Lukas Hofer and Dorothea Wierer at Polygon 360: "Empathy between us is the key to excellent results in the relay"

In the traditional Eurosport event, curated by Dario Puppo and Massimiliano Ambesi, the two biathletes expressed their satisfaction with the results obtained in Nove Mesto, with the final stage of Oestersund in the sights.

Tuesday 16 March 2021 7 minutes reading time

From Oestersund, where they arrived today to prepare the last seasonal races that will take place in the Swedish town, Lukas Hofer and Dorothea Wierer were guests at Poligono 360, a weekly column on the winter sports scene by the couple Puppo & Ambesi . "The trip was organized down to the smallest detail. We left Nove Mesto this morning at 5.30 and took a charter flight to Oestersund from Prague. Everything happened on schedule and without the slightest hitch, thanks to the federation that organized flights from the Czech Republic to Sweden "- explained Lukas Hofer, very satisfied with how the logistical question was handled. A definitely positive racing weekend for the two biathletes, who actually achieved the same results: 3rd place in the sprint, 5th in the pursuit and 2nd in the mixed relay. They focused on the excellent result in the relay: "This quartet (Hofer-Windisch-Wierer-Vittozzi) is the tenth time it is deployed, on nine occasions we have climbed the podium. There is a lot of mutual trust between us and we know how to manage the race: this allows us to often be in the positions that matter. " "We are almost at the end of a particular season, the absence of the public is felt, especially in certain contexts. Even hearing the voices of coaches like" Fabri "(Fabrizio Curtaz DT of the national team) is really something anomalous." - added Dorothea Wierer. And Oestersund itself evokes good memories for Lukas and Dorothea: "At 21 I found the first top ten of my career. It was freezing cold, I remember competing with the racing suit plus another additional one of the coaches: we always found a climate here very stiff. " - Hofer explained about his feeling with the Swedish town. "In Oestersund I won my first World Cup race in 2015, world gold in 2019, it is a track that I really like. I just miss the victory in the chase, but currently I struggle a little in this competition format. " A small step backwards, returning to the unfortunate Pokljuka World Cup, where Hofer and Wierer were hit by an illness a few days before the world championship competition: "Unfortunately, it didn't take us, the preparation was upset: it is absolutely not an alibi, but certainly made things more difficult. " - this is Hofer's thought. "Let's say it was a bad blow, we struggled to train for a few days. Going back I shouldn't have played in the mixed relay, since I was still slightly weakened." - confessed Wierer. The next season will be the Olympic one and the preparation will be very important: "This season has been a bit special. I'm happy with my current form, especially on skis, but I'm doing very well with shooting too. The event Olympic will have to be prepared in detail: we can really do well. " - said a very determined Lukas Hofer in view of Beijing 2022. "Honestly I'm starting to feel tired this season, maybe I should have rested more in the pre-season. For next season it will be important to be able to do the classic retreat in the snow , to get to China and try to win some precious medals. " Finally, the two leading biathletes of our movement were asked for an opinion on the fight for the general World Cup: "At the moment I must say that Laegreid seems to me more on the piece than Joahnnes Boe. I see in him much more solidity at the shooting range and more tranquility: it will be a very interesting season finale "- this is Lukas Hofer's prediction. "Tiril Eckhoff is amazing me, he is in a period of impressive form. At the beginning of the year I would have seen Mars Roiseland as a possible winner, but Tiril is deserving these results given his excellent shooting performance." - concluded Dorothea Wierer.