"… to ski like a man."

In the second part of our pre-season interview Lindsey Kildow talks about her 2007/08 goals, her injured knee and her success strategy.

Last season ended for you after your cruciate rupture. Is your knee now able to keep up with your ambition?

I actually didn’t rupture my ACL, it was only a partial tear, or in other words a grade 1 tear. That injury was to my right knee and after a little over a month, my knee was back to normal. What wasn’t normal was my left knee, which I’d injured in October during Super G training in Austria. I skied on the injured knee throughout the season with hardly any problems, but when I stopped skiing I realized that there was something wrong. After I consulted with Dr. Sterett in Vail, Colorado, it was decided that I needed arthroscopic surgery to remove some cartilage that had broken off and was the cause of my persisting problems. I had the surgery in May and after a lot of physical therapy. I’m back to my old self, and my body is ready to handle all of my many ambitions.

Do you want to improve as an all-rounder in 2007/08? Or would you prefer to concentrate on maximum success in the speed disciplines?

A big dream of mine has always been to win a Downhill or Super G World Cup title. Next season I’m hoping to accomplish that dream and I’m also hoping to compete for the overall title. I know that the overall is a very, very hard title to win, so I’m not going to concentrate on that this season, I’m simply going to ski the best that I can in the speed disciplines, try to get some points in the technical disciplines, and then, hopefully, I’ll be somewhere in the running for the overall title. Winning any of those titles would be a dream come true.

What technical and physical aspects do you think you could still improve on?

I always think there’s room for improvement, so every time I go out skiing I’m looking for something to work on. I watch a lot of men’s skiing. They’re so powerful and dynamic. That’s something I’ve been working towards for the last few years.

Anything you want to do differently next season compared to before?

Each season is different, but one thing that’s always been hard for me is handling the intense load and stresses of racing four events. I’m constantly working with my trainer Martin and Robert Trenkwalder from Red Bull, and my coaches from the U.S. team to make sure I’m doing everything I can to stay fresh throughout the long season. It’s a tough balance, though, and an ongoing struggle for me each year.