Simon Jocher made people sit up and take notice: After his performance in training, the Schongau can definitely calculate something on the World Cup descent on the Kandahar.
Schongau / Garmisch-Partenkirchen
- Max Franz, Dominik Paris, Christof Innerhofer or Matthias Mayer.
You had to reckon with this name in the first downhill training in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Some of them are absolute top favorites or co-favorites for the Kandahar victory.
Simon Jocher is a name that certainly nobody had that high on the list.
But the Schongauer surprised everyone, including himself.
“I'm surprised myself that I'm so far ahead.
Simon Jocher
Applause had been heard a few times that day.
For example, when the Austrian Max Franz had put his fabulous time in the snow or Thomas Dreßen, who had recovered from his hip operation, had completed his first downhill training at a World Cup this season.
These drivers started at the very beginning of the training, after which it remained silent for a long time.
It wasn't until the athlete with the number 55 crossed the finish line that there was a lot of applause.
You knew someone had put another exclamation mark.
And that was Jocher.
When he arrived at the destination, he looked a little incredulously at the big screen.
There he could read that he was seventh.
But not entirely true, it was even one place better.
Josef Ferstl came second, but the native of Traunstein missed a goal.
And so Jocher was the best German.
“I'm surprised myself that I'm so far ahead.
Very cool, ”says the Schongauer.
But he has a simple explanation.
“It just makes a difference when you're at home on the descent.
I know my way around here, I feel good. "
Alpine skiing: Simon Jocher starts the race on the Kandahar with start number 51
Not only was the result surprising, but also that Jocher managed such a time with the high starting number.
Accordingly, he knew where to thank.
“A huge compliment to the helpers, the track was still great to drive.
I hope that this will also be the case in the race so that you can drive good times with high starting numbers. ”Jocher will compete with the Kandahar this Friday as 51st.
With this achievement, the 24-year-old has left several big names behind.
Romed Baumann, his team-mate, follows him in seventh place.
Beat Feuz from Switzerland, first in the Downhill World Cup, drove the same time as Baumann.
Andreas Sander is in 19th place, Dreßen was in 41st place on his comeback.
But he knows how to classify this placement well.
"Training is training and racing is racing."
Alpine skiing: Good chances for Jocher that he will surpass his best World Cup result to date
Many athletes did not give full throttle; they repeatedly drove upright through the finish line.
The drivers tried out what is possible on the Kandahar.
Maybe one of the races is based on Jocher's drive from the day before.
The Schongauer will definitely do it: “I try not to do anything else in the morning and, above all, nothing special.” But Jocher had problems in two places.
“I missed the line and went where I didn't want to go.
I'll do better in the race, and then we'll see what comes of it. ”The chances are not bad that he can top his best World Cup result so far (15th place in Bormio in December 2020) on his home track.
Because it wasn't the favorites that didn't show what they were capable of in training.
"I didn't really slow down, but that wasn't a race, there is more."