There is also little snow on the slopes in Nove Mesto, but the organizers have it in stock.
The Biathlon World Cup starts on Wednesday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. However, the situation at the competition venue is really bad a couple of days before the start of the games, he says Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.
The strong wind has knocked down trees in the forest along the track and caused a lot of damage in the stadium. Posters have come off and there is a lot of debris from trees on the track.
– The conditions are miserable. It is very windy and the snow is black. It’s simply bad to be here now, NRK’s biathlon expert Ola Lunde said.
The Norwegian team was supposed to train on Monday, but the stadium was closed and training was cancelled.
– Everything has been cancelled. The stadium has suffered from weather conditions and a lot of snow has melted. We have a lot of work ahead of us, Daniel Böhm, representative of the International Biathlon Union, told NRK.
Skiing in the forest can even be dangerous.
– There are many trees that are close to falling. It’s scary in the forest, so it’s the right decision to close everything, Lunde said.
Sports Director of the Norwegian Biathlon Union Per Arne Botnam it’s not a disaster that the athletes can’t get to the track today.
– It’s not the end of the world. They can go for a run or ride a bike. The most important thing is to get the stress of the trip out of the body.
The snow is in stock
It rained in Nove Mesto on Sunday and the night between Sunday and Monday. Rain is also predicted for Wednesday. That’s when the World Championships start with the medley relay.
There is little snow in the terrain, but the lack of snow is not the biggest problem, as the organizers have plenty of snow in stock.
– We have 50,000 cubic meters of snow in stock, so the amount of snow will not be a problem. But we have a lot to do in order to get the conditions we want, Böhm stated.
NRK’s expert Lunde is confident that there will be a competition in Nove Mesto on Wednesday.
will show the biathlon world championships from Wednesday, February 7. from