From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) congratulates his brother, Tarjei Boe (NOR) who finished beside him on the podium at the IBU World Championships Men’s Sprint in Oberhof. (Photo: Reichert/NordicFocus)
One man has won all five 10 k Sprint competitions so far this season, so even with 112 starters in today’s BMW IBU World Championship Sprint, there was no doubt about the favorite. Johannes Thignes Boe of Norway has been untouchable on skis since November, regularly out-skiing his nearest competitor by over 30 seconds. The 150m penalty loop in biathlon usually takes athletes about 23 seconds, so Boe can afford to miss once and still win. Today he missed once in prone—the target barely visible at 50m through dense fog—but cleaned standing with no hesitation in just 21 seconds. With a 36-second second margin to the next-fastest skier, Boe defended his Olympic title and become the 2023 World Champion. This sets him up for another likely victory in tomorrow’s Pursuit competition, but with four shooting stages, anything can happen.
Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) started and finished in bib number 1 at the IBU World Championships Sprint in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sharing the podium with the unbeatable Boe were two teammates: his older brother, Tarjei Boe, shot the perfect score to complete the family sweep for the second time this winter, and Sturla Holm Laegreid missed just one in standing to capture the bronze. Laegreid is ranked second behind J. Boe in the Overall standings and has been on the podium in all but three competitions this season, so he was very much the silver medal favorite, but T. Boe is the fifth-ranked Norwegian (and 8th in the World Cup Overall standings), so the so-called “Boedium” was a pleasant surprise for the brothers.
Tarjei Boe (NOR), Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR), Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR) (l-r) on the podium of the IBU World Championships Sprint in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The Norwegian men make it look easy to land on the podium even with nine out of ten hits, but it’s not. Only four people on the whole men’s World Cup circuit have a shooting average of 90%. Laegreid is one of them. The Boe brothers are among the top 15 athletes with an 88% hit rate. Add the expectation of victory, and their performances become even more impressive.
Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR) racing to third place in the IBU World Championships Sprint in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
With Johannes Dale in fourth and Vetle Christiansen in sixth, the Norwegians almost pulled off a full sweep of the Flower Ceremony, but one athlete managed to upset the total domination. Dmytro Pidruchnyi of Ukraine shot clean and skied the 15th course time to take fifth. He had only raced twice this season—once in November and once just last week, with a knee operation in between—before coming to the World Championships. Pidruchnyi has a history of performing his best at championships; he was the World Champion in the Pursuit in 2019. Today’s fifth place was his top result since then. This victory will certainly mean a lot to him, his team, and the people of Ukraine as they suffer from war at home.
Flower Ceremony finishers in the IBU World Championships Sprint in Oberhof, Germany. Front L-R: Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR), Dmytro Pidruchnyi (UKR), Johannes Dale (NOR), Back: L-R: Tarjei Boe (NOR), Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR), Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR). (Photo: NordicFocus)
Andrejs Rastorgujevs of Latvia shot 10/10 to finish 7th, Johannes Keuhn of the home German team finished 8th for his best result of the season, and two French athletes, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Antonin Guigonnat, rounded out the top ten. Sebastian Samuelsson of Sweden finished in 11th with two penalties. Both he and Fillion Maillet will be podium threats in the Pursuit even starting around 1:10 back.
Paul Schommer (USA) zeroes his rifle before the Sprint competition at the IBU World Championships, in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Today was a tough day for the North Americans, with the exception of Paul Schommer (USA) who qualified for the Pursuit in 31st with one penalty each in prone and standing. Paul’s 31st-ranked course time was his best in a Sprint this season. “That prone miss was definitely one of those things where I thought, okay, I should have taken another second, but the standing felt good,” Schommer said of his shooting. As in yesterday’s Women’s Sprint, drafting on the long, windy straightaway into the range was critical. With that in mind, Schommer went out of his comfort zone on the second lap to stay with another athlete. “I may have pushed a little too hard before standing, but I made up so much time by staying with him.” It’s easy in biathlon to play the “what if” game, and Schommer recognized that he would have cracked the top 20 with one less miss, but he said, “tomorrow I’m going for the money!” The top 30 finishers in biathlon World Cups and World Championships earn prize money.
Maxime Germain (USA) in the finish of his first senior-level World Championship race. Oberhof (GER). (Photo, NordicFocus).
Twenty-one-year-old Maxime Germain (USA) finished just outside of the Pursuit qualification in 65th with three penalties. Both Sean Doherty (USA) and 22-year-old Vincent Bonacci (USA) cleaned prone but then uncharacteristically missed four in standing. They finished 80th and 98th.
For Canada, Adam Runnalls was the team’s top finisher in 82nd with five misses. Trevor Kiers was 86th with three, Christian Gow was 92nd with four, and Logan Pletz was 94th with four. This was certainly not the day that either North American team had hoped for. Those not racing in tomorrow’s Pursuit will shift their focus now to next week’s 20km Individual competition.
The men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: screenshot biathlonworld.com)
IBU World Cup Ruhpolding, Germany 4 x 7.5 k / 4 x 6 k Relay
In relatively calm weather on Friday in Ruhpolding, Germany the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup sent the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay on its way. Under overcast skies, a slight 5 mph wind and temps trying to break freezing saw Norway’s team of Lars Helge Birkeland, Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen,Tarjei Bø, and Johannes Thingnes Bø win in 1:09:54.3 hours. The Norwegian foursome raced to the top podium spot with no penalties and using eight spares.
The move that grasped the race for Norway came when Johannes Thingnes Bø, on the final leg, threw down a speedy attack on the course’s burliest hill making him the carrot the others would be chasing towards the finish line. In less than a kilometer, Bø put in the almost 14 second gap back to Germany
Germany’s Rees Roman, Johannes Kuehn, Arnd Peiffer, and Doll Benedikt placed second 13.5 seconds behind Norway. Rees shot clean for Germany as did Peiffer – in total the German team shot with no penalties and used six spares.
The final podium spot went to France’s Emilien Jacquelin, Martin Fourcade, Quentin Fillon Maillet, and Simon Desthieux. France finished 26.2 seconds back while skiing no penalties and using nine spares.
Canada’s Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Aidan Miller, and Jules Burnotte skied to 16th 3:49.0 minutes behind Norway. In total, the Canadians skied one penalty and used 16 spares.
The U.S. team of Leif Nordgren, Sean Doherty, Jake Brown, and Max Durtschi raced to 17th, stopping the clock 4:01.2 after Norway. Over the duration of their four legs, the U.S. skied a single penalty lap while using 13 spares.
Twenty seven teams were entered in the men’s race.
The Canadian selection races for senior World Championships combined with a NorAm and Québec Cup weekend hosted by the Mont Orford club, began with freestyle sprints today.
Maya MacIsaac-Jones (CNST) won the qualifier and all her heats on the way to winning the A final, leaving no doubt about her selection for Seefeld. MacIsaac-Jones’ 2:36.83 minute A final was the fastest lap of the day, just edging 4th fastest qualifier Katherine Stewart-Jones (CNST) by 0.05 seconds. Laura Leclair (CNEPH) was third at 3.77 seconds after qualifying second. Third-place qualifier Cendrine Browne (CNST) was fourth, 4.99 seconds back, with Zoë Williams (Nakkertok) fifth (+5.18) and U.S. skier Madison Morgan sixth (+8.92.)
On the men’s side, Evan Palmer-Charrette (Team R.A.D.) won the A final in 3:06.58 minutes, 0.11 seconds ahead of Julien Locke (CNST). Top qualifier Russell Kennedy (Team R.A.D.) was third, 2.26 behind Palmer-Charrette and 0.24 seconds ahead of Sebastien Boehmler-Dandurand (AWCA). Antoine Briand (Skibec) finished sixth (+5.12), followed by Dominique Moncion-Groulx (Nakkertok) in sixth (+5.93).
Racing continues for two more days with an interval start classic on Saturday and mass start skate on Sunday. The top Canadian each day qualifies for World Championships.
France’s Martin Fourcade shooting clean ans skiing fast as he won the men’s 20 k individual race in Pokljuka, Slovenia, site of the IBU World Cup’s first series of races this season. (Photo: Biathlonworld,com)
IBU World Cup Pokljuka, Slovenia 20 k/15k Individual
Not the least of the myriad variables affecting biathlon races, fickle weather has played games in Pokljuka, Slovenia, site of the first round on the IBU World Cup. The men’s 20-kilometer individual race was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed to Thursday due to fog.
For each missed shot in the individual races, athletes are penalized one minute. With a large cost for any shooting mistake, a single miss can punish a potential podium performance.
None other than France’s Martin Fourcade took the win today in 47:09.2 minutes. (Fourcade is a seven-time winner of the overall IBU World Cup.) Fourcade shot clean in all four of his shooting bouts. And shooting clean was the theme for the podium, the top-three finishers had no misses on the shooting range.
Second place went to Johannes Kuehn of Germany, finishing 4.2 seconds back. Third place was secured by Simon Eder, who stopped the clock 19.7 seconds back.
For Canada, Scott Gow skied to 14th (+1:43.3) with one miss. Brother Christian Gow was 16th (1:59.2) after also missing only a single target. Brendan Green skied to 100th (+9:04.1) after difficult shooting, during which he missed seven targets. Nathan Smith did not start.
For the U.S. Leif Nordgren was the best placed American in 40th (+3:24.5). Nordgren missed two shots. Teammate Sean Doherty was 59th (+4:28.2) after missing three shots, Max Durtschi was 102nd (+9:37.0), after missing six targets. Travis Cooper raced to 105th (+10:02.0), while missing six shots.
The women’s 15 k individual was won by Ukraine’s Yuliya Dzhima 43:06.6 minutes. She was clean in her shooting in her first career IBU World Cup win. Poland’s Monika Hojnisz had a single penalty as she placed second (+5.9). The result was a best-ever result for Hojnisz at this level of competition. The Czech Republic’s Marketa Davidova also missed a single target on her way to her first career podium, finishing 16.5 seconds back in third place.
U.S. biathlete Susan Dunklee missed one target on her way to placing 11th (+1:00.09). With each miss adding an additional minute to an athlete’s finishing time, it was a solid effort and indicator for Dunklee.
“I’m psyched to have a great result so early in the season,” Dunklee emailed FasterSkier.
Dunklee, the U.S. team veteran, made note of U.S. skier Clare Egan’s race day performance. “Clare also threw down an impressive ski split, so in spite of our 3 start quota challenge, our team future looks bright,” Dunklee added.
Egan placed 60th (+4:23.3) after amounting five penalties. She raced the 13th fastest ski time. Emily Dreissigacker, also for the U.S., placed 69th (+5:17.0). Dreissigacker has four penalties.
Canada’s Megan Tandy finished in 62nd (+4:30.4), after missing three shots. Rosanna Crawford, also for Canada,was 64th (+4:34.7) with four misses, Meghan Bankes 71st (+5:22.) with three misses, and Nicole Moser 98th (+10:20.4) with seven misses.
Darya Domracheva of Belarus (center) won the final World Cup race before the Olympics, a 12.5 k mass start in Antholz, Italy. Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia was second and Kaisa Makarainen of Finland third. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
On Saturday, Darya Domracheva watched as second place in the World Cup pursuit skied away from her.
She had stepped on competitor Dorothea Wierer’s pole in the final corner of the 10 k pursuit in Antholz, Italy, and felt it unsportsmanlike to try to beat Wierer to the finish when the Italian had only one ski pole. So she let Wierer go and settled for third.
In Sunday’s World Cup mass start, Domracheva was rewarded by some combination of karma, skill, and hard work, and rounded that same corner to the finish line all alone in first place to claim her second win of the season.
Nobody shot better than Domracheva, and only six other women matched her single penalty loop. The Belarusian left the shooting range after the fourth and final stage with just a 3.3-second lead on Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina, who missed three shots in total and was coming out of the penalty loop as Domracheva skated past.
Germany’s Maren Hammerschmidt fights through thick snow in the forest during Sunday’s 12.5 k mass start in Antholz, Italy. (Eurovision screenshot)
“It was very tough race, and very slow snow conditions,” Domracheva said in a press conference of the abundant fresh snow that had fallen overnight and continued to fall off trees and onto the trails (and racers) during the competition. “So I understood from the start of the competition that it was really important to be focused on shooting today.”
But Domracheva was able to put the hammer down and extend the gap on Kuzmina, who had been the most dominant athlete of the first half of the season, and win by 11.9 seconds.
“I can say that today was quite a tough race for me,” Domracheva said. “The feeling was not so light. It was also not in the plan that here in Antholz would be very easy. So we are still in preparation, and it’s one very important step in my preparation for the next races.”
It was the last World Cup competition before the Olympics, where Domracheva will do her best to follow up on the three gold medals she won in Sochi in 2014.
Kaisa Makarainen of Finland fights to the finish line. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
Third place went to Kaisa Makarainen of Finland, who was frustrated by four missed shots and left the range (and penalty loop) the final time in eighth place. But in a stunning show of grit and speed, she charged past racer after racer; she had the fastest ski time of the day and that was particularly true on the last loop.
The Finn celebrated as she crossed the line 16.2 seconds behind Domracheva. That meant another podium – her fifth of the season – and two spots on Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, thus hanging onto the yellow bib of the overall World Cup leader until racing resumes after the Olympics (which don’t count for World Cup points).
“I tried to ski as fast as possible and catch some places,” Makarainen said in the press conference. “I was not sure if I could catch the podium because it was quite a big gap. But I guess some other girls were more tired than me!”
Fourth place went to Norway’s Marte Olsbu (+22.6), fifth to Dahlmeier (+23.9), and sixth to her teammate Maren Hammerschmidt (+25.2).
Wierer had shot clean through three stages and led the race onto the shooting range the last time, to the thrill of the home crowd. But she missed two shots and ended the day in seventh, +29.4.
Fourcade Extends World Cup Lead with Another Win
While Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø came into the men’s 15 k mass start with two consecutive wins under his belt, he immediately missed two shots in the first prone stage, then two more in the next prone stage.
While Bø has turned in some of the most stunning performances on the World Cup this season, another man leads the standings, and that’s Martin Fourcade of France. Fourcade is nothing if not consistent and with only two missed shots in the mass start, he picked up his sixth win of the season.
Martin Fourcade of France leading the 15 k mass start in Antholz, Italy, where he picked up his sixth win of the season. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
“It’s good to find back this position in Antholz,” he said in a post-race press conference. “It’s only my second victory here. The first one was in the mass start in 2011, so it’s been a while and I’m very satisfied and happy to be back on top of the podium in Antholz.”
The last time Fourcade was off the podium was in the single mixed relay in Östersund, Sweden, in the very first race of the season, and the last time he was off the individual podium was back in Kontiolahti, Finland, in the second-to-last weekend of last season.
“The weekend was really nice,” Fourcade said. “I had not my best ski level on the first two competitions, but today felt really good on the skis and it gives me confidence for the Olympics… I want to keep my hunger from that last [bullet] I missed, to keep some things to work on for the Olympics.”
With the younger Bø out of the picture, the two men who ended up battling behind Fourcade were both still Norwegian: Tarjei Bø, the older brother in the family, and his teammate Erlend Bjøntegaard.
Tim Burke of the United States after finishing 22nd in the World Cup mass start in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: USBA/Instagram)
Former World Champion Bø won their sprint to the finish, crossing the line 2.8 seconds behind Fourcade (who had eased through the last few hundred meters after maintaining a big lead through the rest of the course), and Bjøntegaard picked up his first career podium in third (+5.1).
“It was quite fun actually,” Bjøntegaard said of his battle with Bø. “I’ve had a lot of hard sessions with that guy in the past two years. We were talking to each other on the fourth loop and the last loop, trying to exchange who was in front. I think that worked out quite well. I know that he is strong in the head, especially at the end, but I think I gave it a good shot and I really tried.”
After the Norwegians it was two Germans battling to the line, with Benedikt Doll taking fourth (+16.0) and Johannes Kuehn fifth (+18.3), each with two missed shots.
Johannes Bø struggled mightily against his five total penalties, and remarkably managed to make it up to sixth place, just 29.2 seconds behind Fourcade.
Carsen Campbell and Sarah Beaudry (Photo: Kristin Lyche Instagram)
Three Canadians and one American competed at last week’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) Cup opener in in Sjusjøen, Norway, with Canada’s Emma Lunder posting an individual top 20 and her teammates Sarah Beaudry and Carsen Campbell teaming up to place fourth in the single mixed relay on Sunday, Nov. 26.
In an email, Biathlon Canada High Performance Director Roddy Ward explained that Canada did not send its full IBU Cup team to the season-opening races, as IBU Cup #1 was not part of the national team’s plan.
“Current [national team] athletes were sanctioned to race, at their own expense, if they felt it would prepare them better for the season,” Ward wrote.
That created some additional legwork for those three athletes, as well as fellow national-team members Scott and Christian Gow and Brendan Green, who arrived in Europe on Nov. 12 to race at Norwegian trials Nov. 18-19 in Sjusjøen.
“Scott Gow was in charge of booking accommodations for everyone, and we ended up in an awesome little cabin in the woods quite close to the venue [in Sjusjøen],” Lunder, a 26-year-old Senior National Team member, wrote in an email. She and Campbell, of the National “Z” Team, arrived in Europe on Nov. 16 in an effort to get some early season racing in as well.
Emma Lunder (Biathlon Canada Senior National Team) racing to second in the women’s modified sprint on Friday, Nov. 10, the last day of Biathlon Canada’s team trials. After reaching the podium three times in three races, she was selected to the IBU World Cup team for the first trimester. (Photo: Peter Collins/petercollinsphoto.com)
“I also wasn’t sure whether I’d qualify for [World Cup] or IBU Cup from our Canadian trials, so just having the trip booked was some security for me, knowing that no matter what happened with trials, the next goal was to go and perform well in Sjusjoen which definitely helped me feel less pressure at trials,” added Lunder, who earned one of two remaining women’s spots on Canada’s World Cup team based on her results at team trials earlier this month in Canmore, Alberta.
On Thursday, Nov. 23, Lunder placed 19th in the IBU Cup’s opening 7.5-kilometer sprint. After that, she headed to Östersund, Sweden, to prepare for the first World Cup of the season. In Östersund, she was part of Canada’s team that placed 15th in the mixed relay on Sunday.
“Emma had a solid first race considering travel,” Ward noted of her IBU Cup performance. “The plan was for Emma to go early and race one IBU Cup before heading to Ostersund. 19th was definitely a good showing but I believe we’ll see more from Emma this season.”
Lunder wrote that she was pleased with her sprint result on Thursday, especially considering the weather, which she described as “extreme fog and also a lot of wind.”
“During our zero the coaches couldn’t even use their scopes – they closed the range so coaches could run down, grab the paper that had been shot at, and then athletes made corrections off of that,” Lunder reflected. “I was happy that through all of it I was quite relaxed, even thought it was a very different situation than I’m normally used to pre-race!”
With three penalties, two in her prone shooting stage and another in standing (2+1), Lunder finished 2:18.5 behind Russia’s Uliana Kaisheva, who won in 21:49.8 with clean shooting (0+0).
“Of course I hoped to hit a few more targets, but I think given the conditions I did an okay job,” Lunder wrote. “My skiing felt pretty strong, and it was nice to get the season started in a low-stress environment.”
Norway’s Thekla Brun-Lie placed second in that race (+41.9; 0+1), and Russia had two on the podium with Olga Iakushova in third (+1:18.8; 0+1). In fact, Russia had four in the top five in the women’s opening sprint.
Sarah Beaudry racing in 2015 (Photo: Jake Ellingson)
Beaudry, who will be starting her season on Canada’s IBU Cup team, finished 49th (+3:57.1) with five penalties (4+1). American Kelsey Dickinson placed 76th (+6:05.0) with six penalties (3+3), out of 97 women.
“My first sprint just wasn’t so great,” Beaudry, a 23-year-old Senior National Team member, wrote in an email. “I didn’t have a great zero and found it pretty hard to see in the fog and missed 4 prone and then crashed in the penalty loop. … I was happy with my effort and got to shake out the early season jitters in some challenging conditions.”
Thursday kicked off with the men’s 10 k sprint, in which Campbell, also of Canada’s IBU Cup team, finished 35th with one penalty (0+1), out of 128 men. His time was 2:00.1 minutes behind French winner Emilien Jacquelin, who won in 25:26.1 with one standing miss as well (0+1). Jacquelin won by 5.7 seconds over Germany’s Johannes Kuehn, who placed second after skiing three penalty laps (0+3). Russia’s Alexey Slepov placed third (+8.1) with one miss in each stage (1+1).
Two days later on Saturday, Nov. 25, it was back to more sprinting for the men and women. Beaudry raced to 23rd in the women’s 7.5 k sprint (+1:15.5) with a single standing miss (0+1) and Dickinson finished 86th (+3:56.6) with three penalties (1+2). Campbell placed 76th in the men’s 10 k sprint (+3:21.3) with four penalties (2+2).
“I am happy with my second sprint,” Beaudry wrote. “I felt really good skiing but I think there is still room for improvement as the season goes on. I was also pretty happy with my shooting except kinda pissed that my miss was my last shot.”
“Sarah’s second sprint was very strong,” Ward noted. “Time back from leader was very good. Sarah made big gains this offseason and I know she’s happy with it but looking for more. Carsen had a good first race and then struggled in the 2nd race. Carsen has been looking solid all fall and I’d like to see him score some top 20 results.”
Germany’s Denise Herrmann won the women’s sprint in 20:43.9 with two penalties (1+1). Austria’s Katharina Innerhofer hit all 10 of her targets (0+0) to place second (+4.0), and Brun-Lie shot clean as well to reach the podium for the second-straight race, this time in third (+15.8).
Norway went 1-2 in the men’s sprint with World Cup biathlete Tarjei Bø beating Fredrik Gjesbakk by 23.7 seconds in 23:00.1. Both had one standing miss (0+1), and Russia’s Eduard Latypov shot clean to finish third (+31.2).
On Sunday, while Lunder was racing the mixed relay in Östersund, Beaudry and Campbell raced to fourth in the single mixed relay in Sjusjøen, missing the podium by 13.2 seconds and finishing 1:10.9 out of first. Together, they used five spares and avoided the penalty loop (0+5).
Carsen Campbell (l) racing in 2015. (Photo: Jake Ellingson)
“Carsen and I definitely put together a really strong relay and had some really good shooting which is key in the single mixed relay,” Beaudry wrote.
She used three total spares to clean, two of which were in her first prone stage. Campbell used two spares: one in each of his prone stages.
“I was very happy with my shooting today,” wrote Campbell, who turns 23 on Dec. 9. “My standing was as close to perfect as I have ever done and I made it through the prone with no major issues. I was near the front for the whole race so I felt a lot of pressure not to blow the good work Sarah had put down. It was nice to see that I was able to handle it without cracking.
“Hopefully we get the chance to try again in Lenzerheide, I think we could make the podium,” he added, referring to the next IBU Cup in Switzerland, which opens Dec. 8 with relays.
Ward explained that a relay podium was a realistic goal for Beaudry and Campbell.
“Single mixed is a bit of a different race and hard to completely compare to traditional race distances,” Ward wrote. “Sarah was born for this race, she has unbelievable speed in short distance and is a quick and accurate shooter. Carsen is also great in the range and can hold his own on course. I knew in the weeks leading up that they had a shot at the podium, and they were close.”
France’s Julia Simon and Antonin Guigonnat won the single mixed relay after leading from the first leg. Despite Guigonnat having to ski one penalty lap on the last leg, they won by 36.7 seconds in 37:33.1, with one penalty and seven spares (1+7). Sweden, with Elisabeth Hoegberg and Tobias Arwidson, placed second with no penalties and five spares (0+5), and Austria captured third place (+57.7) with Innerhofer and David Komatz (1+9).
“My plan since the summer has been to come here to get the bugs out and be ready to go 100% by Lenzerheide,” Campbell explained. “Having a good relay today was a bonus! My sprints need some work but that’s why I’m here. Overall I’d say IBU Cup 1 has been a success for me and I’m excited for the next one!”
“With last season being a really hard year for me I definitely went into the season nervous,” Beaudry explained. “I didn’t have any specific expectations I was just hoping for better feelings then last year. Considering I already have had a better IBU cup race result then last season and my best relay result on the IBU cup, I can say I am happy with how the season is starting.
“This trip to race the IBU cup 1 was on our own and I definitely owe a big thanks to Carsen and Emma for organizing it all and letting me tag along last minute, as well as our Norwegian friend Kristin Lyche for hosting, coaching and taking care of us here in Norway,” Beaudry wrote, referring to a Norwegian friend whom they spent several months training with in Canmore this summer.
Lyche housed Beaudry upon her arrival in Sjusjøen, and Lunder and Campbell moved from their cabin rental to Lyche’s place on Nov. 23.
“And to the Italian team for waxing my skis all week,” Beaudry added. “Going to races without an official team can definitely be a little more challenging but I think it has been super beneficial and I am really happy that I came to Norway.”
“I had contacted the Italian team back in the fall,” Lunder explained, “and when Sarah Beaudry booked her trip last minute after trials, they also agreed to support her which was great. The race skis they prepared for me for Thursday’s sprint were really, really fast, so I was extremely grateful to them! … Overall it wasn’t as stressful as I expected to organize our own trip, and I would plan on doing something similar again next year if need be!”
![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/11/DSC2275.jpg")
![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/Sarah-Beaudry.jpg")
![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/Carsen-Campbell-E.jpg")