Olympic medalist and two-times winner in the BMW IBU World Cup, Selina Gasparin knows the Lenzerheide venue inside-out: she spent most of her active days training there.

She gives thumbs up to the performance of the Swiss Team so far in 2023/2024 and explains why the tracks in Lenzerheide might produce big time difference margins between the best and the rest.

With the Oestersund and Hochfilzen weeks behind us, it is clear that we are in for a fascinating season, with many actors fighting for top positions. Winners are not predetermined, and that is really good for biathlon.

The Swiss team started the season with sixth place in the Single Mixed Relay in Oestersund. I believe that it was a decent opening for the winter. Any result in the Top 15 is a good achievement, and Swiss had plenty of those in Sweden: Women’s relay finished fourth, Amy Baserga was 11th in the Individual, Sebastian Stalder 12th in the Sprint, and 11th in the Pursuit and Lena Haecki-Gross 15th in the Sprint and 11th in the Pursuit. Lena’s fourth-place finish in the Sprint in Hochfilzen lifted her ambitions, and she managed her Pursuit superbly for second place. I think it was the best race of her career! On top: our best-performing athlete from last winter, Niklas Hartweg, wasn’t well in Oestersund and skipped Hochfilzen.

Before the BMW IBU World Cup Premiere in Lenzerheide - which is really a big thing for Swiss biathlon! - we have four athletes who can reach very high on a good day, and the odds seem sound for a successful week for the Swiss team. The main concern for most teams is to stay healthy, as many teams struggle with viruses.

Lenzerheide’s track is rather unique. It starts with a long climb, stretching into a very steep part. The venue is at an altitude of 1,400 meters, and it is not simple to breathe in Lenzerheide: perhaps even more difficult than on higher venues. The track also has many turns where you can gain seconds if you dare go full gas downhill. It is a technically and physically very demanding track. And some good news: a really long downhill heads onto the shooting range. Physically best-prepared athletes could make a substantial time margin over the rest of the field. On to the shooting range: the winds usually come in the afternoon. It changes direction fast and unpredictably, which might be tough on late starters.

The transition from the snow in Sweden to the snow in Central Europe showed that - with the fluor ban - the waxing teams are constantly searching for winning combinations. Swiss teams from the cross country and biathlon worked together in the summer to find an adequate solution for the ski preparation. They have quality waxes. The importance of good skis has grown this season. I think it is fair to say that the ski preparation of the Swiss team is on par with other nations.

In the battle for the Total Score title, I see Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold in an assertive position to capitalise on her experience, years of hard training, and remarkably stable shooting performance this season. She is my favourite among the women. The Boe brothers will (most probably) decide the Total Score winner on the men’s side.