Carl's winter fairytale inspires German tour dreams
She's in the form of her life: that's what long-time top cross-country skier Katharina Hennig says about her teammate Victoria Carl. The 28-year-old replaces her as the new number one in the German team and is also celebrating podium finishes at the Tour de Ski.
Victoria Carl made a rather unusual resolution on New Year's Day. She would "eat a lot" on the first rest day of the Tour de Ski, said the Olympic champion with a grin, after all, she had a three-day slog behind her. The 28-year-old has certainly earned a culinary reward: as runner-up in the overall rankings, the cross-country skier has established herself at the top of the world just in time for the season's highlight.
Carl has already climbed all three steps of the podium this winter - not bad for someone who had never stood on the podium before the season. Nevertheless, the power woman from Zella-Mehlis in Thuringia remains modest: "Of course I hope it continues like this. But I'm not saying that I'm the podium runner par excellence. I want to keep running consistently in the top ten."
At least in the German team, Carl is already the new number one. She has replaced Katharina Hennig, with whom she sensationally won gold in the team sprint in Beijing in 2022. Because Hennig is still suffering from the effects of coronavirus, the roles are currently clearly divided. That's not a problem for Hennig. "Vici, you're in the form of your life and you've 100% earned it," she wrote on Instagram.
Going her own way even during the tour
And so Carl jumps into the breach - and how. After three of seven stages, she can dream of the first "podium" for a German runner at the Tour. "It doesn't stop. The new year is starting like the old one ended," said national coach Peter Schlickenrieder proudly: "Vici is biting her way onto the podium. That's how you imagine it, chapeau, top, an absolute top performance."
In Toblach, Carl left the competition from Scandinavia behind in the 22-kilometer pursuit with a show of strength, only World Cup leader Jessie Diggins was unbeatable. There are now 47 seconds between the leading American and Carl in the overall standings - probably too much to even pull off the big coup.
Carl has long gone her own way to achieve success, even at the Tour. While the majority of the German team will travel to the heights of Davos today, Tuesday, Carl packed her bags after the third stage and left for Switzerland on Monday evening. "I'm not a fan of short journeys, it's exhausting," she said.
At least Carl had a whole day in Switzerland to prepare for the sprint on Wednesday and the 20-kilometer race 24 hours later. After all, there was plenty to do. Food, for example.
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Source: www.ntv.de
