Kristina Koznick discusses Santa Caterina, her program and crash video

Kristina Koznick discusses Santa Caterina, her program and crash videoKristina Koznick of the United States finished second last week at the World Cup slalom at Santa Caterina, Italy, where the world championships will be held in just two weeks. The American tech ace, who is skiing independently from her own national team this year, has clearly bounced back from a brutal crash before Christmas in St. Moritz. Following the awards ceremony in Santa Caterina, Koznick began packing her bags for a training session in Austria. Between two songs on her i-Pod (U2’s “Vertigo” and The Who’s “Baba Oreilly”), she was able to hear the ringing of her cell phone, and have a brief chat with Ski Racing’s Nathaniel Vinton.

Ski Racing: Congratulations on your podium. What was it like?
Koznick: The conditions were really good. It was hard-packed so it held up for everybody. I won the first run, which was a goal of mine. That was awesome. It was nice to have accomplished a goal before the full race was even over… But I made a few mistakes on the top of the second run, and that’ll be 15 hundredths, I guess.”

Ski Racing: So, now you know what to expect at the world championships in early February. What’s the slalom hill like?
Koznick:It’s mild in a way, nothing too steep. But there are so many rolls, and sidehills. It’s fun. I think I’d have fun on that hill no matter what kind of course is set on it. There will be a lot of angles. It reminds me of Lillehammer, the way it rolls. I really like it.

Ski Racing: You got pretty banged up at St. Moritz.
Koznick: It was bad. I cracked ribs and bit my tongue. After the GS at St. Moritz, when I got hurt, it set me back a little bit. It was a pretty nasty crash. Definitely one of the worst I’ve taken. I caught my chin on a gate. It set me back in GS and now I’m ready to get back in attack mode. This podium helps. It felt like I’ve been on the bottom of the roller coaster for a few weeks now, so it feels good to be up again.” [Ed. note: Koznick is now posting videos at her popular website, including this one of her St. Moritz crash.]

Ski Racing: Is this podium better than the one at Aspen in November?
Koznick: It feels really good. It was more of a ‘deserved’ podium. The conditions were good for everybody, and it was a race from the beginning to the last racer of the day. And, it was more rewarding than Aspen because I was closer to first. I was third at Aspen in the slalom, and that felt great, but I was a full second and a half out of first. I want to be best in the world, so that wasn’t very satisfying.”

Ski Racing: With all these speed races coming up for the women, what are you going to do before your next World Cup slalom in Croatia?
Koznick: We’ll go to Hintereith, Austria, to train, and maybe do some GS FIS races. The Swedish team has invited us to train with them. They approached us and asked us to come, which was pretty cool. Then we’ll go on to Croatia. I’m excited. That a night race, and I love night races for starters. Racing under the lights reminds me of Minnesota. And the people are so excited. I’ll have my camera, and I’ll send some pictures.