Without going to what I think is my limit. I always say that my ideal is to get pole with the minimum effort, and to win the race at the slowest speed possible.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take.
I'm very, very competitive. If my grandmother asks to race me down the street, I'm going to try to beat her. And I'll probably enjoy it!
I was already on pole, then by half a second and then one second and I just kept going. Suddenly I was nearly two seconds faster than anybody else, including my team mate with the same car.
It's not a sprinter's approach. It's more like a long-distance thing. You can stick around a lot longer if you kind of slow-play it.
I've been racing for my whole life, and I know what I need to do to be able to win.
This is a business, and no one enters a race not to finish first. I wouldn't say I'm in it for the competition, but I'm certainly not just in it to coast along. I want to be the best I possibly can be.
For most part, the rule of thumb is pretty much you're going to race guys hard the last quarter of the race and for sure the last run of the day. You're still going to give and take until that last pit stop.
I had no doubts I could go to the pole. I may not be as strong, but I make up for physical strength in other areas, like steadiness and not panicking under stress.
Generally, speed skaters don't run that much. I'm a little bit of an exception in that I run a lot.
I want to keep pushing the limits to see what's possible. That's the nice thing about ski racing - no one is stopping you from going faster.