Free starting place goes to Hildebrand
Franziska Hildebrand will again receive Preuss’ free starting place in the World Cup, which begins on Wednesday with the women’s sprint. Marion Wiesensarter also works for Janina Hettich. Compared to the races in the previous week in Oberhof, Thuringia, David Zobel replaces Lucas Fratzscher in the men’s team.
Top stars from Norway are without because of the Olympics
Preuss’ cancellation was not the only bad news for the organizers in Ruhpolding on Monday (01/10/22). The Norwegian top biathletes around the twelve-time world champion Johannes Thingnes Bö also forego participating in the World Cup. As the Norwegian association announced, a high altitude training camp in preparation for the Winter Olympics is on the program for a large part of the men’s team, which also includes the world champions Tarjei Bö and Sturla Holm Laegreid.
In return, the Norwegian team from the second-class IBU Cup in the Chiemgau Alps will mainly compete in the races from Wednesday. Bö and Co. are expected to return to the Olympic dress rehearsal in Antholz next week before they travel to Beijing.
After all: Marte Olsbu Röiseland wants to come
Norway’s women’s team will also not travel to Ruhpolding with the best cast. However, World Cup leader Marte Olsbu Röiseland is the only Norwegian who does not plan to miss a race before the Olympics. She also competes in the second German World Cup. After a break from competition of several weeks, Tiril Eckhoff, the overall World Cup winner of the previous season, is returning.