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Luge rider Felix Loch currently has to contradict himself.
A year ago he said that the series winners were probably over.
But this season he proved the opposite even over long stretches: the 31-year-old three-time Olympic champion won all eight World Cups over the full distance and one of the three sprint races.
At the World Cup, of all places, he had to be content with second place.
On Saturday the Bavarian will start at the World Cup final in St. Moritz (Switzerland) and will be the overall winner even before the race.
WELT:
Mr. Loch, after a winter without a win you are now extremely successful again at the age of 31.
How did you get back to your old strength?
Felix Loch: In
terms of driving, it fits very well again.
I've learned a lot in the past two years.
There were a lot of races where only one run was good and the other was bad.
Then there were various conditions that we had to adjust to.
Last season we already gave a lot of thought to what we would have to change in terms of sleds.
We have implemented this consistently.
Everything fits right now.
Felix Loch celebrates his World Cup victory in Innsbruck at the end of January.
Since his debut in 2006, he has won 47 races
Source: dpa / Andreas Schaad
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WORLD:
In the past season, your sled did not seem to drive as stable and safe.
What did you change?
Hole:
Now the sledge obeys me again.
We took a step or two back when adjusting the sled.
I now know exactly how the sled reacts.
WORLD:
Who will help you with the development of the sled?
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Hole:
Georg Hackl and I have brought a third man into the team.
Christian Thurner is a trained tool mechanic who doesn't actually get out of tobogganing, but has been at the base in Berchtesgaden for several years.
When it comes to the material, we put our heads together and think about it.
With three ideas and opinions we come to a good result very quickly.
The engineer Julian von Schleinitz and BMW also help us.
WORLD:
What were you working on specifically?
Loch:
We invested the most time in the rail sector this year.
You grind a rail, attach it to the slide and drive.
Try again and again, it doesn't work any other way.
Added to this are empirical values.
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WORLD:
Your start times have gotten significantly better.
Last winter you were often between sixth and tenth place, now mostly in the top 5. What's the secret?
Hole:
I've got even better athletically.
As a result, I increased my starting performance.
I already saw that in our tests in the summer and this has now been confirmed.
Johannes Ludwig is always a good comparison.
Always one of the best in the world.
If I can keep up with him, I know that I'm at the front.
WORLD:
How did you improve yourself athletically?
Hole:
Due to Corona, I had significantly fewer appointments.
So in the end it was almost three weeks more training.
That is noticeable.
We exercise a lot of the back and arms.
A typical exercise is the bank move.
I lie on my stomach on a bench and pull up a dumbbell.
The weight is between 110 and 140 kilograms.
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WORLD:
In the past few years, the German tobogganists were often left behind by the competition from Russia, Italy and Austria.
Now you are leading in front of Johannes Ludwig in the overall World Cup.
Have the old balance of power been restored?
Hole:
Now we've put the turbocharger back in.
It looks like the old balance of power has been restored.
In some races we were one step ahead of the other nations.
But that can change again quickly.
We therefore still have a few ideas with a view to the Olympic season 2021/22.
WORLD:
The World Cup at Königssee showed what can happen.
There you won silver as a favorite.
How much did that hurt?
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Hole:
I knew Roman Repilov is really fast at the Königssee.
He had already shown that at the World Cup.
That's why I'm rather happy that I got silver with a run like the second.
There were two or three major mistakes in it.
The conditions were difficult because it was really warm.
Roman was just the better.
WORLD:
What are
your plans
for the World Cup final?
Hole:
The goal is very clear: if you can win the ninth World Cup race out of nine.
I will give everything for that.
WORLD:
Natalie Geisenberger from your training group became a mother in May 2020 and is already leading again in the overall World Cup.
Surprised?
Hole:
I'm happy that Natalie has come back like this and that she is so successful again straight away.
One could not and should not have expected that.
I'm excited to see how it goes when she can train consistently over the summer.
She can certainly come very close to her old strengths again.
She says herself that it doesn't work that way at the start.
But that goes without saying.
There she has the chance to come out on top at the Olympics in 2022.
WORLD:
Nobody would have thought a year
ago
that you would now win the overall World Cup.
You did not win a single race in the 2019/20 season.
Did you have thoughts of quitting?
Hole:
I've never doubted myself or whether I want to continue.
I was never at the point of saying: I'd rather leave it because it doesn't work.
Driving is still way too much fun for me to give up everything.
The three-time Olympic champion is already looking far ahead to upcoming major events
Source: dpa / Andreas Schaad
WORLD:
Your mentor Georg Hackl sledged until 39. How long do you ride?
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Hole:
I don't know now whether I'll continue until 39 like Schorsch.
In 2022 there are first of all the Olympic Games.
The games in Cortina will follow in 2026.
I would also be super-aged to ride there.
If it fits physically, and the successes are there, that is definitely a goal for me.
Italy is right on your doorstep.
Family, friends and fans could be there.
That could be a nice end.
WORLD:
You are 31, Johannes Ludwig even 34. What does the future look like for German tobogganists?
Hole:
Max Langenhan and Moritz Bollmann are already doing well at the start and still have a lot of potential there.
You have what it takes to be the best in the world.
But it takes a year or two to find safety on all tracks.
So I'm not worried that we will run into problems as a German toboggan team.