Biathlon: 2 days to go until the World Team Challenge 2024
As the Christmas festivities draw to a close on Thursday morning, it ‘s already time to set a course for the biathlon season. Not because the World Cup is due to resume in a few days’ time, but because of the traditional Biathlon auf Schalke.
This year marks the nineteenth edition of this exhibition biathlon competition, held in the Veltins Arena football stadium in Gelsenkirchen (Germany). The main event on the day will be the World Team Challenge.
Featuring ten mixed pairs and contested in two parts, with a mass-start followed by a pursuit, this World Team Challenge has been won for the last two years by France’s Julia Simon and Fabien Claude, who have been impressive in this exercise. Once again on Saturday 28 December, the French will be taking part in a bid to make it three for the first time, and they will be up against some strong teams.
Germany, at home, will be represented by Anna Weidel/Justus Strelow and Franziska Preuss/Philipp Nawrath, while Karoline Knotten and Sturla Holm Lægreid will be entered for Norway. Anna Magnusson and Jesper Nelin (Sweden), Jessica Jislova and Michal Krcmar (Czech Republic), Baiba Bendika and Anders Rastorgujevs (Latvia), Yuliia Dzhima and Dmytro Pidruchnyi (Ukraine), Polona Klemencic and Jakov Fak (Slovenia) and Lotte Lie and Florent Claude (Belgium) will also be competing.
The list of participants in the World Team Challenge 2024
- Anna Weidel & Justus Strelow 🇩🇪
- Franziska Preuss & Philipp Nawrath 🇩🇪
- Karoline Knotten & Sturla Holm Lægreid 🇳🇴
- Julia Simon & Fabien Claude 🇫🇷
- Anna Magnusson & Jesper Nelin 🇸🇪
- Jessica Jislova & Michal Krcmar 🇨🇿
- Baiba Bendika & Anders Rastorgujevs 🇱🇻
- Yuliia Dzhima & Dmytro Pidruchnyi 🇺🇦
- Polona Klemencic & Jakov Fak 🇸🇮
- Lotte Lie & Florent Claude 🇧🇪
The full programme of the World Team Challenge 2024
Saturday 28 December
- 12.00: opening of the village
- 2.30pm: Opening of the grandstands and VIP areas of the Veltins Arena
- 2.50pm: presentation of the Talent Team Challenge teams
- 15:00: Talent Team Challenge shooting trials
- 3.20pm: Talent Team Challenge shooting competition qualifiers
- 3.30pm: Talent Team Challenge shooting competition final
- 3.50pm: mass-start of the Talent Team Challenge
- 4.35pm: Talent Team Challenge prize-giving ceremony
- 4.45pm: World Team Challenge shooting trials
- 5.10pm: Opening ceremony and presentation of the World Team Challenge teams
- 5.35pm: World Team Challenge shooting competition qualifiers
- 5.45pm: World Team Challenge shooting competition final
- 6.10pm: Mass start of the World Team Challenge
- 7.27pm: World Team Challenge continues
- 8.10pm: World Team Challenge prize-giving ceremony
- 8.20pm: Closing ceremony
- 8.30pm: Après-Ski-Party
- World Team Challenge: Julia Simon and Fabien Claude make history by retaining their title
- The photo album of Fabien Claude and Julia Simon’s second consecutive success at the World Team Challenge in Gelsenkirchen
- Fabien Claude talks to Nordic Magazine about his brilliant success with Julia Simon in the World Team Challenge: “We dominated the whole race”.
