For Finnish men, a good seam opens up to the best possible conditions.
will show the opening races of the Biathlon World Cup from Kontiolahti on its channels. You can see broadcast information at Areena.
The Biathlon World Cup season starts on the last day of November in Kontiolahti. Over the course of nine days, North Karelia will compete in all forms of competition, from relays to mass starts.
During the season, the new starting system has become the biggest topic of conversation among athletes.
The International Biathlon Union IBU renewed the starting system so that in normal distances and sprints, the top 15 of the World Cup, i.e. the hot group, does not start the race in the first starting group, but in the third, i.e. from starting number 46.
In the future, one of the athletes outside the top 30 will get to the track as the first, and in the second group the competitors ranked 16-30 in the World Cup will start.
The IBU’s basis for the reform is that the fight to win the race will continue until the end of the event. Up until now, there hasn’t been enough excitement for the TV viewers for the last half hour of the games, apart from individual jymybangs.
So it’s a beautiful idea, about making an interesting TV genre even more interesting. But why does this make the sport’s top stars stand out?
– Biathlon differs from the intermediate start of cross-country skiing in that in this sport the alignment of the weapons plays a big role, which is done 60-15 minutes before the start of the race, Urheilu’s expert Kaisa Mäkäräinen open.
– During orientation, the top athletes also get to complete the initial warm-up at the optimal time. Now that the peaks start the race later, the training and other routines also have to be changed a little. In addition, the situation on the bench may have changed a lot due to the alignment, Mäkäräinen continues.
Benefit for Finland
At the top of the sport, there is therefore a place to get used to the challenges that, for example, Finland’s top players have had to consider in the past.
Mixed Otto Invenius that Tero Seppälä were just outside the 30 at the end of last season, so the coach of the Finnish national team With Erik Kulstad there is a chance to throw one of them into the first group in Kontiolahti.
The decision on the athlete’s starting group is therefore made by the coach of each team, within the framework of the new rules.
About Finnish women Suvi Minkkinen benefits from the reform, but the rest of the national team women are still trailing at least in Kontiolahti, after the weak success of last season. As the season progresses, the rankings are updated.
– I would say that Finland’s top athletes are very happy with this reform. They will get to the best possible track and naturally continue after the alignment towards the race performance, Mäkäräinen sees.
– In biathlon, there is also quite a small Lenk circuit compared to cross-country skiing, so the top group that starts later has a known traffic jam and overtaking during the race. I believe that this closes the time gaps and thereby also creates new excitement for the chase after the sprint race.
Looking ahead, the start reform therefore has a good chance of reaching the goal that the IBU is seeking. Superstar Johannes Bö and Sweden Sebastian Samuelsson however, have strongly criticized the reform in advance.
Kontiolahti will then hear what the athletes’ thoughts are after the first normal distance race on Tuesday, December 2.
– Every time there is a new thing with which there is no experience, it causes a little resistance and concern. In biathlon, the best place to start is at the top of the competition, and it is guaranteed that now the top athletes are concerned about how the reform affects the results list, Mäkäräinen concludes.
will show the opening races of the Biathlon World Cup from Kontiolahti on its channels. You can see broadcast information at Areena.