The main competition of the season will start with the mixed relay. The Biathlon World Championship (WC) in Nove Mesto Moravia (Czech Republic) will take place for a week and a half from February 7 to 18. On Wednesday, Renārs Birkentāls will start in the Latvian team in the mixed relay in the first stage, Edgars Mise in the second, Baiba Bendika in the third, and Sanita Buliņa in the fourth.
The leader of the men’s team, Andrejs Rastorgujevs, will arrive at the home of the World Championship (WC) from the training camp in the Italian highlands on Wednesday. His first start is scheduled for Saturday in the 10 kilometer sprint distance. With the exception of the mixed relay, while Andrejs will compete in the other distances, For days confirmed the general secretary of the Latvian Biathlon Federation (LBF) Juris Pīpkalējs. “The curve of results in the team is on the rise, so I hope that the athletes will please us with good results in the World Championship as well,” Pīpkalējs is optimistic before the WC.
At the level of the World Cup (WC) competition, Rastorguyev’s highest achievement this season is the fourth place he won in the first stage on the Swedish track in Esteshund. Together with Bendika, he also took fifth place in the PK competition in the individual mixed relay. This discipline could be Latvia’s big opportunity, because last season in Nove Mesto, Rastorgujevs and Bendiks won bronze medals in the individual mixed relay. Bendika spent the last stage of preparation in Latvia and together with coach Ilmārs Brici and their two sons, Emīla, has arrived at the home of the world championship. Unsteady shooting remains Bendika’s stumbling block. The biggest hopes in the individual disciplines are associated with Rastorgujev, who is in 18th place in the PK overall ranking. The first six places are occupied by Norwegians. The leader, Johannes Tinjes-Bae, won five gold medals, three of them in individual disciplines, and one bronze medal at the world championships last year. He will be the main favorite in Nove Mesto. Birkentāls has made significant progress in the Latvian team this season, who is ranked 55th in the PK overall. Buliņa (67th place) and Bendika (81st place) won PK points in the Latvian women’s team.
After the main matches of the season, Nove Mesto will have three more stages of the World Cup in Holmenkollen (Norway), Soldier Hollow (USA) and Kenmore (Canada). Pīpkalējs emphasizes that it is important to start in North America in order to protect the current position in the Nations ranking. “Before the season, we set as our main goal the acquisition of four starting places for the pre-Olympic – 2024/2025 – season. In order to achieve this, the women’s and men’s teams must be in the top 17 in the Nations’ ranking. Currently, men are in 15th and girls in 16th position .”
2024-02-07 05:30:43
#Biathletes #ready #start #Day
