Holland-Halle instead of Chile-Camp - defending champion Nörl is missing "high-quality snow days"

Created: 01/12/2022, 15:20

By: Uli Kellner

From now on the hunted: Martin Nörl (29, Landshut), proud overall World Cup winner in snowboard cross.

© Imago

The big crystal ball is the most valuable thing Martin Nörl has won so far.

But can he defend her?

For the first time, the training took place only in Europe.

At least the treasure from his past successful winter got through the summer well.

Not a matter of course in a house with two little girls who might find such a big crystal ball exciting.

But, says snowboard cross overall World Cup winner Martin Nörl, 29, and laughs: “I still have the balls in the box – they are well packed.

"Better safe than sorry.

In addition, even without a daily look at the pride of his career, Nörl knows that he will be one of the main hunted in the new season that starts this Friday.

Probably the more exciting question is: how well did he get through the summer himself?

Through a preparation in which the sustainability concept of the association became noticeable for the athletes of Snowboard Germany for the first time, namely: no training overseas, renunciation of many "high-quality snow days", which the international competition was happy to take with them.

In the long run we will have to think about how we can also ride routes that are suitable for the World Cup over the entire length.

Martin Nörl on Snowboard Germany not going overseas because of the climate.

Nörl, who is a good glider but a bad starter, openly admits: "It's definitely difficult for me.

We simply don't have many cross-country courses in Europe.” Instead of going to the mountains of Chile, we went to the artificial snow of a Dutch ski hall in the summer.

Not ideal, says the Lower Bavarian, but of course he shares the core idea – to avoid flights in view of the CO2 balance.

Although he remarks: "In the long run we will have to think about how we can also ski the entire length of routes suitable for the World Cup." The fact that Nörl recently won the European Cup in Pitztal is encouraging.

Remaining doubts about your own level of performance will go with you at the start in Lex Deux Alpes.

Other nations have been to Chile - will the World Cup be distorted?

And yet: The anticipation for the winter is there - also because of the World Championships in Georgia (February 19th to March 5th), where Germany's "Rider of the Year" will start as a co-favourite.

Nörl's goal: "After my last season, I want to be clearly at the top." His girls would certainly like that too, after all, precious metal isn't quite as fragile as crystal.