Hi Fans,

I wish you all a Happy New Year. I hope you had a nice celebration and that your are ready for the 4th Tour de Ski!

I had some quiet days over Christmas. I stayed in Rogla for a couple of days until I had to move to Toblach because of the snow conditions. On Christmas Eve, I was at home and had a nice dinner with my family. In Toblach, I was able to check out the course for the 5th and 6th Stages, and I must say it looks good. They also have a new stadium there, which is  impressive.

The Tour de Ski is, as every year, a highlight and a challenge for all athletes. Every day, it is important to deliver a good performance if you want to be on the top. Personally, I'm approaching it step by step and will do my best. I hope that I will do well! If not, I will probably leave the Tour de Ski and concentrate on the preparations for the Olympic Games.

If I would have to bet on the winner, honestly I would bet on Justyna Kowalczyk. She is in a good shape and performing well since the beginning of the season. But we will see in Val di Fiemme, on top of the Final Climb, who's the strongest this year.

I wish you a lot of fun watching the Tour on TV and cheering for us on-site.

Yours Petra

Hi Fans,

I hope you all are fine! A lot has happened in the past weeks. Since last Sunday I wear the yellow bib of the overall World Cup leader and if it is possible I would like to keep it forever ;-)

This week I have a full program. We'll have our home World Cup in Rogla this weekend and I have quite a lot of interviews on the schedule as well some training to be in a good shape for my fans. I'm so happy that the World Cup circus is now in Rogla; in the past weeks it was not so sure as the snow was not there but the OC Rogla did a great job and had also in the end luck with the weather. I hope I will show you all a good competition but for sure for all of you the World Cup in my favorite place Rogla is a must.

But beside that I have another nice obligation: I have to prepare my dress for the Athletes of the Year Gala in Slovenia which is on the same day as my birthday. This task is also exciting.

I wish you all a nice weekend (hopefully in Rogla), merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Talk to you soon
Yours Petra

Welcome to my XC- World Cup Blog and happy reading!

We had two weeks of hard training sessions before Beitostoelen. Unfortunately I did not perform well after that in the first World Cup race of the season 2010, the individual start competition in free technique. I finished 19th, which was a bit disappointing to me as we expected to place closer to the top ten. That's why I started in the relay as well to figure out where the problem lies. I wanted to know if I was not in good enough shape or if was the conditions on the track that were difficult.

After the relay start this past Sunday, I knew it was mostly the conditions on the track. The first race was tough for me and I had problems to ski on this track. I guess my shape is ok and I'm ready for the Nordic Opening in Kuusamo. Kuusamo is one of my favourite places and if the track will be hard, I will be strong.
After Kuusamo, I plan to start in almost all races. I will be in Düsseldorf, in Davos and of course in Rogla. I hope I can show strong performances that add up to good results. Besides that my focus is also on the Olympics and I try to be in top shape for the Games as well. We will see how it is going in December and then we will decide on our plans for the races to come. My performance in December will determine if I will participate at the FIS Tour de Ski and what my preparation for the Olympics will look like.
I would also like to use the chance today to invite you all to Rogla. It is a beautiful place. I just hope that it will snow plenty in Central Europe and that we will not have too much wind during the competition days. In this way, Rogla will be perfect. I can only advice not to miss the Rogla events!

Enjoy the Cross-Country season & talk to you soon

Yours Petra