PROFILE
Lahti is an amazing Finnish city, decorated in a cozy European and eclectic North American style. It simultaneously coexists with historical monuments, modern shopping centers and ... three ski jumps. Residents are literally obsessed with winter sports. In the city center, a unique ski museum is always open for visitors, which contains not only Finnish medals, but also rare pre-war equipment. Lahti twice - in 1987 and 1991 - hosted the biathlon world championships.
POSTER
Individual races at the World Championships in Anterselva were the most interesting and unpredictable. It was not the great sprinters - Bjoerndalen and Olofsson who won, but the outstanding shooters - Poiret and Grubben. It is possible that in Lahti, the newly-made world champions will take a break and miss the starting races, giving our sportsmen a chance - Dmitry Yaroshenko, Sergey Rozhkov, Ivan Cherezov and Natalya Guseva. Women need to rehabilitate themselves for the Italian failure. Olga Anisimova, Tatyana Moiseeva and Irina Malgina will certainly have a special mood. The latter recently returned from the European Championships, but, unfortunately, did not gain laurels there, largely due to unsuccessful shooting.
CONFRONTATION
Nikolay Kruglov vs. Bjorn Ferry. A stubborn struggle will unfold for third place in the overall World Cup. The absolute winner of the stage in Oberhof, Nikolay Kruglov, lags behind the world champion in the mixed relay of Bjorn Ferry by four symbolic points. Eliminating them is as real as repeating the January success - winning all races. Kruglov, according to the assurances of the coaches, is perfectly prepared and longs for victories. However, the pursuers of the Russian and the Swedes - Andreas Birnbacher, Ivan Cherezov and Rafael Poiret can intervene in the fight for the podium.
INTRIGUE
Michael Grice will replace Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in the overall World Cup. Unless, of course, he arrives in Lahti and at least once drives into thirty. There is no doubt about this. Three-time Olympic champion Grice got in great shape, won the mass start in Anterselva and now has every chance to win the Big Crystal Globe from Bjoerndalen, torn on two fronts. So far, both have 528 points and three World Cup stages in reserve. However, the Norwegian is in a less favorable situation. He will miss the starts in Lahti, and in Holmenkollen it will look like squeezed lemon after the races in Sapporo.
LOSSES
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Sergey Chepikov. For various reasons, both greats will miss the upcoming stage. The Norwegian cherishes the hope of winning a medal at the World Ski Championships. He has at least two chances - a 15-kilometer free-wheel race and a relay race, which, however, still need to break through. Without Bjoerndalen, biathlon competitions will lose status, but will have the effect of surprise. Still, sprint and pursuit is the lot of the Norwegian. In these fleeting races, he loses on big holidays.
Sergei Chepikov, after failures at the New Year’s stages of the World Cup and refusal to participate in the World Cup, decided to relax. This does not mean that the 40-year-old veteran has tied up with great sports. Chepikov from that breed of people who live in competitions. This year’s failures are an incentive for further appearances and victories. The Olympic champion will be replaced by Mikhail Kochkin or Alexey Churin. For women, coaches will once again trust young people: 20-year-old two-time world junior champion Svetlana Sleptsova and 25-year-old former skier Evgenia Kravtsova.
QUOTE
“We do not relax and set ourselves ambitious goals. We have already taken one prestigious prize - the small relay World Cup. Now the main task is to win the Nations Cup, where we are now ahead of the Norwegians by 19 points, and the Germans by 56. Of the nine remaining races, four - two individual and two sprint competitions will go to the World Cup, and it’s important for us not only to keep the advantage, but and increase it. The guys will also compete for a place in the top three of the World Cup overall standings, ”- head coach of the Russian men's team Vladimir Alikin in an interview with the sports information agency“ All Sport ”determined the immediate goals of our team.
NUMERAL
17 days have passed since the end of the World Championships in Anterselva. Fans have already missed the smiles of Magdalena Neuner and Michal Schlesinger, the mighty run of Andrea Henkel and Katya Wilhelm, the perfect shooting of Linda Grubben and Dmitry Yaroshenko. The main question is: in what form will biathlon stars approach the Finnish stage? The fight for the World Cup and solid prize money continues.
Broadcast Schedule (Sport TV Channel)
28th of February
15.10, 22.00 Individual race, women.
March 1
15.10, 2.05 Individual race, men.
2nd of March
16.10, 22.25 Sprint, women.
March, 3rd
16.10, 2.45 Sprint, men.
March 4th
14.25 Women Pursuit
16.10 Pursuit, men.