Korbinian Heiland's training plan worked perfectly

Cross-country skier Korbinian Heiland was unable to contest too many races last winter.

Nevertheless, the 19-year-old was convincing and showed at the Junior World Championships that he is on the right track.

Peiting - At first glance it was a fairly manageable season for cross-country skier Korbinian Heiland (SC Partenkirchen).

Three races at the Junior World Championships and five Continental Cup races - more results are not to be booked in 2021.

However, if you add the internal sightings, the native of Peitinger (19) still has a relatively normal season.

Corona has given cross-country skiers a bizarre winter in the junior area.

The German Cup races, where they usually start regularly, were not held.

At international races, the ski associations mainly took into account the general class and the U23.

"At the beginning of the season in particular, the calm really suited me," says Heiland, who first had to overcome a few health problems in autumn.

The strict hygiene measures and corona requirements were also contrary to him.

“This is ideal for us endurance athletes.

We have never been as healthy over the winter as this year. "

Korbinian Heiland convinces with sixth place at the Junior World Championships

That's why the season went according to plan when it finally started in January.

Started?

Well, there were no official competitions either, but there were numerous internal sightings.

“We quickly accepted them as normal German Cups,” says the Peitinger.

After all, it was also about qualifying for the Junior World Championships in Finland in mid-February.

As is well known, Heiland achieved the norm and delivered a strong position in the far north with sixth place in the long classic race.

“The plan to deliver the best performance at the peak of the season worked exactly,” he says happily.

In some respects, however, the season for the ambitious junior runner was already over.

"Our focus was clearly on the Junior World Championship, the other races are not that important at our age."

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Korbinian Heiland, cross-country skiing team athlete from SC Partenkirchen.

© DSV

In fact, Heiland only started two Continental Cup weekends in March.

In Prémaon (France) and Pokljuka (Slovenia) he achieved decent results in midfield.

In the pursuit races, he even ran a top ten time in the second part.

“That was okay, even if the performance had already decreased a bit after the J-WM;

but that's normal. "

There are no shortcuts in endurance sports, a lot can be planned and surprises are rare. Perhaps because of this, the athletes can deal with a corona winter better than others. Nevertheless, Heiland wants a normal season again for 2021/2022. "From the summer I will start in the U23, there are more international competitions on the program and normality would be fine." Before the new season starts, it is first of all to pass the Abitur. This is also characterized by Corona. "We now have ten days of normal face-to-face classes, then we are virtually quarantined for two weeks so that nobody is positive at the Abitur," explains Heiland. In this case, quarantine does not mean face-to-face lessons, but rather learning and video lessons alone.Of course, the Oberstdorf ski boarding school student is allowed to train as a squad athlete. "Since this currently consists of strength exercises or cycling alone, there is no corona stress here anyway."

What comes after graduating from high school will be revealed in June. The DSV team lists are not out yet, the application for the official positions has not yet been opened. Nevertheless, the sixth at the Junior World Championship can probably assume that he will receive a management status and start working for an authority in September. It is already certain that Oberstdorf or the Allgäu will remain his home, because there he has found the best conditions for cross-country skiing.

Text: Kathrin Ebenhoch