Bjorndalen “Doesn’t Care” About the Relay
Ole Einar Bjorndalen was hoping to fight for the gold. He left the venue furious and disappointed. Instead of a medal, he ended up in 30th place in the individual. Drammens Tidende (another Norwegian newspaper) was barely able to get a few words with Bjorndalen before he ran from the World Championship arena.

“What are you going to do to prepare for the relay?” “I don’t care!” answered Bjorndalen, furious and very disappointed. He shot three misses already during the first prone stage, and after that it was done.

The five time gold medalist from the Olympics in Salt Lake City last winter was never able to come back after the disappointment of the first shooting stage. He told the newspapers that he judged the wind completely wrong, which made him incredibly angry at himself. While Halvard Hanevold celebrated his success five years after he won a surprising Olympic gold in the same discipline in Nagano, Bjorndalen left for the Norwegian hotel. “Now I’m going to do whatever I want before the next race,” he managed to tell the newspapers before he disappeared.

Even though Bjorndalen was very disappointed today, he ended up winning the overall world cup. This is his first World Cup victory since he won it for the first time in 1998. After that he took four second places and one third place.

::See the full article and photo here http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/2003/03/19/364378.html
-Bjorn
0004-0006-2003

Hungry for More

For Halvard Hanevold, Sunday’s silver medal race served primarily as an appetizer for what is to come during the week. Yesterday he celebrated his silver medal together with main sponsor Vital in the Siberian World Championship city. The balalaika music in the background did not put a damper on the mood, even though there was no victory dance for the man from Asker. “I was, of course, a little disappointed that I didn’t take the gold immediately after the finish, but now I’m just ecstatic,” says Hanevold to Dagbladet (a major Norwegian newspaper).

Hanevold had no chance in the man-to-man duel when Ricco Gross laid the hammer down in the last hill towards the finish line. When all is said and done, Hanevold has not had all the world to show in the pursuit before the World Championships.

“No, this is the year’s best for me, both the sprint and the pursuit. So then I should actually be very satisfied.”

FAT
The road to World Championship success has been long for Hanevold. Last summer he completed his education as a civil engineer at NTNU in Trondheim. The work for the final project led to a break in his training. The man gained 9 kilos, going up from 71 to 80. It was therefore a very satisfied man that showed his washboard stomach for the camera yesterday. “Hehe, I was simply fat at one point, and it wasn’t comfortable.

It wasn’t a problem to motivate myself for training again in August. I had a bigger stomach than my dad!” says a laughable Hanevold to NTB. But he has only thought of biathlon since that time. And without his studies, Hanevold seems better than ever. “This has been my best season since I took gold in 1998.”

PERFECT
Hanevold uses the same method that Thomas Alsgaard and other big skiers use when he prepares for a championship race. “There are long mental processes going on before a race. I’ve gone through the races many times, and I know what I need to do. In this way, you don’t have to think about details during the race. It’s not good to think too much, just let things flow, make it simple,” says Hanevold.

He was very excited before this weekend’s competition. “The excitement level was perhaps too high before the start today, but now it’s actually perfect. I’m in between satisfied and disappointed, and very hungry for more.”

Hanevold still has his best races to go in the World Championships. Both the 20km and the mass start are formats he has traditionally done well in. “This is not to say that I’m completely satisfied with not taking gold today. Of course I would rather have won. Then I would have been done with it. But now I’m not completely spent, in any case, which I could have been if I won. “What happened today is a perfect warm up for the 20km,” Hanevold says.

::See the full article and photo here http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/2003/03/17/364144.html
-Bjorn
0004-0006-2003

Hanevold Had No Chance In The Sprint

Halvard Hanevold was tied with Ricco Gross and Vladimir Dratsjev after the final shooting stage, but the Norwegian had no chance in the fight for a spot on the podium.

The untouchable Raphael Poiree went out very first during Sunday’s pursuit undisturbed. He went out with a lead of 45 seconds and increased it during the race.

The other biathletes needed to fight for second place, and Hanevold had a good chance after the last shooting stage. But the terrain didn’t suit Hanevold, and the biathlete from Asker therefore took the unattractive 4th place.

“I couldn’t catch them on the flat sections towards the finish, unfortunately. I’m disappointed about being so close to 2nd place, but that’s just the way it goes,” said Hanevold to NTB. “But I’m satisfied with finishing a great race. It’s fun to have completed a good pursuit,” said Hanevold on the way home for Christmas.

Hanevold went out in the 16th place, and was one of the few that minimized Poiree’s lead. But it could have been better with clean shooting. Hanevold had one penalty after the first shooting stage. “I had a little trouble during the first stage. Someone ran into my ski as I was laying down. Therefore, I needed to begin my preparation all over again. The last three stages were perfect,” said Hanevold.

Besides Hanevold, Egil Gjelland and Stian Eckhoff also delivered strong races. Frode Andresen, who went out as number three, shot 6 misses and lost 10 spots, while Gjelland went up 19 spots and ended up as number 10. Eckhoff went up 8 spots and finished in 12th place. It is apparently easier to start a little back during a pursuit.

“It can be like that. If you want to do well in a pursuit, you have to be on the offensive on the range. This is probably easier when you start a little behind,” says Hanevold.

National Coach Roger Grubben needed to otherwise acknowledge that Ole Einar Bjørndalen, who was supposed to start in the 6th place, chose not to race the pursuit, due to a sore throat. Grubben’s girlfriend Linda Tjørhom chose to do the same in the women’s competition.

::See the full article and photo here http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=311268
-Bjorn
0012-0026-2002

Bjørndalen wins for the 30th time
Biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen achieved his 30th world cup victory when he won Sunday’s pursuit.

The 28-year-old from Simostranda rounded off the 14 day stay in Ostersund with his third straight victory and 200,000 Norwegian kroner in prize money. He had complete control in the front position after Saturday’s sprint, and won with a comfortable minute over the German Ricco Gross.

He completely out classed the rest; only for the first two loops was the competition anywhere near him in the range. Bjørndalen took advantage of the opportunity to take the overall lead in the World Cup Standings, which is highly prioritized after doing well at the World Championships this year.

“It’s insane, I’ve never opened better. After all I’ve done this summer and fall, this incredibly good. I’ve had far too much to do,” admits Bjørndalen, who achieved his 30th world cup victory. He stood on the podium for the 65th time.

Frode Andresen fumbled in the beginning, but found his rhythm and ended up as the 2nd Norwegian, finishing in 3rd place. Younger athletes Stian Eckhoff and Lars Berger completed an incredible day for the Norwegians and came in 9th and 11th, respectively.

Up until now, Bjørndalen’s increased civilian lifestyle has not had any effect. Cabin building in Beitostølen and traveling around Europe after four fantastic Olympic gold medals has cost energy, but he is so focused during training that it has not affected his form.

“I feel very good, and I have better control over my shooting than last year. This is the main reason I’m winning. My rhythm is becoming more fine tuned.”

Not many who witnessed Bjørndalen’s presentation at the Olympics thought it was possible to become any better, but after two weeks in Ostersund, he seems more untouchable than ever. He controls his own race. Simply put, he was racing in his own world on Sunday.

“I get time splits only on the last loop; it’s not necessary to know where I’m at in the middle of the race. I know what I need to do during each loop and each shooting stage, the rest is trivial,” says Bjørndalen to NTB. “You realize what position you’re in, and you know if someone passes you. After the prone shootings, halfway through the race, I had the feeling that I could win.”

The feeling of being passed up is one he has not had lately. He’s raced his own races, focused on not going too hard on the trail, and worked hard with each shooting stage. Lower tempo has resulted in fewer misses than normal. “That’s been the key; I’m more convinced about not racing to the max from the start. I’m looking to race the perfect race, where everything clicks. This is the way to do it,” says the winning machine.

::See the full article here http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=3992070
::all right, that’s all I’ve got for tonight. I’ll be on the lookout for more good articles. I’ve already spotted some from VG about bente skari and the rest of the cross country crew. -Bjorn
0012-0018-2002

This is Frode’s New Weapon
Frode Andresen likes to be on the cutting edge when it comes to equipment. Now he’s opening up the airways in his nose with a new invention.

The biathlete from Hønefoss will gladly adjust vision, technique, rifles and other equipment if he can gain some seconds out on the course. He introduced the piece, a metal clamp that opens the nasal passages to the max from the inside, at the World Cup opener for Biathlon.

“I call it ‘Maranata’,” says Frode to NTB, a Norwegian news agency, and grins. “It was a veterinarian I know that constructed the ‘nose opener’,” explains Andresen.

From the front, it looks like he is related to “Ferdinand the Bull,” with a metal ring in his nose. But Andresen is no peaceful animal out smelling the flowers.

The steel rod is attached to a rubber stopper on each side, like the ones found on glasses, for optimal comfort while sitting on the nose.

With a rubber stopper in each nostril, more air will hopefully be taken in and more red blood cells will give higher muscle capacity.

::See the full article and photo here http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=6157917