2023-11-24 21:16:06
The Biathlon World Cup returns this Saturday, November 25 in Östersund (Sweden). Two mixed relays, the single first, will launch this 2023-2024 season marked by several new features. Johannes Boe and Julia Simon, winners of the big globe last season, will wear their yellow leader’s bib on Sunday, for the Individual.
They will logically be among the favorites in their own succession. The Norwegian, already winner of this general classification three times and author of a stratospheric season last year – with 19 victories, a record -, seems well above the rest and a candidate for his own succession. “His body is simply made to ski fast. He is incredible on the track. And he worked on his shooting. Basically that makes him unbeatable,” summarizes his teammate and probably number one opponent this season, Sturla Holm Laegreid.
New staff for the men’s group
The task will undoubtedly be more complex for the 27-year-old Frenchwoman. Beyond this label of favorite that she will have to assume, Julia Simon is coming out of a summer disrupted by a conflict with her teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and a member of the staff, taken to court. She trained alone for most of the summer.
The Swedes Hanna and Elvira Oeberg will be among the other biathletes to watch, as will the Italians Dorothea Wierer and Lisa Vittozzi and the Norwegian Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold. We will also note the return of Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Olympic champion in the mass start of the Beijing Games in 2022 and mother since last winter.
As for the other French people, Quentin Fillon Maillet, winner of the World Cup at the end of the 2021-2022 season, and Émilien Jacquelin, back after a premature end to the 2022-2023 season and an “empty tank”, will have keen to do well after a disappointing year.
Fluoride banned for ski waxing
All these biathletes will have to deal with new regulations surrounding the waxing of their skis: the ban on fluoride, this product hitherto applied under the skis to make them slide as quickly as possible. In the event of the proven presence of fluorinated wax on the skis of a biathlete, he or she may be disqualified even before the start of a race.
Technicians are looking for the “miracle” product that can help athletes perform. “We check every day to see if there are products coming out. It’s a headache because we’re navigating in limbo,” confides one of the French preparers who assures that “no one is ready. » Big gaps could appear between the competitors during the first races, while the adjustments are made.
Worlds in Czech Republic and end of season in Canada
No stopover in France on the program this season, the Grand-Bornand site hosting one every two years, but something new with a stopover at Lenzerheide in Switzerland before the end-of-year holidays. Also note the introduction of the short individual, a new format during the Antholz-Anterselva weekend (Italy) in mid-January.
Head to the Czech Republic in mid-February for the Worlds, which will take place at the Nove-Mesto site. But it is across the Atlantic that the specialty globes and the general classification of the World Cup could be played out. After a stop in Oslo, Norway to close the European tour, the biathletes will head to the United States with a stop at Soldier Hollow in Utah, on the site of the 2002 Olympic Games, before competing in the last six races of the season in Canmore, Canada.
November 25 to December 3: Östersund (Sweden), mixed relay, individual, relay, sprint, pursuit
December 8 to 10: Hochfilzen (Austria), sprint, pursuit, relay
December 14 to 17: Lenzerheide (Switzerland), sprint, pursuit, mass-start
January 4 to 7: Oberhof (Germany), sprint, pursuit, relay
January 10 to 14: Ruhpolding (Germany), relay, sprint, pursuit
January 18 to 21: Antholz-Anterselva (Italy), short individual, mixed relay, mass-start
February 7 to 18: World Championships in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic): mixed relay, sprint, pursuit, individual, relay, mass-start
February 29 to March 3: Oslo (Norway), individual, mass-start, relay
March 8 to 10: Soldier Hollow (United States), relay, sprint, pursuit
14 au 17 mars : Canmore (Canada), sprint, poursuite, mass-start
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