Jill Kintner

Age and Where you are from??
I'm 21 from Lyon, France

Who do you ride with??
I'm usually riding by myself and some times with Anne- Caro when we have a training camp.

Is 4x your main focus ?? Or 4x and BMX?
For the next couple of years , I will be 100% focusing on 4X , but after that, I'd like to focus on BMX and prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Which do you prefer??
I’m coming from a BMX background (I started BMX at 6) so I really do like both. BMX is the best training for 4X it has helped me a lot. 4X requires a more diversified riding technique because of the rough terrain you ride on.

How'd you take it from not making 4x finals to winning a World Cup?
Hey, you forgot that I did make a final in Fort William back in 2004! But yes, it's true that in 05 and 06 my 4X results where not that great. The reason being certainly that I was really trying hard to perform in DH. This year I have made the decision to only focus on 4X and give it my best shot. I trained really hard before Worlds, and it seems like it did pay off...

Seems your coach Stephane Girard has had a big influence?
For sure, he is there to help me and advise me when I need. He really understands the needs of this sport and knows what I exactly need to do at training to be ready for the race. We work very closely together and we have a strong friendship.

Do you live close to him??
Yes, I live quite close to him, there is one hour driving to go to his house, we pretty much always travel together to the races.

Was he the coach of most of the great French DH riders??
Well, he got some successes with a few of them: Nico , ACC , Sabrina. But he has also been working with a few foreign riders too: Leigh Donovan, Ruthie Matthes, Steve Larsen and more recently: Greg Minnaar, Matti Lehikoinen, Andrew Neethling. I don't know how much world tittles he helped to, but I guess that's a pretty high number...

Do you think you are more of an endurance person or an explosive powerful person?
With no hesitation I'm more an explosive powerful person ! But you know I still can surprise some XC riders on 2h ride...

Any cross training?
I did a lot when I trained for DH but now training is much more specific: weights, sprints, bmx, etc.

How come French people are not so friendly? Yourself excluded :)
Maybe because they are very shy and you scare them out? Or maybe they have such a poor English that they are afraid to talk to English speaking people? Well I don’t really know…

Where are your favorite places to travel ??
I have to say that I don't travel too much outside of races, after so much time on the road I enjoy time home... But I keep very good memories from the 3 months I spent in South Africa at Greg's home in 2006

Will you be riding a sunn bike again, or a variation of a sunn bike??
Definitely Sunn! They have been very supportive to me, they gave me their trust and offered me a contract after a couple of disappointing seasons, and I'm very thankful to them for that. As far as the bike itself, I'm totally satisfied with the one I had this year, the 07 version will not change much.

How much does your (4x) bike weigh??
I do think that my bike is pretty light, somewhere below 30 lbs. ;-) Nobody exactly knows… , that’s part of the secrets...

Do you ride a dh bike anymore??
No more DH racing and training for me, I may just test ride some DH prototype once in a while, just to give some advice to the R&D people, that's it.

How was it for you to go from the Jr world champ in DH to not racing the world cups anymore??
I've had a lot of injuries in DH during those 2 years, this was really frustrating: you train hard, you get injured, you don't race for a while, then it takes a lot of time to get your fitness back. This leads you to doubts and lack of self confidence. It was time for me to make a decision, I couldn't continue like this... But now, I feel great I know I have make the right decision, the results proved it.

Was that necessary or was it just a funding issue?
Oh no, Sunn was totally committed to support my DH racing and racing both DH and 4X was actually the original plan beginning of the season. This choice to give up DH and focus only on 4X was totally mine.

What are you next 3 goals??
To win the World cup
To win the World Championship
To Qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games

You like the random start quite a bit?
Yes I really like that, the slingshot was too hard for me anyway. But if you look a little further, we have I believe the only start procedure that can be anticipated : in Track and Fields, Swimming etc. the start is a total random procedure they absolutely cannot anticipate it's all about reflexes and quickness!

Did you have to change your technique?
No, I'm always doing the same , looks like my technique suited pretty well to this type of start too.

Where you even with Lopes in the worlds final?
Yes I think so, but it was my first world 's final a brand new situation for me, and Brian had for sure more experience than me, I'm pretty sure he thought about this and that may have give him a little extra confidence. But now, I got experience too, I know what are my capabilities…

Silver at World Champs is quite an accomplishment, how did you find that??
A podium at Worlds was my ultimate goal for this season, coming to Fort William I knew this was possible. And you know being second to a guy like Brian was like a victory for me, he is such an amazing rider, and kind of a living legend for Mountain biking ...

Was it emotional?
The public in Fort William is really incredible, they cheer you so loud, that yes indeed, racing there is definitely emotional, so ultimately when you get a good results there, it stays in your memory for a long time…

You are still a bit of a mystery to people, is it cause of the language barrier or how you like it?
Well I'm honestly not playing any game, I'm a little shy that's it, but I'm working on it!

Who has been your greatest influence??
Nico Vouilloz: he is the reason why I switched from BMX to Mountain bike, when I was a kid I would watch and record all his races, I still have the tapes...
He is for me the ultimate competitor: great bike handling, best bike setting and bike development capabilities, super strong mental, very professional, ... An example for a lot of us I’m sure.

Would you ride in a car with Nico?
You bet I would! This would be like a dream for me. If he calls me, I would just drop whatever I’m doing and jump in the right seat.
Me too!!:)

Greatest ambition?
An Olympic Medal

Motto to live by, or best translation...
Hard work and smart work always ends up paying...

Name association:
Lopes 36 and always world champ, incredible!
Prokop always strong
Jared amazing rider whom can win on any type of bike, and nice guy too . I would like to have his legs...
Camelini Brice de Nice (reference to some stupid but funny French movie)
Roger Rinternet Nice guy!
Thomas Allier style on his bike!
Anne Caro The biggest champion of Cycling, and an inspiration too.
Stephane My coach and advisor. Good or bad times he is always there . Thanks Stef for everything...

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