The cold weather that followed the rains and the inadequate actions of the organizers caused chaos on the track on Saturday in Annecy, France.
The conditions at the Biathlon World Cup in France gave the athletes a complete shock on Saturday. It had rained in Annecy, but before Saturday’s pursuits the weather turned cold and the tracks became really icy, even dangerous. The men’s race had to be postponed, but even the additional time did not help the organizers to modify the race route properly.
In recent years, the International Biathlon Union IBU has collected a lot of praise for the competitive forms and strong position of the sport, but on Saturday it really snowed. IBU Competition Director Borut Nunar had to face the anger of athletes and coaches and questions from the media. According to Nunar, the organizers did everything they could.
– We ran out of spare snow, and we couldn’t use the machines because of the ice. We did what we could with the hand game. We are all disappointed with the condition of the track, but this is a winter sport, Nunar commented.
A legend of the sport Be Einar Björndalen judged on Norwegian TV that the organizers ran the track too early.
– They drove it in the evening, when it should have been driven only in the morning. It was stupid, Björndalen scolded.
In the end, Lenkki was shortened by 250 meters and the bends were salted. It didn’t help much. The Norwegian camp described the race as scary, even life-threatening.
There were huge differences in the functionality of the equipment of different ski brands on the icy slopes. In the men’s race, ten people started Vetle Christiansen (Salomon) quickly rose to victory, but started as the number one Johannes Bö (Fischer) could barely stay upright.
– I already noticed after 50 meters of skiing that the edges of my skis are biting and my tone is good. I made the most of the situation, Christiansen said.
Christiansen ruined his chance to win with two missed shots in the last vertical position and Sturla Holm Lägreid (Madshus) ran away as number one. Lägreid was not in as big a problem on the track as Bö, who finished third, was not able to climb the hills.
– This was a complete disaster and a scandal in terms of arrangements. The worst race I’ve been to. There was nothing to do on the track. That’s why I tried to focus on shooting, Bö stated.
Bö, usually the fastest skier in the circus, lost in the ski time to Christiansen by 1.50 and to the fastest Swiss of the day To Jeremy Finello (Atomic) 2.01.
After the race, there were enough angry men in Annecy. Swedish national team pilot Johannes Lukas didn’t mince his words.
– Before the race, I tried to tell the IBU that playing sports is now a health risk. Well, luckily no one was hurt, but I’m still furious, Lukas described.
– This wasn’t biathlon but alpine skiing: Val Gardena super-G race, Norwegian John Dale (Fischer) uploaded.
In the women’s race, the track was almost as unfit. Sweden won Elvira Öberg and the four first places went to Salomon’s athletes. Öberg was excited about the win and the first 20/20 balance in the World Cup.
For most of the athletes, Saturday was suffering. There was even an IBU official on top of one hill instructing the athletes to slow down to avoid accidents.
– This was the stupidest thing I’ve ever been involved in, a Norwegian skier Caroline Knotten allowed.
The Finnish athletes were not as shy in their comments.
– The track was quite a ice rink, and as a platform perhaps one of the most difficult races I’ve skied. There were rough patches and a lot of hanging on by one’s hands, Suvi Minkkinen your sum.