"There can't just be great races"

Created: 12/14/2022, 07:00

By: Patrick Hilmes

The cheers from the fans didn't help either: David Zobel had a bad day in the Hochfilzen sprint.

© Peter Kornatz

The World Cup in Hochfilzen did not go according to plan for David Zobel.

But he doesn't let that get him down and is already looking forward to the next races.

Hochfilzen -

Sometimes the body just doesn't want to do what the mind wants it to do.

Then you can try whatever you want, it doesn't work.

Everyone knows days like this, including top athletes.

Experienced David Zobel (SC Partenkirchen) again last Friday.

At the second World Cup stop of the biathletes in Hochfilzen (Austria), the sprint was on.

Zobel had planned to build on his sensational performances from the opening weekend in Kontiolahti with places three, eight and ninth.

But the plan didn't work out in the slightest, but in the end he found himself way down the list of results in 56th place.

"It went really badly," admits the man from Murnauer.

It felt like I had two concrete blocks on my legs.”

David Zobel

Why?

Because the body went on strike.

"It felt as if I had two concrete blocks on my legs." The first round was still decent, and the performance on the shooting range was great - five hits in the prone position.

But then suddenly nothing worked.

Zobel struggled in pain, didn't want to give up, but somehow fought his way through.

It just wasn't quick.

The worst for an athlete.

"You torment yourself so much, and then nothing gets around." Every lap now felt like a final lap.

Correspondingly knocked out, he came to standing shooting.

Due to the physical exhaustion, he also lacked the concentration he needs for a good shooting performance.

As a result, the line from the head to the trigger finger was simply too long.

"Then you first press

when you're out of the finish area again.” The result: three penalty loops.

The prospect of another top result was finally gone.

No explanation for the slump in the sprint

The question remains: Why did the body go on strike?

The different altitudes of the two World Cup locations (840 meters difference in altitude between Kontiolahti and Hochfilzen) and the day's form are possible solutions, but Zobel is not satisfied.

"I really can't explain it to myself." But he doesn't want to deal with it particularly intensively anymore.

"You don't always have to have an explanation for everything." He quickly focused more on the next race.

That wasn't the season though.

His performance in the sprint was just too bad for that.

"That really pissed me off.

My family and friends were there, so that was doubly bitter.”

increase in pursuer

But Zobel is not one to bury his head in the sand.

42nd place in the pursuit doesn't sound particularly great, but the man from Murnauer was satisfied with this race.

Still, he's up 14 places, the performance on the shooting range was impeccable after the two penalties in the first series, and the body kept up.

"It's clear that there aren't just great races, that there are also days like this." That's why his interim conclusion after the first two World Cups of this season is a positive one.

"If you take out the sprint and replace it with a normal result, then everything is tip top."

Approach remains the same

With this feeling, he got into the car on Monday and drove to Le Grand-Bornand (France), where the last World Cup of the year will be held from Thursday to Sunday.

He no longer has the Hochfilzen sprint in mind and will not change his approach.

“I will do everything as before.

That also worked in Kontiolahti.

I don't have to reinvent the wheel."