The first medals are already being decided in Åre, but for me the World Championships adventure only starts on 9 February, when I travel to Sweden. Given the travel chaos, that probably wasn't a bad decision.

Before I head to Åre for the World Championships, I'd like to look back at the last two World Cup races at home. Kitzbühel and Schladming are real highlights of the race calendar – nowhere else is the atmosphere so intense.

I'm looking forward to Kitzbühel more every day. It's one of my favourite courses, even though no other slalom is more demanding. That's not just down to the race itself, but to all the buzz around it in the days before.

First of all, I hope you all got off to a good start in 2019. New Year's Eve was rather low-key for us racers, of course, because on 1 January 2019 important World Cup points were up for grabs at Holmenkollen in Oslo.