The start of the season is fast approaching and no one can afford home quarantine due to coronavirus infection. That is why Czech biathletes are finishing their training in a strict regime. In Sweden, men, women, coaches have separate apartments and all meet if possible only in training.
For seven weeks, the Czech biathletes said goodbye to the Czech Republic and set out on the first expedition, which will culminate in the World Cup stops in Kontiolahti and Hochfilzen.
Before that, however, they complete the final training camp in Idre, Sweden, where they arrived on Wednesday last week. However, they are subject to a strict regime to avoid unnecessarily risking infection during a coronavirus pandemic.
“I am very happy that all 32 people passed the tests and were able to travel to Sweden. It surprised me. We tried to appeal to everyone to be in solitary confinement for at least five days before the tests and then stay in it until they left. approached responsibly, “praised Ondřej Rybář, the sports director and coach of men in one person, in an interview for the Czech biathlon website.
Although the Swedish center near the Norwegian border was occupied by the entire Czech biathlon team, including juniors, the coaches try to put together a schedule so that there is as little contact on the spot as possible.
“Everyone will have a different regime. We do not want unnecessary mixing of athletes,” Rybář added.
The team also took their own chef with them, but there is no joint sitting at lunch or dinner. “The food is distributed, everyone eats with them. Sometimes there is a short meeting, but otherwise we meet more or less only during training,” described the system of assistant women’s coach Jiří Holubec.
Czech coaches praise the conditions in Sweden. “They brought about a five-kilometer circuit from the deposit. The snow is relatively hard, even though it doesn’t freeze much now. You can ski well,” Holubec said.
On the track, the Czechs take turns with the home team. This weekend, everyone will have test races organized by the Swedes. “But we will see how many people the Swedes let us start,” Fisher says.
It is certain that on November 20, most of the national team must move to Kontiolahti, Finland, where the first stop of the World Cup will start a week later.
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