For the first time in 15 years, a German, Friedrich Moch, is on the podium in the overall ranking of the Tour de Ski. The 23-year-old’s success is no coincidence, explains national coach Peter Schlickenrieder in the Sportschau interview.
After Friedrich Moch crossed the finish line of the mountain stage to Alpe Cermis, the celebration knew no bounds. Second in the final stage and second overall. For the first time in 15 years, a German cross-country skier stood on the podium at the Tour de Ski. Axel Teichmann was the last person to achieve this. National coach Peter Schlickenrieder sees parallels to Teichmann in Moch’s success.
May be the last race “very German, very analytical” addressed, says Schlickenrieder in an interview with Sportschau. “He reminds me of an Axel Teichmann’s approach, who comes up with a good plan and then tries to implement it in the best possible way.”says Schlickenieder.
Moch breaks Norwegian dominance
With his success, Moch broke the Norwegians’ dominance. Last year, Johannes Klaebo, Simen Krüger and Hans Holund even celebrated a Norwegian triple success. This year Harald Östberg Amundsen couldn’t be beaten, but Moch finished the tour in second place. “It’s not three or four in a row, there’s only one Norwegian in front of him and that’s a clear indication”says Schlickenrieder happily.
Didn’t like party beast
There would have been enough reason to celebrate, but Moch doesn’t seem to be the type for that, believes his trainer. “Frie is not a party animal. […] We actually still have to teach him how to celebrate, he’s not letting up yet.”, told. It’s also fitting that the man from WSV Isny wanted to celebrate his greatest career success with a cola. “I’m sure that Friedrich hasn’t consumed a drop of alcohol”, explains his trainer. Rather, he went straight into the analysis.
Frie is not a party animal. […] We actually still have to teach him how to celebrate, he’s not letting up yet.
“He has his own mind, but he’s not a big debater. He reflects a lot” is how the national coach characterizes the currently best German cross-country skier. His protégé is ““a very intelligent boy, but rather from the very quiet faction”. Moch loves the harmony in the team. “He is an absolute team player. A calm, thoughtful, reflective, analytical and very consistent guy”, praises the national coach and also gives an insight into how meticulous the Memmingen native is in his training work. May it be “One of the few who doesn’t just complain about having to log their training, but who uses this software tool to look, to analyze.”
“Fulfilling home office weekend” for national coaches Schlickenrieder
Schlickenrieder couldn’t have been there for his protégé’s success. The 53-year-old had because of “unauthorized assistance” had his tour accreditation revoked on Thursday and therefore missed the final stage. He accompanied the entourage to the last stop in Val di Fiemme, but then made his way home.
And so the national coach watched Moch’s big day on television, and not just that. Three devices ran in parallel. Schlickenrieder was also able to observe the Continental Cup and the national championships in the USA, in which some young German runners took part. “I yelled at the TV and yelled along on a variety of levels.”, reports the ex-cross-country skier. Overall, be it “a fulfilling home office weekend” said the national coach.
Schlickenrieder thinks tour win is possible for Moch
Schlickenrieder is particularly pleased that his team functions even without the boss present: “When I see that this is now slowly bearing fruit, that we really have self-responsible athletes who know what to do. (…) That the athlete at point X knows one hundred percent what he has to do and because he doesn’t necessarily need the caregiver he has at his side all year round.” Anyone who works so diligently has high goals and can achieve them. Schlickenrieder believes it is entirely possible that Moch could be at the top this year after taking second place in the overall tour rankings.
Cross-country skiing national coach Peter Schlickenrieder was excited in the home office.
“Mountain running, we can do it!”
“A tour like this is actually tailor-made for him. Unfortunately, we don’t have many, if not none, of stages like we saw yesterday, of extreme mountain runs like this, in the normal World Cup or World Cup or Olympic program. ” In the World Cup in particular, he sees the competition as being much tougher. “Winning a Tour de Ski is something big. But everyone wants to become an Olympic champion or world champion at some point. And of course we still have a lot of work to do.” There are the Norwegians “still a clear step ahead of us”says the national coach, who also knows the strengths of his team: “Mountain running, we can do it!”