Petra Vlhova: “We are humans, not machines”

Dealing with a lot of pressure is a key element of alpine skiing, a sport where a single small mistake can often put you out of a race, even if you are one of the best.

Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova knows that very well.

In preparing to defend her historic women's overall World Cup title from last season, and chase that Olympic medal that has eluded her so far (“This is my main goal,” she revealed), the tech specialist from Liptovsky Mikulas has been spending much of the last four years training her mind.

“I am working a lot because I think it’s important to work on your mind as much as you do on your skis,” Vlhova said in an exclusive interview.

“There’s a lot of pressure from outside, also from the media. [Looking after my mind] is like part of my job: I have a physical coach for the body, a coach for the technique, and I also need to take care of my mind.”

The 2019 world champion in GS said she’s doing some ‘exercises’ to control pressure, but prefers not to share them: “Yoga? No, nothing like that…I don’t want to tell you, it’s my secret!,” she said with a smile.

Vlhova: Why I train my mind

Vlhova - who finished third in the 2021/22 season-opening event in Soelden - admitted that it’s important to talk about mental health in sport as this became one of the main topics of discussion during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021.

“I’m happy that this year people have started to talk about mental health because it’s really important,” the 26-year-old skier said, praising gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, who decided to withdraw from some events in Japan to protect her mental health.

“We are all humans, we are not machines. Everyone for example thought that Simone Biles had to win at all costs because she’s the best. But it doesn’t work like this, because she’s not a machine, she’s human, she’s a woman.

“If she sometimes falls it’s normal… We are like everyone else. Of course we have a talent and we know how to win, but we are still human, not machines. So even myself I’m aware that I’m good, but sometimes it can happen that I don’t win and it’s normal because this is sport

“It’s important we start talking about this so people and fans around the world can understand more about the pressure we have to deal with.”

Vlhova: How motocross helps me

Switching off from her day-to-day training routine has been helping Vlhova during the summer.

“Doing something different is good for both your head and your body. Like I do motocross and also trampoline.

"I find it helpful for my mind, but also for my skiing because when I ride a motorbike I need strength, I need to be focused all the time and I need stability: it’s nice for your mind to change and try something different, and you can train a lot of things,” the most successful Slovakian skier of all time said - adding that this year her commitments post-World Cup didn't allow her on a motorbike more than once.

Petra, who's a sporting celebrity in Slovakia ("Now in my country I'm as famous as Peter Sagan"), is also trying to keep the pressure off when she talks about her rivals for the season and she sees the rise of Katharina Liensberger as an opportunity to shift the attention from herself and Mikaela Shiffrin.

“Yes, it’s not anymore just Mikaela and I, but also Katharina and other girls, like [Michelle] Gisin. So it’s much better maybe for me, and also for Mikaela, because everyone was talking just about me and her. So I think that for the sport too it’s good that someone else is coming up.”

Petra Vlhova: Now I have more freedom

After parting company with Livio Magoni at the end of last season, Vlhova is now working with Mauro Pini of Switzerland, a former coach of both Lara Gut-Behrami and Tina Maze.

“I don’t like to talk about comparisons, but they are completely different as a person,” she said.

“It’s much better now than before. Everyone knows how Livio is, that he’s working a lot, and he was good for maybe three or four years, but after that he was sometimes too much.

“I feel now I have more freedom, but also confidence, as we agreed together to go more for quality. So everything is more calm and I feel less pressure. So I’m happy like this.”

After being the only racer to compete in each of the 31 events last season in a bid to secure the overall title, this time Vlhova and her team have a new approach.

“We will not do everything, but we will also do some speed events,” she explained.

“But as the season goes we will decide which race we want to go for, which race we can skip, and we’ll stay more 'quiet' and focused for GS or slalom.”

Vlhova: An Olympic medal is still missing

At 26, the Slovak – who also won slalom gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck in 2011 – has already taken part in two Winter Olympics, with her best finish coming in the combined event at PyeongChang 2018 (5th place).

“Four years ago I was already competitive but I wasn’t ready to win some medals yet. Now I can say I have a lot more of experience, coming also from the World Cup, so I will try to take some of what I learned for Beijing.

“The Olympic Games are going to be my biggest challenge this season. I can say I have won almost everything: I have a big globe, I have small globes, I have a few medals from the world championships, but I’m still missing medals from the Olympics so this is going to be the main goal for me.”

After skipping the parallel slalom in Lech/Zuers, Austria, Vlhova is back competing this weekend in the back-to-back slaloms in Levi, Finland.