Carlo Janka has to cut back his training regime while getting ready for the upcoming winter. The Grisons is again suffering from a viral disease similar to last year.
Comparable to last year is also that it was not possible to diagnose what exactly is making Janka sick. According to Christian Schlegel, the chief doctor of the Olympic medical center in Bad Ragaz, the physical problems are caused by the combination of high stress and a viral effect. The recovery part of training, an incessantly important factor for top athletes, is therefore becoming even more important for Janka. The same holds true also for the next few weeks in the summer training camp in Ushuaia. The Swiss team traveled to the south of Argentina this past Friday.
The symptoms had manifested themselves already in spring. Janka had felt tired after the season. That is when he knew the whole thing would come back again, Janka said at a news conference in Bad Ragaz. A year ago, the 23-year-old from Obersaxen had to pause his preparation for the winter season for several weeks and reduce the training intensity.
The Grisons justifies that he kept quiet over the re-occurrence of the disease for reasons of self-protection. In the past year, there have been incessant questions after the disclosure, which has not been an ideal situation and has bothered him even more than the actual physical deficits themselves.
It fits Janka's personality that he does not worry despite existing problems. Rather, he sees the past winter as a good omen.
Despite the reduced training last season, he won the Olympic Giant Slalom in Whistler and the overall World Cup. The recent first tests on snow on the glaciers in Saas Fee and Zermatt this season were also positive. He felt well and was able to join in for all the training units, reported Janka.
