Oslo Next World Cup Stop

After three competition days in Kontiolahti, Finland, the biathlon circuit moved to Norway’s capital Oslo on Wednesday. Sprint, Pursuit and Mass Start will give the team plenty of opportunities to collect more points in the Overall World Cup standings.

The U.S. team will consist of five athletes at the world famous Holmenkollen: Lanny Barnes (Durango, Co.), Sara Studebaker (Boise, Idaho), Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, N.Y.) and Leif Nordgren (Marine-on-St. Croix, MN). Jeremy Teela (Heber City, Utah) will not compete in any more competitions this season due to shoulder problems.

For the team the World Cup stop at Oslo seems more promising than the last one in Finnland. “We just had two days to adjust to the time and the conditions before Kontiolahti, so I think it will be better here”, states Lanny Barnes. “Actually, before the sprint in Finland I just slept like two hours or so. Here it’s much better now!”

Room mate and fellow athlete Sara Studebaker supported Barnes’ point of view: “In Finland sickness, jetlag and the hard tracks just made it really hard to show a great performance. But I felt better in the last competition already, so I guess here I will be just fine!”

For Tim Burke the big goal is to move up in the Overall World Cup ranking, as the Top10 will be the goal to hit: “I feel better now. After returning back home I got really sick so I wasn’t feeling that great before Kontiolahti and coming into those first competitions. But now I am ready to go. I am back and motivated and I really am looking forward to the first races!”

New Stadium at Oslo

The Holmenkollen, seen by many people as the sanctuary of Nordic sports, recently underwent a complete renovation. The most interesting part for the athletes seems to be the new track: “In the stadium you actually ski behind the shooting range!”, Studebaker explains. “It’s quite scary but of course there’s a wall there to protect us”.