The Ladies' World Cup season starts on Friday in Lillehammer. The Austrian team already traveled to Norway on Monday in order to have some training sessions there before the opening event.

Head coach Andreas Felder considers his athletes well prepared and therefore he's optimistic for the new season. "I think that we did a very good job in summer and can start the season without any pressure. Last week we were in Ramsau and had some good trainings there. Here in Lillehammer it was obvious, that the one or the other is still a bit nervous. But we will get this under control in the official trainings. Over summer we grew together as a team and we have a very compact group. With Dani Iraschko-Stolz, Jaci Seifriedsberger and Eva Pinkelnig we have three athletes, who can be among the best consistently."

Overall World Cup winner Daniela Iraschko-Stolz is obviously aiming to defend this title, even if not everything went according to plan recently. "Training actually went very well, until I got knee problems again in fall. I still have that a bit, especially mentally before the landing. Apart from that I feel well, the feeling on the hill is good. In a season without a major event, the overall World Cup is definitely important. But everything is really close on top and you need to be at your best in all the 19 competitions in order to fight for the top positions. This will definitely be a challenge."

Besides the team's best athletes, Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger and Eva Pinkelnig, Chiara Hoelzl and Elisabeth Raudaschl will also get the chance to compete in Lillehammer.

Source: fis-ski.com