It seems like gone are the days when you can ride at 80 or 90% and still get a win. This obviously suits your aggressive attacking style of riding and racing that rewards risk?
Well that’s difficult because nowadays you still have to put together a picture perfect run and make no mistakes. Watching videos from three or four years ago, you could crash in qualifying but still be in the top ten, but nowadays you are not even in the top eighty let alone the top 100. Basically you have to put together the perfect run. Now I can handle that pressure. It’s all about thinking to yourself what you are there for. And it’s just riding and having fun. I like technical stuff, but I think I’m better at fast wide-open tracks with speed and jumps. But I like tracks like MSA and Champery so I can ride a good mix. I like being able to attack and go fast. I wish I could go back to Schladming now that I’m a little stronger and with more support with a team.
So are you going full out 100% or are you holding back?I think about being consistent. I think about getting a podium, but mainly I just want to do the best I can and still have fun. I want to have my run dialled and be consistent and hopefully still be fast.
Why is it so hard for new riders to get their first win?Josh Bryceland and Troy Brosnan are the next new guys who I think will get the next win, I think it’s about getting your headspace right and having fun. Josh for example switches out between clips and flats between practice and race. So maybe he is not quite sold in his head and he still has a bit of uncertainty. To win you have to be 100% calm and confident for it and then it will happen.
What made it so hard for you to brake into that elite club of winners?I think it’s all about experience, especially with guys like Gee and Greg, then Aaron coming from moto and having a good trainer. They all have good teams and are training well so that all helps. They have found that point and can keep pushing it, which allows you to train even harder. So it just makes it harder in turn for everyone else. The current level is exciting, it makes everyone get a little loose and have to hang it out a little bit more.
What would you trade. Three podiums and 2011’s consistency with 6th overall, or 2012 with a win and a seventh overall?Ahh that’s a hard one. I think a World Cup win is possibly better than those podiums. Being on that top step is the best feeling. You can’t beat it. Being on the podium feels good, but the top step is a whole different feeling. Last year (2012) was a rough start to my season, but I still think I did pretty good to end up seventh. This coming season I will be on a new bike. There are a few things I will be familiar with, but I will have five to six months to get it all sorted out.
Does what we have learnt from the newest members of the exclusive ‘World Cup Winners Club’ offer future prospective applicants the secret map to success or is each path to glory unique? A common thread of calm confidence and the absolute belief in ones self is key, but that is easier said than done. Will both Steve and Brook find it easier second time around? Who will be next? Brosnan, Hart, Cole, Brycleand or someone else entirely? I certainly can’t wait to find out. Bring on 2013, the doors are open and the velvet rope beckons.
