Hi again! Have arrived in the austrian village of Hochfilzen. Up til now we also here have had to settle for artificial snow but the weather forecast looks promising and real snow is on its way! Three world cup weekends are over, time for an update! 

The traditional kickoff in Sjusjøen mid-November was cancelled because of the corona virus. Sad, but an honorable decision made by the norwegian biathlon union. We, team Mesterbakeren, organized our own kickoff. The weather wasn’t exactly with us, but we got som spectacular training runs and were introduced to competition nerves again

A week later I left for Finland – time for the world cup opening! I had been looking forward to this for a long time.. At the same time I felt nervous - not just for competing, but also for travelling during this covid pandemic. Since the sudden stop of the competition season last March I have just stayed at home and surrounded myself with a small social circle only. Very strange to be at the Oslo airport wearing a mask and gloves and with restrictions everywhere around me. To get inside the worldcup circus a negative PCR test less than 72 hours old was required. And on arrival a new test was submitted, and after that a new coronatest is staken each fourth day. Once inside the circus I have felt really safe with the regular testing and my own precautions. Not a lot of possibilities to socialize this season, but I was prepared for that and have with me some books, my knitting and.. juggling gear 😊

Summarizing the two Finnish world cup weekends I have to admit that I had hoped for a better outcome. I didn’t get it quite right on the range in order to obtain top shooting results, that would have better reflected my training results. And in the tracks it got heavier for every race and my legs couldn’t pick up any speed. Didn’t get closer than a 45th place in Kontiolahti, so just had to look ahead and get my body in tip-top condition for the next round.

A chartered plane by IBU took us to Hochfilzen. After the first competition weekend here in Austria I have a much better feeling all over. The sprint ended in a new personal WC best with 48th place after perfect shooting and 10 hits. That meant that I qualified for my first pursuit in the world cup! Competing with many strong performers, undertake tactical assessments and standing side by side with a whole bunch of women on the range, what an experience! 18 hits made me climb a couple of places and the top 40 with its worldcup points is drawing nearer.. 

Now I am charging my batteries and preparing for the last WC weekend before christmas. Sprint is on the programme this coming Friday, december 18, and hopefully I will participate in the pursuit the day after. Stay tuned!