It’s part of the game and it helps to make things more interesting for everybody.
 
Ski Racing: How important is it for a top champion to win demanding and prestigious “Classics” as Kitzbühel, Wengen, Adelboden or Alta Badia?
Benjamin Raich: For sure, winning difficult competitions means a lot for us, it’s nice to be on the winners list of those big races and so far I did well with several victories in most of them. Yet I’m still missing a win at Alta Badia so I’m looking forward to go back there this year. I’ll not compete in the downhill at Val Gardena this year so I’ll have more time to train. Maybe I’ll have more luck this time. I reached the podium in giant slalom a few years ago yet I’m still looking for my first win there. It’s a tough hill.

Ski Racing: You are not only leading the overall World Cup standings but also the slalom and the super G standings – quite an exciting position for you right now. What’s your feeling about it?
Benjamin Raich: It’s fun but it’s still early in the season and there are still many races left. I have now a huge experience in that competition so I know that it’s more important to be in shape in the final weeks. As I’ve often said, it’s not so much about adding points than trying hard to excel and win races. So far I’m pleased with my season start, my timing is good and I proved today that I can put two excellent runs together when it’s needed. I’ll surely try hard to remain in the lead in those standings but as said it’s more important to have it after the last race.
 
Ski Racing: How do you judge the chances of Switzerland’s Daniel Albrecht in the overall World Cup?
Benjamin Raich: He is for sure a tough rival because he is able to score great results in all specialties, including in slalom. We will see. Other skiers can also show up in coming weeks – it’s just a matter of achieving a series of great results and to add heavy points. I don’t worry too much about it for the moment.
 
Ski Racing: A few years ago, commentators said you had weak nerves because you often fail to win titles but you showed the contrary in recent seasons. What’s your comment about this?
Benjamin Raich: Yes, I know about this and I hope that my results in the last years prove that it has not been the case. When you charge and take risks it’s normal to sometimes ski out. I needed some time to find the right adjustments and achieve my potential. I don’t really care about this anymore. The pressure is part of our sport but maybe I’m too stupid to really feel it! I would say that I ski sometimes better and harder when there is a lot of pressure on me, including from myself.