Bob hope at the home World Cup
Vogt is so quick thanks to his girlfriend and time off
At the home World Championships in St. Moritz, bobsleigh hopeful Michael Vogt took bronze in the twos. The decision will be made on Sunday. Blick explains the recipe for success in Vogt’s team.
Published: 10 minutes ago
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Strong first day at the home World Cup: Michael Vogt and Sandro Michel on the way to third place at half-time.
Matthew Dubachreporter sports
He is the big hope of Swiss bobsleigh fans at the home World Championships in St. Moritz. Michael Vogt (25) is consistently among the best in the world this season. And Vogt does not disappoint the fans in the legendary natural ice channel down to Celerina GR. After the first two races, the man from Schwyz is in 3rd place (see below) and can crown the season with his first World Championships medal on Sunday.
Vogt bobsled faster than ever. His team grew, especially at the start. In the two, Sandro pushes Michel (26). But for the four-man sled, the Vogt team also consists of Alain Knuser (28), Cyril Bieri (29) and Silvio Weber (27).
Vogt on course for bronze – Friedli gives up injured
This man is really hot for a World Cup medal on the home track. Michael Vogt (25) showed a strong performance in the two-man bobsleigh on the first of the two days of competition. The Schwyzer and brakeman Sandro Michel (26) stays as third.
After the first run, Vogt is still in the lead. Then the German dominators hit back. Johannes Lochner and ten-time world champion Francesco Friedrich pass the Swiss. Vogt says: “Of course, anyone who falls back from first to third place is not happy. But before that day, I would definitely have taken third place. Our first run was almost perfect. In the second run I made one or two mistakes that cost me time.»
First Swiss World Cup medal in sight since 2016
Gold is now 0.39 seconds short at half-time, and silver only 0.07. “A medal is definitely within reach,” says Vogt, “we have to go one step further at the start on Sunday and I have to go down a little nicer. Then it doesn’t look bad.”
It would be the first World Cup medal in the new Swiss bobsleigh era with the rebuilding from 2018 with lots of young pilots. The last Swiss World Championship medals were won in 2016 by Beat Hefti (silver in the twos) and Rico Peter (bronze in the fours). And for the sake of completeness: the last Swiss world champion was Ivo Rüegg in 2009.
Friedli’s calf and violent falls in the horseshoe
On the other hand, Simon Friedli (31) will not even be at the start on Sunday. The injury in the left calf breaks out again at the second start in Solothurn: “For me, the World Cup is over and probably the whole season too.”
Friedli’s place in the four-man race from 4./5. February will now see Timo Rohner (24), eighth at half-time in the pair, inherit.
On the oldest bobsled track in the world, there is also a lot of noise. It’s the triple fall shock at the end of the legendary Horseshoe curve. Germany’s Adam Ammour (21), Croatia’s Drazen Silic (37) and Canadian Taylor Austin (33) totally misjudged this key point and each fell. The good news: all six athletes involved escaped without serious injuries. (md)
This man is really hot for a World Cup medal on the home track. Michael Vogt (25) showed a strong performance in the two-man bobsleigh on the first of the two days of competition. The Schwyzer and brakeman Sandro Michel (26) stays as third.
After the first run, Vogt is still in the lead. Then the German dominators hit back. Johannes Lochner and ten-time world champion Francesco Friedrich pass the Swiss. Vogt says: “Of course, anyone who falls back from first to third place is not happy. But before that day, I would definitely have taken third place. Our first run was almost perfect. In the second run I made one or two mistakes that cost me time.»
First Swiss World Cup medal in sight since 2016
Gold is now 0.39 seconds short at half-time, and silver only 0.07. “A medal is definitely within reach,” says Vogt, “we have to go one step further at the start on Sunday and I have to go down a little nicer. Then it doesn’t look bad.”
It would be the first World Cup medal in the new Swiss bobsleigh era with the rebuilding from 2018 with lots of young pilots. The last Swiss World Championship medals were won in 2016 by Beat Hefti (silver in the twos) and Rico Peter (bronze in the fours). And for the sake of completeness: the last Swiss world champion was Ivo Rüegg in 2009.
Friedli’s calf and violent falls in the horseshoe
On the other hand, Simon Friedli (31) will not even be at the start on Sunday. The injury in the left calf breaks out again at the second start in Solothurn: “For me, the World Cup is over and probably the whole season too.”
Friedli’s place in the four-man race from 4./5. February will now see Timo Rohner (24), eighth at half-time in the pair, inherit.
On the oldest bobsled track in the world, there is also a lot of noise. It’s the triple fall shock at the end of the legendary Horseshoe curve. Germany’s Adam Ammour (21), Croatia’s Drazen Silic (37) and Canadian Taylor Austin (33) totally misjudged this key point and each fell. The good news: all six athletes involved escaped without serious injuries. (md)
Vogt is also so fast because there is a real team spirit in his crew, as Bob-Hope describes. The problem in bobsledding: There is a permanent danger of cabin fever. The teams are somewhere together all winter long.
“There are also minor disputes”
Long car journeys, many weeks in hotels, many hours in the garage, many evenings in desolate places like Altberg in East Germany. Then there is the internal competition, not all pushers are used in a foursome.
At the start of the season on the North American tour alone, Vogt and Co. spent six and a half weeks together. “It’s normal for minor disputes to arise,” he says openly.
But the Schwyzer and his men have developed a recipe for success: In order to strengthen the team spirit, the team sometimes separates – Vogt and Co. deliberately take time out from each other. “You’re very attached to each other. It’s important to do something for yourself from time to time. In this way, the looseness among one another is maintained.”
Of course, the five colleagues enjoy evenings together over a beer. But the breaks are just as important. The advantage for Vogt: his girlfriend and pilot Melanie Hasler (24) is also part of the bobsleigh entourage. The women travel around the World Cup together with the men. “When I do something for myself, I usually do something with Melanie.” Taking time out with your girlfriend strengthens the team spirit in your own team. When the couple is out and about, Bob is hardly ever an issue.
Of course, the strong results also fuel the team spirit. But how relaxed the team really is becomes apparent when things don’t go well. When boarding went wrong at the four-man start in Lake Placid and pusher Knuser only made it into the sled with great difficulty, Vogt posted the video himself on social media and made fun of his own team: “Alain could also laugh about it at some point.”
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