This year, another World Cup season has begun in the small town of Vuokatti, Finland. I have travelled to this central Finnish town more times than I'd like to count. So, I did. This is my fifteenth competitive trip to Vuokatti, in addition to three training camps, so it's the eighteenth trip in total. Most of those times have been in December, a few in January, and a couple in March, my preferred month to visit. Needless to say, I'm familiar with the venue and area. The season kicked off with an IBU World Cup, and after a day off, we continued with the first FIS World Cup. This is my nineteenth international season, but there are still some nerves, anxiety and questions on the eve of a new season. Has the off-season training improved my weaknesses? If there was a bout of illness, how has that affected me? How much faster is everyone else? Who's improved their shooting? All these questions are floating around; the years of experience only make it easier to manage these thoughts, but it doesn't eliminate them. Several of those thoughts might not settle until after the first race or the first few races, but others might not abate until much later in the season. That's fine, but don't let those thoughts, questions or concerns influence where you are putting your attention and preparation for the upcoming races. It will always come down to how you go through the process of performing.
Don't get me wrong, there was still a small sense of relief after the first race, and I secured my first victory. The season started with a Biathlon Sprint. I expected some very eager competitors off the start and a few hot times; it all made sense with me being in fifth or so after the opening climb. By the time I reached the range for the first time, I had made up some time and placings. And then, with cleaning the first bout of shooting of the World Cup season, I put myself in first after the first shooting. From there, I gradually stretched the lead through the second loop, a second clean bout of shooting and skied home to my first victory of the 2024-2025 season. There were countless little things throughout the race and even in the warmup beforehand that I wasn't satisfied with, and I made notes to adjust. From better managing the timing of my warmup and final confirmation, to the time I left to get dressed immediately before the race. Technical cues throughout the course. I was very pleased with how my body reacted to post-travel and hard jetlag. I felt I could find the gears and was getting out what I expected from myself. My first bout of shooting was clean but very disjointed; it didn't flow with my typical breathing pattern, with lots of thinking and hesitation. Some of those aspects I already adjusted for the second bout, but I still had room to improve the consistency on the range. Overall, it was a great start, continuing from where I left off last season, but it set the bar for where I could improve.
The next day was a day off before back-to-back races over the first weekend. The next race was the Biathlon Individual. Like the first race, where I expected a few competitors to start very hot, I figured it would be a more competitive contest in the Individual. After the wake-up of the first race and the first opportunity to work out some of the cobwebs, some athletes would be contesting for the podium. It was a little tougher to get going in the first lap of that race. I felt I had started well and was working on some of the areas for improvement I highlighted from the Sprint. When I had an opportunity to reflect on the data, I would agree I started well, but maybe I got stuck in that gear and couldn't respond afterward. During the race, I felt that my body wasn't responding well, and I felt stuck in fourth gear and unable to get into fifth or sixth. I was maybe controlling the range, but I was inconsistent with the rifle. All hits, I went twenty for twenty, but there were two extremely lucky hits in those twenty. That clean shooting was matched by one of my competitors. And within the first lap, where I struggled to get going, he got a nine-second jump on me. As I tried to chisel away at that lead, he maintained, and it wasn't until the final lap that I finally made an impact, reducing the lead to 4.5s, but I ran out of course. My performance was solid; I perhaps missed the urgency of my racing that day and the ability to get into a higher gear.
The final race of the opening IBU World Cup was the Biathlon Sprint Pursuit. In the morning's Qualification, I started skiing with some tension but relaxed with each lap, taking a narrow advantage into the afternoon's Final. After catching the two earlier starters halfway through the opening lap, I needed to keep to the process and focus on clean shooting in the range. I started the final with a clean bout, but as I headed out onto the course, I was followed closely by second place. I opened the gap over the following lap by a second or two, but it all came down to the final shooting. It didn't feel quick, but it was okay. Most importantly, it was clean, and I started the final 1.2km with a lead. Knowing the skier chasing me was fast, I wasn't too confident over the first 600m of the lap. I saw I had maintained the gap as I entered the final climb. Skiing the final descent and into the finish, securing my second win of the season. With this win, I increased my lead in the World Cup Leader's bib race.
The attention turned to Cross Country and the first FIS World Cup races. There was no easing into the season, as we kicked off the season with a Classic Sprint. Some of those previous questions arose again, this time for Cross Country. The typical competitors from Biathlon are there, but many Cross Country-only competitors are now a factor in my thinking. In addition, there is a degree of uncertainty around new athletes until you see them compete a few times. Cross Country Sprints is an area that I still feel weak in. I was pleased with how I managed the entire day. There is plenty to work on still, but I can feel the attention and work I have put in is feeling more established and comfortable. One of those pieces was feeling more at ease throughout each step of a Sprint day. I will probably always need to put in that little extra focus on Qualification. Setting up the rest of the day and having the body ready to throw down. I qualified in fourth, which I thought was a great start, but the qualification results already hinted at those who might have an advantage on this course. For the Semi, we switch to head-to-head racing and different priorities. I could see and feel how things were unfolding within the Semi and put myself in a position where I could even ease off for most of the finish, conserving some energy. Going into the Final, I felt I put myself into contention, but it's Sprinting, and you never know. I had a strong start for the Final, but the way it unfolded, I was suddenly the last guy, as the two skiers that started after I did skied by me. There was a moment when I thought I was in trouble. In a section where I showed I was the strongest double poler against one-armed skiers three years ago, I was now the only one-armed skier trying to catch two skiers using both poles. I shifted quickly and worked on minimizing time lost, and it worked; I might have even started to gain from those two in front of me. It was the three smaller climbs and two transition sections where I did a lot of damage and was descending back down into the stadium on the skis of the others—five of us, together, around the final corner into the finish. The leader began pulling away, and I followed second, securing myself a third-place finish. To finish third was an awesome start to the Cross Country season. I have to feel good about that.
A final rest day before back-to-back Freestyle 10kms. These were two separate races, but they would also work together. The first race was an interval start or time trial start. The fastest skier wins the race. This was a tough race for me. Whether it was the previous four races, the travel and the last lingering effects from jetlag, fresh snow, the soft conditions, or a bit of all of them, I went into the race knowing it would be a battle and that I would have to work for every possible second because that is how competitive the field is. In the end, I was fourth, behind a Chinese podium sweep. They had some big gaps on me. I never felt great at any point in the race; it was just hard work from the start. Maybe what I did or didn't do the day before on the rest day set this up, or maybe there was no way of influencing how I felt in that race. But I knew I wouldn't let it happen for the next race.
The final race in Vuokatti was a second Freestyle 10km, but this time as a Mass Start. Using the previous day's winning time, a predicted race time is calculated, and a start list is created where each class in a category gets assigned a start time based on how long it should, in theory, for that class to complete the distance. First across the finish line wins the race. From this calculated start list, I was the thirteenth starter in my category, starting 2 minutes 42 seconds behind the first starter. Every male skier I passed meant I had moved up a place. But there were also some very fast skiers starting only 18 seconds behind me, and if I hung around, they would catch me. There are different tactics for this format, but I focused on skiing efficiently and performing better than the day before. It was almost a surprise to me at how calm I was off the start line, but how well I was skiing. As I weaved in and out of traffic, I constantly picked off skiers one after another and continuously hunted for that next skier to catch, pass, and repeat. I occasionally checked behind to ensure I was holding off anyone who might challenge me from behind. It was a lonely race as I never skied with anyone; I focused solely on catching and passing. That paid off, as I would have second in my sights but could not quite catch him. I returned to the podium with a third-place finish. The gap to the leader is a little concerning, but I'll work on that before the next event.
That concluded the season's first international competitive block. Or the year's final block, however you want to look at it. I usually race a bit more sparingly and rarely race everything, but I thought I could try with the extra scheduled rest day. There were negatives to that and lessons learned. I have ideas on how to approach it better if I decide to do it again. But there were also positives. Though still a shock to me, after racing all six of the races in Vuokatti, I find myself, for the first time that I can recall, leaving a venue as the World Cup Overall Leader in both Biathlon and Cross Country. I thought that was a very cool achievement that I had not expected. The other very special achievement (actually two) I earned while in Finland was my 50th Biathlon World Cup podium and my 20th Cross Country World Cup podium. So, several milestones were reached to cap off 2024. I'm very happy with how I started the international season, and now I have turned my attention to the season's core. Next is a test event at the venue for the Milano-Cortina Paralympic Games at the end of January. This is our first look at the proposed course for the Games. Immediately followed by the Biathlon World Championships in Pokljuka, Slovenia, and then the Cross Country World Championships in Toblach-Diabbiaco, Italy.
Thank you, everyone, for your support throughout 2024; it was a year filled with tremendous moments. I wish you all a very healthy, happy and successful 2025!
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