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time this season to extend his overall World Cup lead ahead Saturday's
prestigious downhill.
Janrud's victory on the Hahnenkamm last year ranks alongside his Sochi
success in the super-G, of which he adds: "It's the biggest clich but Olympic
gold is something that every kid dreams of."
The kid in question grew up in Norway's capital city Oslo, and his parents had
little interest in the slopes until the family relocated to near Lillehammer, host of
the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Getting some air time in Lake Louise. Downhill is fun. @fisalpine
A photo posted by Kjetil Jansrud (@kjansrud) on Nov 26, 2015 at 12:54pm PST
Jansrud first skied at the age of seven -- much later than many of his peers -but was immediately infatuated.
His father noticed his talent, and nurtured it.
"My Dad said, 'If we're going to do this we're not going to play around.'"
Jansrud made his World Cup debut as a 17-year-old, but his route to the top
was not without difficulties. A serious back injury in 2006 left him on the
sidelines for a year, while he tore knee ligaments at the 2013 world
championships.
Nearly a decade on, his back is far from perfect.
"It started with bulging discs and then herniated discs. It's still a struggle
sometimes as once you have that injury there's not much you can do about it,"
says Jansrud, whose second at Beaver Creek on December 4 is his best
downhill result this season.
"I could try surgery but the risk is it might make it worse. So there are good days
and bad days."
Though his father questioned his skiing future and proposed his son returned to
education, Jansrud says he never once toyed with quitting a high-speed sport
where competitors are "one mistake away from the hospital."
Buoyed by last season's consistency and improved health, the self-proclaimed
"late bloomer" would dearly love to dethrone the all-conquering Hirscher.
So what would mean more -- Jansrud winning the overall title or Liverpool
triumphing in the Premier League for the first time since 1990?
"I'd probably just go for the overall title for me first, but I'm greedy -- I'd want the
Premier League title too," he concludes, laughing.
For more skiing news, visit CNN's Alpine Edge page