Norwegian national team members on Otepää IBU Cup: we came here to win

From 6 to 15 March 2025, Otepää will be hosting the final two stages of the IBU Cup series, providing a great opportunity to see both current and future champions. Norwegian national team members Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen and Johannes Dale-Skjevdal said in one voice that they came to Otepää to win.

Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen, who won three World Championship medals in 2024, said that despite the difficult weather conditions of the last few days, the tracks at Tehvandi Sports Center are excellent. “I must admit we weren’t very optimistic about the track conditions, but when we arrived, we had a positive surprise as the track technician had done a great job,” Christiansen said. His teammate Johannes Dale-Skjevdal added that the track conditions are some of the best he has seen when it comes to such warm temperatures.

Dale says Tehvandi is a good combination of a challenging track and shooting range. “The track requires a lot of effort at the beginning and you definitely need to work hard,“ Dale described. Christiansen added that, in fact, the hard track can be quite deceptive. “The last time I was here was during the 2022 World Cup. At the time, too, we thought that the track would be difficult and the gaps on the track would be big. Actually, we saw that as it is easy to enter the shooting range and your pulse drops quickly, you will shoot very well here,” Christiansen described.

As to the Thursday sprint race, the men cheerfully said in one voice that they are here to win. “The expectations are high,“ said Dale. “The Norwegian team has always done a good job at the IBU Cup and of course we want to keep that level.” Dale's words are also vouched by the fact that in the men's ranking, the IBU Cup series is led by their teammate, the 21-year-old Isak Frey, who has most likely already secured the overall victory of the Cup. Frey is characterised by his older teammates as a capable biathlonist. “Isak is young, but has already proven that he has great potential to become a very successful biathlonist,” Dale praised his teammate.

All competitions within the Otepää IBU Cup are free of charge for all spectators. Among others, Tuuli Tomingas and Susan Külm will be competing for the Estonian national team.