Dmitry finished 52nd with four penalties
Leader Ukrainian men’s biathlon team Dmitry Pidruchny commented on his debut start this season. Pidruchny held his first race at the 2023/24 World Cup in Hochfilzen, where he competed in the men’s sprint.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t cope with the shooting; two left targets at each shooting didn’t close. It’s hard to say why – I didn’t work somewhere, it was my first start, I haven’t had any competitive experience for a long time, that’s why I made these mistakes.”
“And on the track I felt pretty good. I expected it to be a little harder and worse for walking, but it felt pretty good on the ski track. I’ll also look at the lag, because sometimes the feeling is good, but the time on the ski track is completely different. I don’t count this first start as a credit.”
“Juraj Sanitra and I worked at a distance for almost a year, just like I was preparing for the World Championship last year. And this season I only had two training camps with the team, and then at the Blink festival I prepared in Norway at a distance. This stage in Hochfilzen is also at a distance.”
“Of course, it’s hard when there’s no coach nearby who can tell you something. This is especially felt during shooting when you are doing the work yourself. But now my coach from the region was with me in Obertilliach – they were there with the juniors, and he helped me a little, this somehow made my work in the training process easier. But we still lacked Juraj’s experience, his advice directly in training.”
The stage in Hochfilzen was the first for Pidruchny, who recovered from a broken arm. Due to injury, Dmitry missed the 2023 Summer World Cup and was not included in the Ukrainian national team’s squad for the first stage of the World Cup in Östersund.
Pidruchny made two mistakes at each firing line and finished in 52nd place. However, this will allow Dmitry to take part in the pursuit race. Norway’s Tarjei Boe won the men’s sprint.
Today the women’s sprint will take place in Austria. Next up in Hochfilzen are the pursuit races (December 9) and the classic relay races (December 10).
Source: Sportarena

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