Competitions at an altitude of 1,700 meters are what await the biathletes this weekend, with the opening relay for the men and sprint for the ladies already on Friday evening, Swedish time.
In combination with the time change, it has been a special upload for the contestants. One of them is Hanna Öberg, who is back after a cold that kept her out of competing in Norway last weekend.
– I feel good. It was boring and special to watch the competitions from home. But now I’ve had time to get healthy and train a few sessions before the competitions here, says Öberg to SVT Sport.
How have the first few days here been?
– It was very wet today, it’s hot. The time change has gone well, but it is clear that you feel that we are at a height, it was tough out there today. But then we’ll see what the conditions will be like at the competitions themselves.
“Wants to do good competitions”
Otherwise, the form is a bit unclear for Öberg, who is still looking forward to competing.
– We will see how the form is after being ill and here it is high altitude and time adjustment, all those bits. So there are a lot of things that come into play. But I want to do good competitions and there are good conditions for that.
Sebastian Samuelsson also feels the height in Soldier Hollow.
– It affects a lot. It is close to the limit of what you can compete on according to our rules. It becomes important how you set up the races. The height will be a challenge, but I feel like I’m on my way, says Samuelsson.
“Want to tie the knot”
Samuelsson has nothing to do with the fight for the final victory in the overall World Cup. But he is there in the USA with the attitude of wanting to do good competitions.
– In terms of results this season, I have not performed at the level I wanted. I want to tie the bag together in a good way and be part of the fight for the overall victory in another season and then you have to last the whole season and there are important lessons I can learn from these competitions now.