December 16, 2009 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – Hosting a World Cup event is a challenging task, however making preparations to host a world class competition in just two months is a task that only the best organizing committees can solve. The organizing committee of Pokljuka, Slovenia took over the World Cup from Osrblie, Slovakia on October 13th. Event organizers have been working tirelessly to prepare the venue for the tomorrow’s start of the IBU World Cup, December 17-20, 2009.

“I think their preparation is really good. I like the new stadium a lot and the track seems to be just perfect”, said U.S. Biathlon coach Per Nilsson during the first training session at the national park plateau.

Two years ago the World Cup stopped in Pokljuka for the last time. Since then, many things have changed in the rebuilt stadium. A large hotel and functional building replaced an old container building, while the stadium and track underwent major renovations. “I really have to get used to the new conditions here”, said Jeremy Teela (Heber City, UT). “I am used to the old conception of the track and the whole area, so it takes some time to get used to all the new things. It’s almost like being at a new venue!”

Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) had a challenging two days of training, as he is starting to fatigue after two exciting weeks of racing and historic visits to the podium. He is anxious to start competing again. “Unfortunately, I have not been feeling 100% the past few days, and I had to skip my training session yesterday. I will train this afternoon, and hopefully I will feel good enough to start tomorrow’s Individual. I feel like my form was getting better and better with each race, but I am really not sure where I am at now”, said Burke before training on today.

Snow continues to fall at the venue, a factor that can make the track slower and harder to ski. Current conditions will require a lot of energy from the athletes tomorrow as the Individual event – 15k for the women and 20k for the men – is the longest discipline in the sport of biathlon.

This week’s World Cup team includes 2006 Olympian Lanny Barnes (Durango, Co), Haley Johnson (Lake Placid, NY), Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID), 2006 Olympian Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY), 2006 Olympian Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY), Kevin Patzoldt (Grand Rapids, MN), and two-time Olympian Jeremy Teela (Heber City, UT). Three-time Olympian Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, Alaska) is taking the week off from competition to continue training.

The women kick off the competition with the 15 k Individual race on December 18, at 6:15am, (EST) while the mens 20 k Individual race begins tomorrow at 8:15am (EST).

Please visit www.biathlonworld3.de/en/ for race results. Watch World Cup racing live online at http://tiny.cc/FL0l9.