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Niels Hintermann finally celebrated a sense of success in Kvitfjell after a difficult winter.
After the Super-G weekend in Garmisch, Niels Hintermann had reached a low point. The Zurich native left Germany with a 30th place and one retirement; previously he had only finished in the top 10 three times this season. Hintermann found time to change something: “I worked a lot with my mental trainer and then even went a step further.”
He visited a sports hypnotist to “simply shed light on the problem from another perspective and dissect it.” With success. As soon as he saw the hypnotist, he noticed that he felt better. This was confirmed in the first snow training session on Monday in Kvitfjell. “I had a completely different feeling while driving,” says Hintermann.
The positive effect of the approach was also translated into the race, after which the man behind was “finally able to finish with a good feeling” at the finish. The Zurich native celebrated his 3rd World Cup victory in Kvitfjell. And this despite the fact that the feeling during the race wasn’t always good: “I fought brutally, especially with the line.” He was correspondingly surprised when the number one lit up at the finish.
Hintermann did not fully believe in victory during the interview, at which time not all drivers had yet reached the finish line. However, he was always relieved about the successful performance: “It was a very tough season. Thank you to everyone who didn’t lose faith in me.”
Never gave up hope
Despite his deep self-confidence, he always started with the hope that something like what happened in Kvitfjell would happen. “I noticed that there are nuances that, overall, result in a major loss of time,” says Hintermann. Now the liberation has been successful. On Sunday there will be an opportunity to confirm this in the Super-G in Kvitfjell.