At 33 years old, ski crosser Nikol Kučerová is preparing for his thirteenth season at the World Cup. Other Czech acrobatic skiers are also gearing up for the winter, including those who have to be treated for serious injuries. Aspiring cross-country skier Diana Cholenská, whose torn cruciate ligament in her knee kept her out of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, is also in line.
Teammate Daniel Paulus was treated for a broken neck of the femur, another ski crosser Dana Harvey injured his spine, Big Air jumper Štěpán Hudeček suffered a fractured fibula and bowler Eliška Coufalová tore ligaments in his knee.
“Ninety percent of injured competitors are 100% fine and back. Eliška Coufalová should be back on skis within a month. Harvey’s recovery will take longer, but things are going well for her too,” she told a press conference. today by the head of the acrobatic ski section, Roman Dalecký.
The first to enter the World Cup season will be Hudeček, who finished 32nd at Chur at the end of October. In the second round, he tried a new jump, which he trained at a training camp in New Zealand, but he was not successful. “I tried this trick for only the third time in my life on snow and it felt amazing. Since it was the first race of the season I did my best,” he said.
Kučerová, the Czech’s most experienced representative, considers what to do next after the season ends. He was disappointed by his performance at the Olympics in Beijing and the subsequent World Cup in Russia’s Sunny Valley resort, where he was supposed to compete just after the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces in February. All the foreign participants refused to qualify there in protest and were even afraid to go home.
In the end, the Czech elite ski crosser decided to continue his career. Also because the 2023 World Championships will take place in Bakuriani, Georgia, where he is seventh in 2021. “I really liked Bakuriani, not only the track, but the mountains around it,” he recalls. Resorts there are not as tried and tested as traditional SP destinations. Accordingly, it is not entirely clear what the tracks are like there. “It usually suits me,” says Kučerová.
He will be traveling with nineteen year old Cholenska again after the race. “Without him, the room is quite boring. When I’m alone at the races, everything is focused on me. There’s no turning off. When we come into the room, we take care of other things,” said Kučerová.
In summer, due to the lack of snow on the glacier, he cannot ski, instead he works harder on his fitness. “We started training with track and field coach Dana Jandová. I really like it, it suits me. We’ll see how it goes on the snow,” Kučerová praised her training with former hurdler coach Zuzana Hejnová.
Due to a late return to the snow, the opening SP race in Les Deux Alpes, France, which was supposed to be held in early November, was cancelled. “Looks like the second one in early December in Val Thorens will also be cancelled. Only good for me,” he added.
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