Final IBU Cup competitions in Canmore

Cold weather forced the IBU and Canmore Organizing Committee to revise the schedule for this week’s IBU Cup 7 at the Canmore Nordic Centre in Canmore (CAN), which hosts the final two stages of the IBU Cup this season.

A strong cold front dropping over the eastern slope of the Canadian Rockies on Tuesday and Tuesday night was expected to drop temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday as low as -29°C with daytime highs of -20°C, with even colder windchills. Accordingly, faced with temperatures below the IBU minimum of -20°C for a competition to be safely conducted, the three competition days have been moved from Thursday, Saturday and Sunday to Friday, Saturday and Tuesday as reflected in the revised schedule below.

IBU Cup Race Director Kristjan Oja commented at the team captain’s meeting, “We have changed the training and competition schedule, because of these very cold conditions. The weather will be much warmer from Friday, so we should have no other changes next week.”

A total of 6 competition days in the next 9 days will decide the globes in the IBU Cup.

Women’s IBU Cup Total Score: Johansson and Guigonnat

With five competitions in the next two weeks, the biggest women’s battle will be for the IBU Cup Total Score between Sweden’s Tilda Johansson, with 722 points and her French rival Gilonne Guigonnat at 644 points. These two women are pretty well matched at 87% to 88% on the shooting range. Johansson does hold the upper hand with two Silver medals at the IBU Open European Championships last month, a win in the first Obertilliach sprint a few weeks ago plus two BMW IBU World Cup starts (33rd sprint, 20th pursuit) at Antholz. Guigonnat on the other hand, has been consistent this season with a win in the only mass start 60 this year. A strong finish in that competition next Tuesday would give her that discipline Globe and help in her pursuit of the Total Score.

Norwegian Teammates Chasing Top Prizes

The men’s competitions are a bit more complicated, but one thing is virtually assured: a Norwegian will win the IBU Cup Total Score. The current leader, Endre Stroemsheim with 1051 points is not here and could lose the title if teammate Mats Overby swept the Canmore competitions. Possible but unlikely, regardless one of them is the likely titlist. Complicating the men’s tussle is their teammate Vebjoern Soerum who has been on fire, with three wins, two seconds and two thirds in the last eight IBU Cup competitions. He cannot win any of the discipline scores but surely could be the big winner in the next two weeks if his hot streak continues.