After this year's Alpen Cup ended in the most spectacular
way possible with Austria's Fabian Steindl taking
the overall only one point ahead of Terence Weber
from Germany, of course FISNC had to catch up with
both opponents to get the inside scope on this tight
finale, how they view each other and new goals for
the upcoming season.
Fabian, your victory was so incredibly tight with
only one point over Terence. Going into the last
competition, did you think you would win this?
Fabian Steindl: I went into the competition wearing
the yellow bib of the overall leader, so of course
it was my goal to defend and keep it. It was never
my intention to let it get this close again but
with a little bit of luck it happened in the end!
Terence, you had been leading in the overall standing
at the beginning of the season for quite some time
with solid, strong performances. How bad was it
to lose by one point in the end?
Terence Weber: I had a hard time accepting it in
the beginning but there was nothing to be done about
it. But still I can be quite happy with the whole
season, even if the overall victory was not meant
to happen.
Why is Fabian such a tough opponent?
Weber: He is really strong, especially on the hill.
He is always among the best and has a good advantage
for the cross-country track. So he is always in
the fight for the top positions.
Fabian, the same question to you. What makes Terence
into a strong competitor?
Steindl: Terence was incredibly strong during the
whole season. He was so constant, be it on the hill
or on the track. His strongest argument is his great
jumping performance. As long as he keeps that up,
I am sure he will achieve quite a lot in the future.
Terence, how do you look back on the past winter,
are you more happy with your general performance
or more sad because it was not the big win in the
end?
Weber: I only look back with a positive feeling.
I reached all the goals I had set for myself. My
good individual performances, the second place in
the Alpen Cup overall and the team silver medal
at the Junior World Championships are proof that
things went way better than expected.
And Fabian, what were your highlights during the
winter?
Steindl: Next to winning Alpen Cup I have to say
the team gold medal at the Junior World Championships
in Val di Fiemme!
So how have you celebrated after the final win of
the winter?
Steindl: Actually, I wasn't in that much of a great
mood as I wasn't allowed to go the COC finals in
Kuusamo after my win. So the party was the same,
not quite as boisterous as it could have been.
Looking forward now, what are your goals for the
next winter?
Steindl: I have to look how the preparations will
be going and in which competition series I will
actually be starting. But I am very positive, there
have been quite some good changes by the Austrian
Ski Federation and I am really looking forward to
how the summer will go.
What have you actually been up to since the season
ended?
Steindl: I have been training quite a lot of cross-country
because I still have to catch up there. Then I have
been on holiday and just relaxed for some time.
Now the first cross-country training course is almost
on our doorstep and after that it's not long until
we return to the hill!
Three things that Nordic Combined fans should know
about Fabian Steindl?
Steindl: (laughs) Well, everybody who has been following
our competitions a bit will have an impression of
me already. I would say, I am definitely not among
the boring athletes (laughs). But on a serious note:
I really do hope that I will continue to be successful
so that fans can get their own personal impression
of me in the future.
