Warmer temperatures not putting a dampener on Otepää world cup biathlon stage
While spring is surely in the air, there is still enough snow left in Estonia's winter capital, Otepää in South Estonia, to host this weekend's biathlon world cup stage.
After a four-year break, the event at the Tehvandi ski center is back on the agenda, with the track and spectator stands ready for six races over four days, starting Thursday.
"The course is in tip-top condition. We're not worried. We'll hold up nicely until Sunday. There's a sufficient snow base on the track," said Hillar Zahkna, competition committee chair.
"Since it has been a cold winter and the ground has accumulated a lot of snow, in fact not much will melt. The snow base is 40–50 centimeters thick. It has been going down by about one centimeter per day, but that isn't scaring us much," he added.
The stage also serves as a rehearsal for the World Championships to take place in Otepää next year. "We're testing out additional grandstands for the audience — whether they're large enough and in the right place. We have a new media center in the sports hall and also a new TV compound broadcasting hub for television stations. These are the things we're testing," Zahkna went on.
The events start Thursday with the men's sprint, then on Friday the women's sprint follows. Pursuit races are to take place on Saturday, and the relay races on Sunday. ERR's Sport portal will be carrying the events live.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Henrik Laever
