Biathlon: Norwegian opening races moved to Geilo
Held since 2013 in Sjusjøen (Norway), the opening Norwegian biathlon races – officially called Sesongstart Skiskyting in Norway – are moving this year. The Geilo Skiarena will host the competitions this weekend.
Currently in training on site, the biathletes in the French men’s team will take advantage of this competitive weekend to kick off their winter against the Norwegians. Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel will also be taking part, along with Dorothea Wierer and Anastasiya Kuzmina, as well as the Belgians, Kazakhstanis, British and Poles.
The programme is the same as in previous seasons, with sprints on Saturday (11.30am for the ladies, 2pm for the men) and mass-starts on Sunday (12.45pm for the ladies, 2.30pm for the men).
There’s plenty at stake over the weekend , including the race for the last French place in the World Cup, as well as the Norwegian selections for the same circuit and the IBU Cup.
The full programme for the opening Norwegian biathlon races in Geilo (Norway)
Friday 14th November
- 9.00-11.00: Official ladies’ training
- 11.30am-1.30pm: official men’s training
Saturday 15 November
- 10.30am-11.15am: women’s shooting trials
- 11.30am: women’s 7.5 km sprint
- 13:00-13:45: Men’s shooting trials
- 2pm: Men’s 10 km sprint
Sunday 16 November
- 9.00am-9.20am: mass-start trials n°1 ladies
- 9.25am-9.45am: mass-start shooting trials n°1 men
- 9.50 am: women’s 12.5 km mass-start (race B)
- 10.40 am: men’s 15km mass-start (race B)
- 12.00-12.30: mass-start women’s trials #2
- 12.45pm: women’s 12.5km mass-start (race A)
- 1.45pm-2.15pm: Men’s mass-start shooting trials No. 2
- 2.30pm: men’s 15km mass-start (race A)
- “Going head-to-head with the world’s elite”: departure day in Norway for the French men’s team, expected on the snow in Geilo for the final training camp in their Olympic preparations.
- “I’m not going home until Christmas”: after the Geilo training camp, Eric Perrot and Emilien Claude will stay on to train before heading to Östersund for the start of the World Cup.
- Bessans, Geilo, Idre Fjäll, Lenzerheide, Ruhpolding, Obertilliach or Martell-Val Martello: the calendar of selection races organised before the start of the international season
- Three men for one place: Antonin Guigonnat, Oscar Lombardot and Gaëtan Paturel will battle it out for the final ticket to the World Cup on 15 and 16 November in Geilo.
- The names of the first seven Norwegians to qualify for the World Cup opener in Östersund are known
