Due to possible capricious weather, the competition program at the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof will be changed. Because unstable weather is forecast for Friday, both sprint races will now take place on Thursday. The women’s race, originally planned for Friday, will be brought forward one day and will now be held at 2:15 p.m. (ARD and Eurosport). The men were actually supposed to run at this time, but their competition will now start at 11:30 a.m. Friday is a rest day.
There have been repeated problems with the weather in Oberhof in the past. At this time of year the conditions are often adverse; in addition to plus temperatures, there is often fog, wind and too little snow. This time the temperatures are well below zero, so the snow conditions are very good. But the wind could become an issue again.
For the biathlon team, it is the first race after a long break since the competition in Le Grand Bornand, France. There, the overall World Cup winner from the previous winter, Franziska Preuß, secured the Olympic standard later than expected with sixth place in the mass start. She received further impetus from being named Germany’s Female Athlete of the Year. The 31-year-old is competing in Oberhof, Selina Grotian is returning to the German team after illness.
