European Championship medalist Pierre Pachchenko told that he is not thinking about prize money for races won in the inaugural PARI Cup of the International Club Biathlon League (MLKB), and that the focus of the club tournament itself seems very promising.
The competition will take place in Khanty-Mansiysk on November 18-19. Among the men, 57 athletes applied for the tournament, including 2022 Olympic medalist on the Russian national team Eduard Latypov and Belarusian Olympic runner-up Anton Smolsky. For victory, athletes will receive one million rubles.
At the Russian Summer Championships, which took place in September in Tyumen, Pashchenko won the sprint race.
“As soon as we learned that these competitions would take place, we adjusted our preparations. It was easier for us to do that because we were here, at the training camp in Khanty, but it was difficult for the guys who trained in another territory to do that. It is difficult to leave the team without permission, so not everyone who wanted to could come to Khanty.
— You performed well in Tyumen at the Russian Summer Championships, what are your expectations here?
— I already forgot (laughs). You have to understand that departures in summer are one thing, departures in winter are another. At the start of the season, everyone still races differently, so it’s difficult to talk about anything. Also, I’m not entirely satisfied with my shooting form at the moment, but with good shooting I can take high places. I feel like one of the favorites, but definitely not a leader.
— The main prize here is one million rubles. Do you think about this money?
– Honestly no. Of course, I would like to earn this amount, because the mortgage will not be paid off (laughs). I would even like these competitions to take place a little later, because we didn’t have much time to prepare for the tournament. If we talk about the prospects for the development of this area, I would like potential sponsors to see the picture and not, as some say, that this is just a control training with huge cash prizes. I have long thought that this is the future of our biathlon. “It all has potential,” Pashchenko told .
Watch live broadcasts of the PARI MLKB Cup men’s and women’s mass starts on Saturday at 9:05 a.m. and 11:20 a.m., respectively, on the channel.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
