He felt at the end. The sport he loved so much could no longer give him anything. Regenerating after training took longer and longer. No wonder, he was already just over 30 years old and he had recently become a father, which meant completely different demands. He thought, “I can’t do this anymore.”
But as it is: Lucas Bögl from Bad Tölz also avoided making a decision too quickly, instead he calmed down first. And because he was at home and could train on the nearby cross-country ski trails in winter, because he loved winter, the “I can’t do it anymore” turned into “I want to know again”. The small crisis made it clear to Bögl that his sport is a gift. On the one hand, cross-country skiing can be hellish torture if your daily form or the wax under your skis isn’t right – and on the other hand, it’s an “incredibly good and healthy exercise,” as Bögl says: “I don’t need anything, just arms and Legs and a stable core.”
This sporting phase could also fit his phase of life. A new start that still lasts and brings completely new perspectives. Until recently, the German cross-country skiing team didn’t really have much of a chance against Scandinavian teams and individual experts from the Alpine countries. However, it now has some athletes who can run or skate in a parallel style to a medal.
:Tomorrow’s snow
Soon it will be too warm in many ski resorts in the Alps to make snow on the slopes in winter. And then? Alternatives to snow are already in use elsewhere: brushes, waves and plastic spaghetti. A look into the future of skiing.
National coach Peter Schlickenrieder and his base supervisors have been looking for talent for a long time and have obviously found some. The department of the German Ski Association recorded many “emotional successes,” says Schlickenrieder, “perhaps the most emotional was Viktoria Carl’s first individual World Cup victory, which was a really big number.” Among the men, Friedrich Moch, 24, stood out. who took second place overall at the 2024 Tour de Ski and was part of the 2023 bronze relay team.
Younger people are there in the strenuous sprint categories or the long distances, such as the 50 kilometers. Bögl was a part of the successes for a long time; when it came to the younger medals, he was already in a phase in which cross-country skiers were reducing their program. As an ambitious runner, you can quickly lose strength over long distances – and when you reach the finish line, many people end up lying flat in the snow for a long time. Even the short races for the muscle-bound sprinters, says Bögl, are no longer for him. That leaves the middle are ten kilometers.
A distance that contains a lot. In the ten-kilometer run, the pace is fast, but not rapid. It is the challenge that those whose art is based on experience also overcome. Those who can distribute their strength and start the decisive intermediate sprint at the right time. These are the athletes who mainly make it into the top ten over this distance and perhaps win a late medal, like Lucas Bögl, 34.
To do this, he not only has to choose the right distance, but also optimize his running technique, a process that takes a long time. Hardly any cross-country skier has perfect technique – but you can find the right posture over a longer process. “It’s about functionality, so that the energy isn’t lost in the wrong places in the process,” says Bögl.
As an older cross-country skier you can no longer complain, you have to get to the bottom of things
You have to love cross-country skiing, perhaps more than most athletes love their disciplines. You have to train for a long time, from early summer to the last training in late winter and then beyond. The legs must keep moving to maintain the balance of strength and lightness. Cross-country skiing is not really healthy as a competitive sport. Despite taking precautions, people often catch a cold – and “still,” says Bögl, “we always try to train,” because in this or that muscle group, “you can probably still achieve a lot.”
Bögl, who had almost given up, now found a new approach. And he found Marco Kaufmann, a fitness coach, who helped him rejuvenate his legs a bit. Because as an older cross-country skier you can no longer make too much noise; once you’re over thirty you have to get to the bottom of things, in the literal sense – namely down to your legs and feet. Bögl got involved and, together with Kaufmann, discovered what the problem was: He, who as a top cross-country skier actually has brilliant running technique, still has a kind of slanted frame: his right leg is slightly shortened, which is not easy to see with the naked eye can be seen. But: “I could never run with the same strength in my ankles.”
Now, with a lot of patience, targeted muscle training and loosening of the tendons, he has restored his symmetry. But not only that, but also another, perhaps most important effect of the new form structure had begun. Bögl could hardly believe it because: “The pain is gone.”
And the ambition is back. He has, to a certain extent, overhauled his technique. His team did a good job. Now, in training and in competition, when things get serious again, his body is reduced to the essentials, the ten kilometers. And Bögl says: “We are far from finished.”
