Looking at the weather forecasts doesn’t bode well for the German biathlon team. There are expected to be temperatures above freezing and a lot of rain at the World Cup on Holmenkollen – the very conditions that caused unexpectedly big skiing problems at the World Cup.
“I hope that in Oslo there will be a bit of calm in the whole material issue that accompanied us throughout the World Cup“, said Janina Hettich-Walz. Whether the wish comes true will probably be seen on Thursday (2.15 p.m. in the Sportschau live ticker) in the women’s singles.
We will continue to examine why the preparation of the skis did not work as desired at the highlight of the season in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. “The follow-up work after the World Cup is very extensive, at least as far as medium-term planning is concerned“, said sports director Felix Bitterling from the German Ski Association: “We will approach the issue of material, especially in wet conditions, in a goal-oriented manner within the DSV.“Together with the cross-country skiing department”We are working hard on solutions and improvements“.
For decades Experiences are worthless
The first races after the World Championships, which were rather mixed with three medals and no titles, will show whether there have been short-term improvements. The focus is once again on the important work of the ski technicians, which has changed massively since this season. The world association IBU implemented an EU directive banning certain fluorine compounds. They are considered harmful to the environment and health, but they make the skis water and dirt repellent and therefore glide quickly and for longer.
Since the ban on fluorine wax, ski technicians can no longer fall back on decades of past experience. The databases with the information about each World Cup location are worthless, everything has been set to zero. Other nations such as Sweden and Italy also had major problems at the World Cup.
The Germans have to find the combination that is best for the respective conditions from around 200 wax mixtures and up to 70 so-called hand structures. In addition, there is the ski grind, which displaces the water the most.
Ski technicians worked up to 14 hours a day
“Every week it’s a dance on the razor blade and a blade like that is narrow” said Bitterling at the World Cup about the right selection. In Nove Mesto the technicians were already working on solutions, some in 14-hour shifts, and at Holmenkollen there will also be busy days again at the beginning of the last part of the winter.
After the individual races, there will be mass starts and mixed competitions in Norway until Sunday. Then we go to Soldier Hollow in the USA and Canmore in Canada. At the end of the season, the temperatures are currently significantly below zero and there will be more wintry conditions that have recently been clearly better for the Germans.
“We want to show that we are one of the absolute top nations in the last trimester too” said Bitterling. It will be special for Benedikt Doll, who begins his short farewell tour in the singles in Oslo on Friday. The former world champion had announced the previous week that he would end his career at the age of 33 after the season. “My emotional state did not change after the announcement of my resignation, as the decision had been clear to me for a long time” said Doll.