Uroš Velepec is no longer coach of the biathlon men. The German Ski Association announced this on Tuesday. Now Erik Lesser has commented on it.
On Tuesday, the German Ski Association (DSV) surprised by the announcement that Uroš Velepec, as the coach of the biathlon men, resigns with immediate effect. The 58-year-old said to his: “This is not a spontaneous decision and has something to do with our performance at the World Cup.” There the men were able to win bronze in the season, otherwise there were only bronze in the single mixed relay and the mixed relay with the women.
T-online asked ex-biathlete and TV expert Erik Lesser how he thinks about that of Uroš Velepec. The 2015 persecution world champion says: “The message came as a surprise. Probably not much will change until the end of the season, except for addressing before the races or during training.”
Lesser adds: “The coming season will be interesting. How does the team stand up and how does it work.” Velepec’s successor is Tobias Reiter. The 39-year-old is to coach the German biathlon men together with discipline coach Jens Filbrich at a top level for the Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo next year.
Lesser says about the collaboration: “Jens Filbrich and Tobias Reiter already know each other from a joint IBU Cup season, at least the training phase should go very quickly in the two.”
The IBU Cup is the second highest international competition class after the Biathlon World Cup. In 2022, Filbrich was cross-country and athletic coaches of the men and women at the side of riders for a season. Now you will do your best together to ensure good performance by the German biathlon men at the 2026 Olympics. Felix Bitterling, biathlon sports director, said on Tuesday: “The goal is to get momentum together again, to set a few positive accents in order to be able to attack with full force at the start of the preparation for the 2026 Olympic winter . “