Monday, January 10, 2011

World Cup 4 = Oberhof

Oberhof was not fantastic. What a negative sentence to begin with, but it is factual. We were greeted with Germany's lovliest: wind, rain, and fog. Training, let me tell you, was hilarious on the first day. Here is how it went: Bruce, who is here from NZ for the next 3 World Cups as Richards support and man on course, has never been to a true biathlon race, and he had never looked through a scope. Unfortunately Richard could not attend these races so Thursday, two days before the race, was supposed to be our instruction day where I taught him how to zero. It is really not too difficult to look through a scope...or so I thought! The fog was so thick, that all the coaches were lined up alongside the athletes shooting mats trying to see the targets, to no avail. That day was definitely not the day to learn how to zero.

Friday, official training, was the same. It was very tricky to see the target, and training was a slight disaster. So, that was also not the day for Bruce to learn.

The next day was race day. 4:40pm zero, and a 6:11pm start for me; a late one! The fog had cleared and it was not raining too badly. Well, Bruce tried his hardest! He did rather well, but in the end, I must thank Walter Pichler from the British team who double checked my target and gave Bruce some helpful pointers. It was rather hilarious.

OH, and the race. of course- well, It was not spectacular. I missed 2 in prone, and 2 in standing. 6/10- not grande. I also felt quite tired and flat on my skis. Here is hoping it picks up! Positives: I LOVE the crowd and vibe of Oberhof- I really enjoyed the energy of the race!

We are now in, you would not believe it, foggy Ruhpolding! It is rarely like this here but the Dementor-like-fog has followed us down! Dang!

Much Love, Sarah

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