Biathlon: Belgium in the sun to start preparations
While the Swedes were in the Greek sunshine of Crete last week and the French will be in La Var next week, Belgium will be on a training camp in Rio Maior (Portugal) from Monday until Saturday.
The Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (COIB ) is organising this gathering of the country’s top biathletes. “Organised every four years, this course brings together Team Belgium’s winter athletes at the Desmor Sports Centre in Rio Maior in an environment conducive to training and cohesion, explains the COIB in a press release. This year, athletes from biathlon, bobsleigh, speed skating, short track, skeleton, alpine skiing, ski mountaineering and snowboarding are taking part.”
Since the first edition in 2017, Rio Maior’s Belgian pre-Olympic courses have proved their worth.
“In Beijing in 2022, the links that had already been forged strengthened trust in a very tense pandemic context. You don’t just need to know the name of the doctor or the head of mission, you need to have already established a personal bond. It’s this mutual trust that makes the delegation stronger,” says Olav Spahl, head of mission for the Belgian delegation at Milan/Cortina 2026.
