INTERVIEW: Hoefl-Riesch goes to Sochi dreaming of more Olympic gold

By Christian Kunz Feb 15, 2012, 4:21 GMT

Munich - Maria Hoefl-Riesch faces the first ski races on the Olympic slopes of Sochi on the weekend and wouldn't mind retiring after the 2014 Games there with another gold medal around her neck.

'Of course you think about it. It would be wonderful to get another gold there, my third Olympic gold medal. If this dream comes true it would probably be the right time to quit,' Hoefl-Riesch said in an interview with the German Press Agency dpa.

The 27-year-old is rated the top skier on the women's circuit along with American rival Lindsey Vonn.

Hoefl-Riesch won slalom and super-combined Olympic gold 2010 in Vancouver, has a slalom world title from 2009, won the overall World Cup last season and has 21 World Cup race wins.

This season she trails Vonn by a huge margin in third place with one victory and six further podiums.

But the Olympic test events, a downhill and a super-combined just as the men on the past weekend, will give her a first taste of what to expect in two years' time on the Caucasian slopes.

'Of course you think about the Olympics. It was the same at the World Cup in Whistler. Those were also new slopes we competed on two years ahead of the Vancouver Games.

'That's why it is special to ski in Sochi now. I am very curious and hope to befriend the course quickly,' she said.

'A new downhill is always exciting. Most of the World Cup races take place on the same slopes. The Sochi piste is new for all top skiers. A top athlete must be good on all slopes, regardless if they are steep, flat, for gliders or technically challenging. You see that with Lindsey, she is top on every terrain.

'We hear that the Sochi piste is not overly difficult. The start is to be a little steeper and then it continues rather flat. It means you have to glide well and chose the right equipment.'

Back in 2008, Hoefl-Riesch won the super-combined in Whistler but failed to finish in the downhill before achieving her biggest career success in 2010.

'I think about it (the 2010 Olympics) very often. That was my career highlight. It would be great to experience it again,' said Hoefl-Riesch, who doesn't rule out a repeat in Sochi.

'Why not? Of course everything has to come together, the form must be good and everything must go well. But it doesn't make sense to plan ahead over such a long period,' she said.

Hoefl-Riesch said in the past that the World Cup title means more from a sporting point of view but that the Olympics still remain the biggest event of them all.

'Olympic Games are definitely the greatest thing. I only realized that after the Olympics, what the success means, what consequences it had and still has.

'The Olympics are simply the global sports event. Even if it is just one race compared to the World Cup,' said Hoefl-Riesch.

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