– We have canceled everything. The stadium has suffered as a result of the weather throughout the night and we have lost a lot of snow. There is a lot of work that remains to prepare the stadium in the best possible way for tomorrow’s training, says Daniel Böhm of the International Biathlon Union. Because there is little that reminds us of the World Championships in winter sports over Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic two days before the WC breaks loose. A strip of soft snow winds its way through dense forest. Everywhere else is bare. But it is not a lack of snow that is the main problem for the organizer of the Biathlon World Cup. “Due to the bad weather conditions (especially the wind) there has been extensive damage to the arena. There is a lot of work that needs to be done over the next few days to ensure usable conditions,” writes the International Biathlon Union (IBU) in a statement. Signs have fallen, banners have been torn loose and there is a lot of waste from the surrounding trees on the trail. – These are terrible conditions. It has been very windy and the snow is pitch black. It is simply bad to be here right now, describes news’s biathlon expert Ola Lunde. DIRT: This is what it looks like outside on the slopes, two days before the championship starts. SECURING THE STADIUM: Advertising signs have blown over and the stand is closed due to the wind conditions. TIMBER!: Trees are felled on the slopes to improve safety. Three years ago there was so much wind that trail masts fell over the trail. BLAFRER: The strong winds also went over the welcome banner at the stadium. – Simply dangerous. The consequences of that are that the slopes and the stadium are closed immediately. Later on Monday, the women’s national team was supposed to train, but now the session is cancelled. – We try to do preventive work in the forest, says Böhm. Lunde went out into the forest to study the conditions at close range. – It is simply dangerous as it is now. We see several trees that are almost on the verge of falling down. It’s scary in terms of the forest, so it’s absolutely right to close here now, he says. Snow reserves can be the savior When news arrived at the WC city on Sunday evening, the Czech countryside was flooded. It continued through the night. During Wednesday’s opening race, mixed relay, plenty of rain has also been reported. Today, a fresh breeze blows over the WC stadium, and pennants and banners stand straight out. Similar wine throwing was also reported on Wednesday. – They have a lot of work to do. When I looked at the number of officials in the stadium, there are 10-12 of them. There is a huge job to be done here, it is a huge challenge for the organizer to get this in place, says Lunde, who still has faith that there will be a race on Wednesday. IBU TOP: Daniel Böhm believes the start of the WC is going as planned. Photo: Anders Boine Verstad / news Because even though there is a lot of rain and seven degrees of heat, the organizer has plenty of snow in hand to ensure good conditions during the championship. – The snow sole is thick enough and we have 50,000 cubic meters of snow in reserve. So the amount of snow is not a problem. But there is a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure that we get the conditions we want, says Böhm.
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