It is two minutes before twelve when Lena Kohler plunges into the abyss. A minute later he seems to be over, the dream of the next podium. She survives the first jump over one of these frightening rocks on the Bec des Rosses without falling, but then it still loses its balance and ends up on the bottom of the pants. That was the good thing, the 24-year-old seems to think and only drives the rest of the slope down in a controlled manner. No more back flip that she had thought about in advance. The conditions in the spring-like verb are too difficult, where the best freeride skiers have gathered again to choose the winners of the Freeride World Tour (FWT).
World champion Max Hitzig had to pause this winter due to injury, but Team Germany has two iron in the fire: Tiemo Rolshoven, who becomes overall-and Lena Kohler from Memmingen. When rookie started the season, she ends up in a strong fourth place in the overall ranking, in front of drivers like the three -time world champion Arianna Tricomi. Because despite the misfortune after the first cliff, it is still enough in Verbier, your third podium – because the competition does not survive this hell ride without harmless.
These world championships have been held for freeride skiers and snowboarders since 2008. Since the FWT hatched under the roof of the World Kingopolitan FIS two years ago, one has had hope of becoming 2030 Olympic discipline. In terms of spectacle factor, a profit – and a discipline that is well received by the young generation. Because those who have followed the development of this sport over the years can only rub their eyes. If a reverse salo was considered to be a maximum of borderline a while ago, some drivers have long since come with double baking flips, mind you in the middle of a rocky landscape, in which you can get all possible snow types within two minutes.
In Andorra she started with a self -inflicted crash: “The worst snow of my life.”
“Tough Conditions”, as Kohler says, also prevailed at the penultimate tour in Fieberbrunn. At the Wildseeloder in Tyrol, the Germans managed to qualify for the final in Verbier, which means that it can also start in the Elite League in the coming season. As a reward, the organizer gave a red Superman cloak, which she also wore on the valley descent. The thermometer in the valley showed 15 degrees, “it wasn’t much less above,” says Kohler and laughs: “Freerids are not always powder.” Her first season was quite an ups and downs, “also mentally”. In Andorra she started with a self -inflicted crash: “The worst snow in my life. Not the cleverest idea, because it was so paired. Fully overpowed, it has completely disassembled me, I have never had such a crash. But it mentally scratched the ego. But I thought:
At the next event at the possible Olympic competition location from 2030 in Val Thorens, things went better with third place, as in Kicking Horse (Canada), where she also became third: “I was very happy with my line, zero on the limit, in the comfort zone.” In Georgia, it was physically at the end of the strenuous journey including location change and a week of waiting for better weather. “You have to find the motivation again, the right line anyway, ask yourself: How much risk do you take? I’m more like the type of all in”. But sometimes you just have to drive smart and switch off as many risk factors as possible. ” Just like the final in Verbier.
All competition slopes were new territory for Kohler. After giving up the classic racing career at 16, she only got a taste for freeride after graduating from high school at the semester abroad in Japan – despite the “worst winter that Japan had ever had”. Then she wanted to study in Innsbruck, “because you can almost not Freeriden ”. She learned a lot from friends, became braver step by step, jumped the first backflip at some point, actually had enough of competition and pressure, but was persuaded by a buddy to a first competition – and then marched through the qualification levels through the qualification levels like TSG Hoffenheim under Ralf Rangnick through the football. Playful, but: boom! ” Weaken? “Definitely the tricks. I can, but in the competition it is a matter of the head that I have to overcome myself. But that’s okay. It is a process, you learn every year if it is not yet at the level.” Quite clarified for a rookie.
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