HOLMENKOLLEN (Nettavisen): On Thursday, there was supposed to be a biathlon world cup in Holmenkollen, but now the organizer confirms that the race has been canceled as a result of the weather conditions. Instead, they will try to organize the race on Friday.
There has been dense fog and rain for large parts of the day in Holmenkollen and this is why the race is now not going as planned.
It is the women who should have been in action at 14:15 on Thursday in the 15 kilometer normal distance.
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Secretary General of the Norwegian Biathlon Union Morten Djupvik understands the jury’s decision.
– Of course it is very boring. Many people have arrived here, bought tickets and were ready for the ski race. The athletes were also very ready to compete. It is of course strange, but at the same time the weather is nothing to do with. I assume that the jury has done the right thing, says Djupvik to Nettavisen.
He explains that you can never take any chances when it comes to safety and points to the poor visibility.
– When you look outside the stadium now, visibility is extremely poor. I assume that is the main reason for the cancellation, says the general secretary.
The general manager of the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, Stefan Marx, thinks it is very unfortunate that Thursday’s race has been cancelled.
– It is extremely unfortunate. We work a whole year preparing these two Holmenkollen weekends, and any cancellation hurts. But at the same time, we do outdoor sports, so we are prepared for it and prepared for it to happen, he says to Nettavisen.
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Now they will try to organize the race on Friday. Then the men will also be in action at the normal distance in Holmenkollen if everything goes as planned.
Thursday’s cancellation also means that the spectators who had bought tickets for the race had to go home empty-handed. However, Marx has good news for those who had tickets to the race.
– In principle, weather is not a reason for ticket distribution, but we have decided to give them new tickets for tomorrow. And then there will be two races tomorrow as planned. So then they get value for money tomorrow, he says.
The weather forecasts are not the best for the coming days in the national facility either, but it is currently unknown how this will affect the planned race programme.
Marx says that local weather reports show that the weather will improve throughout the day tomorrow.
– Rain has been reported, but we have local meteorologists here who set up a locally adapted weather forecast, and it says it will lighten up from 12 o’clock, so we are very optimistic, he says.
The gloomy weather forecasts have had an impact on ticket sales, but Marx still believes that many spectators will come to the races this weekend.
– Ticket sales were going very well until about a week ago, but then we saw that it slowed down a bit. But then there is a whole weekend left, and better weather has been reported for the rest of the weekend, so we expect quite a few to be sold at the door anyway, he says.
The women’s race is scheduled to start at 12.30 on Friday, while the men’s race starts at 15.30.