Three things you did not know about Claudia Loesch

The Austrian downhill, super combined and slalom world champion gives us an insight into her life off the skis. 03 Jan 2017

Woman in sit ski on a slope passing a gate

Claudia Loesch, Austria rides through the gates in the Giant Slalom at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center during the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games

ⒸLuc Percival Photography

By Ryan Wilson and the IPC

Austria’s Claudia Loesch will try and defend world titles in downhill, super combined and slalom at the 2017 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships from 22 January in Tarvisio, Italy.

Having spent most of last season off the snow because of injury, the sit-skier had an amazing comeback in the first races of 2016-17.

Two wins in World Cup giant slalom showed her competitors that she is back and ready to challenge for gold again.

Here, Loesch gave us an insight into what she does when she is not racing or training.

I am a huge Tennis fan

“That was the major upside of last year's injury. I finally had time to follow the Australian Open, which I haven't done in years because January is usually packed with my own competitions.

“My favourites: Fedex [Roger Federer], Stan [Stan Wawrinka], Dominic Thiem of course, as of late — love those one-handed backhands — and I so hope for JM Del Potro to finally stay injury-free. That forehand deserves some more titles. Oh, and let's not forget Gael Monfils, the sloppy genius.”

I play the flute as a hobby

“Not on a level anyone wants to hear what I'm playing, but for me it's a great way to relax.”

I love quizzes of all sorts

“You can call me almost addicted to "Quizduell" [German quizzing app] and whenever time allows, you'll find me at pub quizzes and trivia nights with my friends.”

Loesch will be in action at Tarvisio 2017 between 22-31 January, alongside 140 of the world’s best skiers from 30 countries.