A few weeks before the World Cup opening, the Austrian team spends a week in Cyprus, where, besides the physical training, there's also still enough time for regeneration.

"We are feeling fantastic here. It's about 30 degrees warmer than at home, so we are really enjoying it and can recharge our batteries. After that there'll be no break until the winter, so a week like this is really great", said Michael Hayboeck.

His teammate Stefan Kraft explains what's on the schedule for the athletes in the Aldiana resort: "In the morning we are in the gym, play Volleyball, do water gymnastics or go swimming. There are so many possibilities here, you can try out everything. It's really cool."

Besides Thomas Diethart and Andreas Kofler, who are currently training in Austria, all the members of the World Cup team took the trip to Cyprus and soak up the sunshine for a few days before the long winter.

"Last year we were here a week before the season started, this was not perfect. That's why we came here earlier this year. First and foremost it's about gaining energy for the upcoming World Cup winter. But it's also important to do physical training in order to be perfectly prepared for the final phase. The possibilities for training and regeneration here are sensational, so what more can you ask for", told Gregor Schlierenzauer.

For Heinz Kuttin the trip to the South is an important part of the preparation, also before his second season as head coach. "We made very positive experiences with the training in the warmth, that's why we came to the Aldiana resort in Cyprus again this year. Here we have perfect conditions for our training. Besides the physical aspect, it's also about recovering mentally before we start the preparation on snow with full speed."

Source: fis-ski.com