With four Olympic medals, 26 world cup race wins, one overall world cup crystal globe, three world championship medals – one of each colour – Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic is one of the most successful alpine skiers of his generation. But since he retired five years ago he has moved progressively to offshore racing
Last year was his first big ocean race in his chosen Class40 division, taking on the two handed Transat Jacques Vabre last year with French co-skipper Calliste Antoine they finished 17th but had a solid race on the Mach40 which was previously Phi Sharp’s on which he took third on the last Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe in 2018.
Kostelic is here to race. He is unequivocal about that, this is not about adventure he says but pushing himself to perform outside of his comfort zone.
Amidst the huge crowds in Saint Malo he acknowledges the atmosphere is similar to Austria’s Hahnenkamm weekend…..
The 43 year old looks relaxed and focused, grinning: “It feels a little like Kitzbuhel on the Hahnennkamm weekend. The atmosphere is similar and with the weather forecast we have it looks like we are going straight on to the Mausefalle (notorious huge jump on Austria’s most notorious downhill course)! I would rather tune into the race slowly and find my feet gradually but it is what it is. I always look on the bright side of things and once you get through hell on the first week the rest is going to seem easier.”
He has a clear game plan and is looking forwards to challenging himself and a boat which is bullet prove and well proven in Sharp’s hands, though slower and heavier than the latest generations.
“ I think it is good we are getting fresh into it rather than easing into the second week. Although this is Kitzbhuhel but I am definitely not on a level to be a favourite here. And so I don’t have to push as a favourite would have to, I will push absolutely as hard as I can and push more as we get down the track.” Kostelic says, “I don’t want to be giving up too soon. And there is a second front on the second night so I will take stock and push through the second front. We have done some analysis and probably the good guys will go west and I don’t think I will but I will likely be in the west of the south route.”
He has a good relationship with his weather specialist who also previously worked with Sharp.
“I work with Juri Jerman who worked with Phil Sharp and does some work with Spindrift. He is Slovenian.”
The obvious question is ‘why?’
He responds, “Was it Mallory who said ‘for the hell of it?’ But it is about personal growth, I wanted to keep challenging myself and naturally when you come from an extreme sport your limits are a bit higher up and you are always wanting to challenge your comfort zone. The ocean is where you are always, always challenging your comfort zone.”
But he is clear, stating, “I want to say I am not here just for the adventure. I am here to go racing and to keep racing when it is hard, as hard as my capability is at the moment. And to keep racing when it is tough. When people ask me what the main goal is and for me it is not about the results, because I don’t have the boat for that. For me I want to start feeling comfortable and improving, pushing when it is tough. The mastery is what I am about.”
He adds: “You have to feel uncomfortable to start with and then you realise you can handle it, you focus on a few key facts and keep the risk to a minimum. Then you feel good when you are into and you see ‘this is manageable’ and we are doing good. This is me breaking the barrier.
I would like to keep doing Class40 and getting better. The Vendée Globe?...absolutely not. Everyine asks but no. I did not start this yesterday this is four years and the objective has always been to get here being able to race, not just survive. This why I want to keep racing in these smaller boat classes where I can keep getting better and be confident as a racer. The Vendée Globe is a whole different world with the finances, huge budgets. But I am a racer not an adventurer. I wont ever race for the top spots but I want to be competitive in the middle of the fleet.”
He had little time for sailing when he was a ski racer, “I have always been a fan of offshore racing but I never had time to sail when I was skiing. I only ever had three weeks off in the summer and my biggest hobby was spear fishing. I would take a RIB and that is what I did. Sailing always takes time. But nearer the end of my skiing career I had a Seascape 18 and then a Mini and then tried Class40 to see if I was interested. I tried and started racing when I realised I wanted to do it. And in the first season I did 10,000 miles of training in the Adriatic, singlehanded or doublehanded. I wanted to get the mileage up and make my mistakes early. I made a load of mistakes but I never dismasted but I did everything. Then I had to learn about tactics. I don’t have the background and so that is still very much my weakness.”
And the Transat Jacques Vabre was a good learning experience, “I learned a lot from Calliste who is way more experienced and is with me preparing the boat here. And I am loving ocean racing when you are moving through multiple weather systems. So this is another way to think and I am absolutely loving that, being a tiny spot in these huge weather systems. It is like a game of chess and I am loving it. You are moving in a system of universal scale.”
His following for his ocean racing is growing at home in Croatia but he contends, “At first people did not understand what I was doing, but my following is growing. And I still have a huge following from my skiing. Olympic sailing is big but offshore racing is practically non existent in Croatia. Mine is the only offshore programme there is in Croatia. And it is not easy because I don’t think people at home really understand the scale of this. It is hard to realise. Even I am amazed just how big the Route du Rhum is. So it hard for us. We are in a closed sea with many islands with many technically great sailors. The culture is purely inshore. It is a different mindset.”