Foto: Swiss-Ski/Stephan Bögli

Towards the end of his career, Dario Cologna is facing two more winters with major events: the Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf in 2021 and the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022. With the help of a new trainer, these should once again be really successful. Interview from the current issue of Snowactive – the association magazine from Swiss-Ski.

What goals and expectations do you have of yourself for the coming winter?

The focus next winter is clearly on the World Championships. My goal will be to compete for the medals there. I would also like to achieve some good results at the World Cup level. But I will certainly skip some of the World Cup races in view of the World Championships, my main goal.

Since spring, you have been training with Kein Einaste, a new trainer. Compared to last year, what are the biggest changes and how are you coping with them?

After six years under Ivan Hudac, I wanted to introduce new stimuli to my training. Incorporating these new inputs is often easier with a new trainer. Under Kein Einaste, there are mainly changes in the training rhythm. We have three weeks of hard training and one week of easy. Furthermore, the training is repeatedly peppered with extremely long units (four to five hours), which is relatively new. Of course, you can't reinvent everything, but there are new forms of training, including intervals and strength training, which are noticeable to me as an athlete. It initially takes some time to correctly react to the changes. But I have the feeling that it is an exceptionally good fit so far.

During the last few metres, you are no longer one of the fastest athletes in the field. However, in many mass-start races the last kilometre is the deciding factor. Could it be that an interval start will give you greater chances of top results in future? Or how should a mass-start race proceed to ensure you are right at the front at the end?

I'm no longer as fast as I was five or ten years ago. I think this development is normal for an athlete. This is also a reason why people such as Petter Northug, Marcus Hellner or I were successful at a young age. At the time we were also faster than the older athletes during the last few metres of mass-start races. We now have people such as Johannes Klaebo and Alexander Bolshunov who are also extremely fast at the end. I now find the longer distances of 15 to 50 km interesting. I will certainly benefit from the interval start. But on a good day, however, I still think I can play a role in fighting for the best places in a mass start. It would ideally be a quick race, in which the selection takes place before the last metres. I'm not the fastest on the home stretch, but I think I'm still a good finisher and will have the last 3 km in me. The important thing is to simply be in the right shape, which then makes a lot possible.

Towards the end of your successful career, you are facing two seasons with major events. You are known for always being able to achieve your top form, especially at major events. How do you rate the chance of adding medals to your already huge list of achievements in the coming winters?

I always say: the chance of winning no medal is greater than winning one…(laughs). Nevertheless, I have already succeeded several times. It will certainly be more difficult, similar to the Olympics in 2018. Back then I proved that I can still do it. I see possibilities as long as I'm motivated, focused, and give it my all. That is also the reason why I am still competing. I don't run simply to participate, otherwise I might just stop. I want to continue to be successful. I am convinced: if I reach my top form and everything fits together on day X, I can still win medals.

Do you have any secret tips you could share?

You have to learn to listen to your body. Breaks and recovery are important in order to improve. The muscles build up their strength in the recovery phase, not during training. There you just need to introduce the stimulus. I take time out to enjoy the small things, such as good food, meeting friends – you have to consciously create moments that you can simply enjoy and mentally switch off for a while.