IBU Cup Heads to Osrblie for Open European Championships

After two weekends of racing in Italy, the IBU Cup heads to Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia for the 2024 Open European Championships to take place January 24-28. The four-day championships will feature an individual, sprint, pursuit, mixed relay and single mixed relay. 

Team USA began the second trimester of IBU Cup racing in Martell-Val Martello, Italy on January 4. Lina Farra (Heber City, UT/NYSEF) and Grace Castonguay (Jackson, NH/Ethan Allen Biathlon Club) both skied to personal bests in the sprint, finishing 46th and 47th, Farra shooting clean. Cheresa Bouley (Zimmerman, MN/Minnesota Biathlon) landed in 55th, where Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, VT/National Guard Biathlon) and Anna French (Plymouth, MN/Team Altius) finished 62nd and 66th. 

Castonguay went on to best her sprint performance with a 42nd in the women’s pursuit, racing alongside Farra and Bouley, who skied to the same 46th and 55th. 

On the men’s side, Vaclav Cervenka (Grand Rapids, MN/National Guard Biathlon) had a top-30 finish in the men’s sprint, crossing the line in 29th with three misses on the day. Travis Cooper (Kenai, AK/National Guard Biathlon) followed in 50th, and Nikolas Burkhart (Olympic Valley, CA/Team Crosscut) finished in 55th. 

In the men’s pursuit, Cervenka jumped 13 places for a season-best 16th place finish, hitting 18 of 20 targets on the day. Burkhart gained seven spots to finish in 48th, and Cooper in 51st. 

The following weekend, in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy, the U.S. Biathlon Team continued to produce notable results. Maxime Germain (Chamonix-Mont Blanc, FRA/National Guard Biathlon) led the charge finishing 18th in the men’s 10km sprint, a season-best performance. Burkhart finished 47th, Cervenka in 53rd, Cooper in 61st and Luke Brown (St. Paul, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) in 101st. Germain, Cervenka, Burkhart and Cooper all qualified for the mass start 60.

Castonguay and Geraghty-Moats produced the top women’s sprint results, finishing 51st and 55th to qualify for the mass start 60. Farra landed in 75th, French followed suit in 76th and Bouley crossed the line in 78th. 

The final day of racing, the team of Castonguay and Cooper toed the line in the single mixed relay. Finishing in 12th, +3.11.7 back from the leading Norway, the pair avoided any penalty laps, using 11 spare rounds total to clean their targets. 

After a week of rest, the team is ready to get back to racing in Slovakia. Open European Championships will round out the second trimester of IBU Cup racing with sprint, individual, mass start and a pair of relays on the docket. 

Open European Championship racing kicks off tomorrow with the men’s 20km individual beginning at 4:30 ET/10:30 CET, followed by the women’s 15km individual at 8:30 ET/2:30 CET.   For information on how to watch, visit usbiathlon.org/how-to-watch. Spectator resources can be found at usbiathlon.org/spectator-resources.

IBU Open European Championships - Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia

January 24

Men’s 20km Individual Start 4:30 EST/ 10:30 CET

Women’s 15km Individual Start 8:30 EST/ 2:30 CET

January 26

Men’s 10km Sprint 5:00 EST/ 11:00 CET

Women’s 7.5km Sprint 8:30 EST/ 2:30 CET

January 27

Men’s 12.5km Pursuit 5:00 EST/ 11:00 CET

Women’s 10km Pursuit 8:00 EST/ 2:00 CET

January 28

Men’s 4x7.5km Relay 4:45 EST/ 10:45 CET

Women’s 4x6km Relay 8:00 EST/ 2:00 CET