Planica (Netavisen): He entered the toilet as the heavy favourite, but Halvor Egner-Granrod was unable to live up to expectations.
– This is nonsense. There were hard days on Earth.
That’s what Granerud said when Nettavisen asked him to share his thoughts on his performance in Planica’s WC singles races.
Early on, Granrud looked like one of Norway’s top medal favorites, but ski jumping struggled, like many previous World Cup leaders, to make it to the World Championships.
You have a theory
Granerud does not hide the fact that he experienced a drop in form during the tournament in Planica.
He had already asked himself why that was.
– Of course, I’m starting to think about it myself. I like to try and get a touch of control,” Granerud tells Nettavisen.
Now he points to, among other things, a trip to the US as one of the reasons he struggles to make consistently good jumps on the World Cup slopes.
– My best theory is that I jumped hills I had never jumped before. The last three hills I jumped on before the restroom were hills I had never known before. Perhaps it gave way to technical “drift” that might not have been there had I jumped on known facilities. That’s the only thing I can point out, says Granerud.
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The Norwegian says his form has been declining since he went to the US for the World Cup races in Lake Placid.
– Jump “drifts” naturally all the time. Maybe it’s starting to get a bit fringe already in Willingen, which I tried to moderate in Lake Placid. I had to work a lot with this technology to get it to work there. It was kind of a downward spiral.
– Things weren’t perfect in Lake Placid. Things likely weren’t perfect at Granåsen either. It’s hard to know when you don’t have a basis for comparison. Perhaps there was a solution we could have done differently, explains Granrod, to jump hills I know.
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Stockl: – A choice he made
National team coach Alexander Stockl believes Granrod’s theory is correct.
– He’s jumped off unknown cliffs so it’s hard to keep feeling the need to find a good sitting position. It is very crucial for him. If he’s too aggressive, he won’t succeed. This may be true. There is a lot of learning in that for him. It was his choice to go to Lake Placid with the World Cup in mind.
Was going to the US something you supported?
Yes, of course, with regard to the World Cup as a whole. There were two races, so it was important to be there. He distanced himself from Kubacki and was thus able to stand over Rasnov and prioritize the restroom preparations. In this sense, it was the right choice, Stockl tells Netavien.
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extra pressure
Sports director Klas Brede Brathen also suspects that Granrud’s favored character has made the toilet more demanding.
Shape-shifts come in all seasons. There is no one just streaming. Halvor is one of the few who has made it look easy for two seasons, but it isn’t.
– The World Cup leader has a larger favorite character and there is much more focus on the World Cup leader in World Cup racing than in a regular World Cup race. It’s the only element I can see that’s not necessarily positive, Bråthen tells Nettavisen.
Granerud also acknowledges that it has not been easy.
– It puts so much pressure on you that the body feels different. This is why it is important to be extremely loyal to your work tasks. That’s what I tried to be, but maybe it wasn’t carefully enough. It is a very rewarding experience to take with you further. The next bath will be more important to me than this. This is what I am most looking forward to in the future, a toilet in Trondheim, says Granrod.
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