After switching ski brands and lots of fine-tuning, things are looking up again – and I’m heading down the slopes as fast as possible. So I’m going into the coming races in Wengen, Kitzbühel and Schladming with a very good feeling. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Changing ski supplier as a racer is more complex than you might think. Every ski and every manufacturer has its own character and philosophy, which has to suit and harmonise with the athlete’s skiing style. I’ve now switched to Augment, which belongs to Red Bull Van Deer Sports. In December I received a basic package from Augment, and for several weeks now we’ve been refining, testing and adjusting it. Normally this work happens in autumn, so we’re doing everything we can to make up for lost time. With the boot/binding/ski system there are countless adjustments you can make to get the best out of it. High-tech tools are used to create models, which are then put into practice. The first races already showed a slight upward trend, with 15th and 16th places.

Now it’s on to my favourite courses: Wengen, Kitzbühel – one of my favourite races – and Schladming. I know these slopes and the right tactics you need to succeed. The current snow situation in the ski areas doesn’t exactly make training easy, of course, but that’s the same for all racers. Despite the lack of snow, the ski areas are well booked, so you have to search hard to find race conditions for training. But the ski is getting faster and faster, and the slopes, with coarse snow prepared with salt, are lightning fast. Exactly the conditions that suit me.

What perhaps doesn’t suit me quite so well is standing in front of the camera, as I did for the “SPAR Natur pur” commercial shoot. But the crew did everything they could to make us feel comfortable quickly. It was also fascinating to see how many people it takes, and how long it takes, to get a spot like that in the can. We filmed from 9 am to 5 pm for a 30-second spot. So a second career as an actor probably isn’t in my life plan.

So keep your fingers crossed for me in the next races – after all, World Championship places are at stake too. I’ll do my best to earn a ticket, but whoever it is: the fastest four should be the ones who go.

Yours, Michi Matt