– I have been training harder, more and on harder terrains than ever, Suvi Minkkinen said a couple of weeks before the start of the Biathlon World Cup.
That was a lot to say from Minkkinen, because the use of superlatives does not come naturally to a river mouth. He doesn’t like to be threatened.
Before this season, Minkkinen had wanted the World Cup mostly in the middle class, but Minkkinen, who turned 30 on Sunday, knew he wanted more. That’s why he was ready to take a big risk going into this season.
When biathletes usually spend about three weeks at high altitude camps, those have been too short periods for Minkkinen. He usually has trouble adjusting to the high altitude, but the longer the camp has gone on, the better he’s gotten.
So Minkkinen decided to train at high altitude for no less than three months last summer. He lived in France and Italy at an altitude of 1,800 meters. Training in the mountains and on harder terrain naturally raised the level of training, and at the same time, Minkkinen was able to increase the amount of training and do more power.
– It certainly sounds like quite a risky combination, but I felt that risk-taking is required in order to really make a big level-up.
Financial risk taking
Camping for three months in Central Europe was also a financial risk-taking for Minkkinen. He had already thought about a longer mountain camp trip before, but hadn’t been able to make it happen.
Now Minkkinen didn’t want money to be an obstacle, even though he was left without a 10,000 euro athlete grant after last season. The budget for the camp was around 15,000 euros for three months, because Minkkinen wanted his coach to come along. He was able to raise that amount with the help of his sponsors.
– I am proud of myself that I dared to go and implement this, Minkkinen admitted.
Minkkinen wanted to do his experiment in good time before next winter’s Olympics, which will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
– If things go well now, the template for next year is ready to be implemented. But even if something needs to be done, then the Olympic year is not the first year when such things are tried.
The challenge is long climbs
Minkkinen, who started biathlon at the age of 13, is known as a great shooter, and he has been among the top five shooters in the World Cup for many years in a row. He has also been successful in value competitions, because a couple of years ago at the World Championships in Oberhof, he was eighth on the normal course after shooting down all 20 boards.
After this achievement, only about a week passed, when Minkkinen got himself another pole. He graduated from the University of Eastern Finland with a master’s degree in economics, majoring in service management.
However, in skiing speed, Minkkinen was only 66th in the World Cup last season. Long climbs in particular have been a big challenge for him. The fluoride cream ban that came into force last winter has also favored harder skiers.
– I have speed characteristics, that is, in a way, I have enough speed, but if I have to ski a little too hard uphill in a race, it eats away at my speed characteristics.
Now, in mountain training, he was able to ski long climbs, build a base and challenge his muscle endurance on extremely long climbs. It suited Minkkinen, who enjoys being able to exercise his weaknesses.
– When you spend two hours rotting a hoe or a shovel uphill, you can see it in the muscles, how they adapt to cope better.
Time to change your mind
After the camp, Minkkinen set his records in endurance tests in Finland. There were also successes on the race tracks, as at the Otepää Roller Biathlon World Championships in August, he won two silver medals, in the super sprint and the combined start.
Minkkinen went into his eighth World Cup season with quite realistic goals. He hoped to level up and get into the top six. He had reached this last spring Otto Invenius with, when the pair sled finished third in the pair medley relay in Oslo.
– In the big picture, I would like to reach the top-20 in the overall world cup. It means some placements in the top-15 and top-10. I’m the type of person who doesn’t want a lot of hype, but some facts behind the goals. I’m such a moderate, feet-on-the-ground guy, Minkkinen thought before the start of the season.
Minkkinen admitted that the expectations were high, but did not know if he had the necessary foundations for victories or prize positions. He stated that he will change his opinion if he breaks into the top ten in the first race. Then also prize places would be possible.
At the opening of the World Cup in Kontiolahti, Minkkinen did just that: first he finished in the top ten in the shortened normal race and third in the sprint race right after. This was the best result of a Finnish biathlete in an individual competition since January 2020, when Kaisa Mäkäräinen won the Oberhof joint start race.
Can be called a good skier
The good results are also reflected in Minkkinen’s purse, as the International Biathlon Union (IBU) pays 10,000 euros in prize money for 3rd place and 3,500 euros for 10th place. Minkkinen received 3,000 euros for the 11th place in Sunday’s joint start.
The results surprised Minkkinen, because he had only thought about such performances in the next season.
– I did not expect such a start to the season. The top-10 was not a surprise. However, the podium is tough in the speed race, because it is said that it is a race for good skiers. Now I can probably call myself a good skier, Minkkinen grumbled.
– Expectations were high, but I don’t know when I thought the first podium place would come.
Minkkinen already admitted before the start of the season that he would like to say that his life is in order. However, he reminded that biathlon consists of many different areas and how you handle the mental side has a lot to do with it.
The mixed doubles relay medal received last spring has been a good reminder for Minkkinen before this season of what he is capable of when everything falls into place. He has hoped that the medal would not be his last, and at least this wish has already been answered.