BLINK in Sandnes, Norway could be called one of the high points of the season, with over 1500 competitors from youth to World Cup in biathlon and cross-country, representing 22 nations. Ten of the top 16 women and eleven of the top 16 men in the BMW IBU World Cup Total Score will be at the start line.
Saturday Mixed Relays
This year’s programme added some new twists to the weekend. As always, the 4-day festival kicks off with the torturous Lysebotn Opp, 7.5 km non-stop uphill that a few biathletes always tackle on Wednesday, 31 July. Friday the show shifts to Sandnes City Center for the popular shooting duel that finds the top man and woman side-by-side in the finale followed by super sprints. Saturday’s program is all new with the fan-favourite single mixed and mixed relays replacing the mass starts.
Norway, Germany and France
Originally a Norwegian talent showcase, BLINK has morphed into a mid-summer biathlon testing ground. This year, the Norwegian, German and French teams come to BLINK with full men’s and women’s squads. After roughly three months of training every day with the same teammates, BLINK is the first chance to put on a bib and measure training progress against their winter rivals. No one is or will be in December shape. The Norwegian and German teams started their intensity work a few weeks earlier than normal and completed several intensity sessions at altitude in late June/early July camps.
Coach’s Scrutiny
Coaches will scrutinize every shot on the shooting range. At recent Norwegian and German camps, coaches worked up close on the shooting range. Norwegian Shooting Coaches Siegfried Mazet and Patrik Oberegger focused on controlled breathing with Mazet admitting that “taking an extra breath” was sometimes necessary to ensure “that no shot was wasted.”
Super Sprints: Vetle Defends
The two days of BLINK biathlon will be intense. The super sprint final could see the Boe brothers, Sturla Holm Laegreid, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen line up against French speedster Emilien Jacquelin, talented Eric Perrot and German sharpshooter Justus Strelow, consistent Johannes Kuehn and powerful Philipp Nawrath. However, the potential winner is simple: “Mr. BLINK” defending champion Christiansen who has won the competition seven times.
The women’s super sprint field will likely be a showdown between French stars Julia Simon, Lou Jeanmonnot and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Norway’s Karoline Offigstad Knotten and Germany’s Franziska Preuss, Vanessa Voigt and young Selina Grotian, plus the Swedish Oeberg sister act! Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold is sidelined with a wrist fracture. Looking at the stats, it likely pits sharpshooters Jeanmonnot and Voigt against the flashy skis of Braisaz-Bouchet, Oeberg and Simon.
France/Norway Mixed Relay Showdown
Saturday’s mixed competitions will be a nice addition to BLINK’s summer fun. The World Champion French mixed relay squad would love to knock off their Norwegian rivals like they did in Nove Mesto na Morave…this time in Norway. At the same time, who would not like to see the Voigt/Strelow match their Antholz one-penalty masterpiece.
BLINK promises as always, some learning moments and head-to-head competitions between the sport’s big guns but also short but sweet remedy for fans in biathlon withdrawal. Let rollerski season begin!
Photos: IBU/Christian Manzoni, Jerry Kokesh