Slovak skier Petra Vlhová will miss the opening part of the upcoming World Cup. After injuring his knee at the race in Jasná, he is still in the rehabilitation process and is gradually catching up with the preparation for the upcoming season, which will start this weekend in Sölden, Austria.
According to preliminary plans, the Olympic champion from Beijing will be preparing at home and getting in shape for the next few days. The six-week conditioning program should end in December with a full load. There are 41 training sessions in the plan. Three days of stress, followed by rest and then stress again, informed team manager Richard Galovič.
Petra Vlhová spoke in more detail about the injury, the rehabilitation process, return plans and the start of the new season.
About the injury in Jasná
“It was a big shock when I got injured. Right from the first moment I knew it was bad. I felt my knee, I couldn’t even stand up. The first thoughts were that I will not go to the slalom in Jasná. Right at that moment, I was already looking ahead, that nothing could be done and I had to move on. That path was very difficult, or it still is. In the beginning, my physiotherapists and I worked every day to get my knee in order as much as possible.
It was difficult that I was on crutches and could not move normally. As I slowly started walking, it got better and then we switched from rehabilitation to fitness training, that was the second phase. We went step by step, then tried to rebuild the muscles. Then came the moment when I got back on my skis. Now we’re trying to be in the gym and get back in shape.”
About challenging moments during recovery
“It was demanding physically and mentally. On the physical side, I really lost a lot of muscle mass. I shrunk, lost a lot of weight. When I started exercising, I couldn’t lift myself up during ordinary exercise, which was something unimaginable for me. But it was so, I had to accept it.
Even from the psychological point of view, the worst were the beginnings, the two, four weeks after the operation. It was excruciating to get up and start working out, because every morning I had to start all over again, since my knee had stiffened overnight. There was a lot of self-denial and awkward moments. I had to stir it again and again.’
About returning to skiing
“I was very happy to be on skis and I was looking forward to it. I didn’t know what to expect. It was pleasant, I didn’t forget to ski. Of course, it hurt and it’s still difficult to adapt with the quasi-new knee. I’m learning a lot, I need a lot of time to find out how the knee reacts and what spaces it lets me into. This part on skis is the most challenging for me.”
About returning to the World Cup
“I will be at home the whole of November. I will prepare in the gym. We see the earliest possible return date in December, but it is very unpredictable. I wish I could be in Sölden now, but alas… I want to come back in full force. We will take it step by step and see. Certainly not all of November yet, maybe in December at the earliest. Maybe.’
We will focus on slalom and giant slalom. I won’t have time for anything else. We want to prepare perfectly for these two disciplines. I myself have to find what is good for me, what is not good for me. It is something new, and when something is new, one does not know how to react. The technique will remain the same. I’m going to do it as long as my knee will let me, but as far as the technique is concerned, we stick to what was before. Of course, we adapt according to how the knee reacts.
It’s a challenge. I would probably accept a challenge other than this one. For me, the hardest thing is to get back to the shape I was in on skis. Before the injury, I was probably in the best shape of my life and felt great. It’s a challenge to get back there. My form is very far from that of last season. But I know I can get there.’
About changes of plans in connection with the return
“It moved over time. It shifted in Argentina, where we saw how I skied, how I felt and what the knee could handle. There it turned out that I could not start in the first race and not even after that. Even the return is difficult to determine exactly when, because we will go into it gradually and only when I feel good on skis on each pad and each hill. This takes time and we cannot predict that. I don’t want to rush and rush anything.’
About the current state
“At the moment, the knee is in good condition. I have no serious problems that would limit me or pain. It’s more about the feeling and condition of how I feel on skis. If I’m going to come back, I need to be 100% sure that I’m ready. I’m not going to a race just to run. This is my plan, for now it’s just that I need to gain more strength and then we’ll see how it goes on the skis.
One has to start accepting as soon as possible that the knee will not be the same as before. There are a lot of thoughts, the head wants to compare it with what was. But it won’t be like that anymore. That’s why it’s such a struggle, even on skis it’s up and down. The sooner one understands that the knee is different and has to deal with it. You can’t identify with it in three weeks on skis. I need time and somehow to function, get to know new feelings and go step by step.”
About the new things the injury taught her
“I have to have a lot of patience, which I also had before. I am learning new things, new ways. The positive was that I started working out again. We focused on quality to build those muscles in a better way. It’s challenging. It’s something new. Maybe in time I’ll find out what it was good for. But for me as an athlete, it is difficult that it takes a long time and I want to race already. However, my knee won’t allow it yet.
Now I listen to my body more. I have to learn it. When my knee says enough, I have to accept it and go home and not have any regrets that I could have stayed. Now I take it as my knee determines the program and the time. There were days when I came to the hill and said to myself – not today. And this is also okay that I won’t train some days. From my point of view, this is also a good experience, because I will learn to perceive myself.”
About the start of the new season
“I’m already looking forward to Saturday. It is convenient to watch the race from the couch with tea in hand. It’s hard to accept that I won’t be there. At the same time, I know that this is reality and I cannot influence it. The hardest thing for me will be not being in Levi, I like it there. Unfortunately, we have to accept reality. I’m sorry. Every competitor wants to be at the race, but at the same time I accept it and trust the process.”
The whole of Slovakia is impatiently waiting for the day when our ski ace Petra Vlhová will return to the World Cup carousel. On Monday morning, she informed that she will not be ready for the start of the slalom or “slalom” so soon.
