Šárka Pančochová at last year’s World Championships in Big Air in Modena, Italy.
Official Facebook by Šárka Pančochová.
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It will probably not be for a big celebration in the current situation…
I originally wanted to go to Mexico with a friend. They would come from America, from where they can go without quarantine, I from Europe, and we would meet. But it fell. Since I was injured now, I need to ride, so I can go to dinner with my friends as much as possible.
When you started touring big races as a teenager, could you imagine racing among the elite even in your thirties?
I perceived the thirty-year-old girls to be at their zenith… And now it occurs to me that I am just beginning. (smile) Sometimes I wonder how long I will enjoy it. But for the time being, I’m still having fun, I feel good, I’ll come in the best physical shape I’ve ever been, so there’s no need to stop.
Only injuries will slow you down sometimes…
I am now eight weeks after ankle surgery. I didn’t break any big bones, it’s more in a stupid place above my ankle, so the doctors gave me a plate there and said that it would be better if she stayed there during the season. I haven’t ridden in six weeks, now I’m carefully testing how it bothers me. I may drive for two days, but then I will take a break.
At the same time, you praised yourself for being able to practice airbag jumping in Austria.
But I made such an unfortunate move there and my leg spun stupidly. It was bad luck, it doesn’t normally happen. I could practice big jumps there, there would definitely be more of those injuries in the snow.
How do you compare to travel restrictions due to coronavirus this year?
Personally, I don’t mind when I have to pack up and go somewhere, I’ve been moving operatively all my life. Freestyle snowboarding is quite controlled by the weather, we go where it is nice. When the pandemic began, I was in America. As the situation improved and borders in Europe opened, so I flew here. Otherwise I would have gone to Zealand, but it didn’t work out, so I spent the whole summer in Europe, which didn’t happen to me for a long time, I was more at home in the Czech Republic, and that was nice.
You just can’t spend that much time with your American fiancée Kaileen…
That annoys me, of course. She was in Europe for three weeks, but now we don’t see each other again for two months… It’s a long time.
What is your plan towards the racing season, which should start in December?
Now I’m on Stubai, where I want to stay, even though they have announced a lockdown in Austria, so we’ll see how it develops. Then I should move to America, in Copper Mountain I am registered for the first World Cup in Big Air and U-ramp before Christmas.
The fight for the Beijing Olympics will also begin, it would be the fourth for you. Is it a motivation for you?
I don’t take it as a target, I’ve been there three times. But if I manage to qualify and I will have a podium, for example, I will be happy. Again, I was learning new tricks in the airbag and the biggest motivation for me is to leave in the snow and move on again.
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