Whitehorse’s Nadia Moser was in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, for IBU World Cup biathlon competition on March 5 and 7.
Held with no spectators in attendance, the event reminded Moser of the IBU Cup, the second-tier of international biathlon.
“It was kind of like just racing at an IBU Cup,” she said. “It was a little bit different because there were so many stands set up and then nobody was in them.”
Weather for the event was warm, but Moser said the trails were well looked after.
“The organizing committee did really good job on the trails,” said Moser. “They salted the course so it would be more firm, because if not it would have been quite slushy. For the sprint, the conditions were pretty good.”
In the women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint competition on March 5, gold went to German Denise Herrmann with a time of 18 minutes and 51 seconds.
Moser finished 76th with a time three minutes and 28.3 seconds behind Herrmann.
The top Canadian was Emma Lunder in 17th position, just one minutes and 44.8 seconds behind the winning time.
By the time the relay rolled around on March 7, temperatures had warmed further and Moser said it was slower than the sprint.
Norway won the women’s four by six-km relay, finishing in one hour, nine minutes and 14.8 seconds.
Canada — consisting of Emily Dickson, Megan Bankes, Lunder and Moser — placed 13th, a total of four minutes and 49.8 seconds off the winning pace.
Moser and company are currently in Kontiolahti, Finland, where the final World Cup event is happening March 12 to 15.
The season was scheduled to end with a final event in Oslo, Norway, from March 16 to 22. That event was formally cancelled on March 12 by the International Biathlon Union. Plans to remain in Finland for the final event were also cancelled after the Finnish government announced the cancellation of all events with more than 500 participants.
The World Cup event in Kontiolahti has been modified to ensure that no more than 500 people at the venue are involved at the same time, per a statement from the IBU.
Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com
