“No one drives just to be there.”

Consistency pays off after all. Frohnleitner's Carmen Kainz achieved the overall victory in the European Ski and Snowboard Cup and secured a permanent place in the World Cup for next season. The deciding factor was not the large number of trips to the podium or even victories. “I have consistently performed well and always managed to reach the final,” the 22-year-old explains. She won once (in January in Vulgaria/Ita) and finished third in the European Cup three times, each time in parallel slalom. What we lack, of course, is routine. “That's the biggest difference between teammates in the first team,” she says. Regarding “basic speed”, Caines does not have to hide: “I know I am very fast.”

Now Styria is taking a two-week break before working on her fitness for next season – her first World Cup season. Among other things, with a bike ride to Rechberg. Not only is Kainz extremely skilled at the plate, but also on both wheels. Until the age of 15, she was also active as a competitive cross-country mountain bike athlete. “Then I had to choose a sport. Snowboarding was the right decision.”

In any case, the anticipation for his first full World Cup season is great: “Now I can be sure that the slopes will always be completely ready.” Kainz has already been able to 'taste' at four World Cup stops this year – where: In Pamporovo (Bulgaria), his 'taste' dramatically turned into his first finals and eventually 14th place with his first World Cup points. “I still don't want to put any pressure on myself before my first World Cup season,” says Cainz. During training she would notice how well she was doing anyway. “I am now training with the best snowboarders in the world. If I am there to train, it will also be good in the race,” says Cainz, who has applied to the police and the army and hopes to be able to complete training there in addition to the sport. She wants to put any pressure on herself ahead of her first World Cup season: “It would be a lie if anyone said he was driving just for the sake of being there.”