Ukrainian 2019 world champion in the pursuit race (the first world champion in the history of Ukrainian men's biathlon) Dmitry Pidruchny confirmed that he will not compete at the final (6th) stage of the World Cup in the Czech Nove Mesto before the 2026 Olympic Games. The world champion explained this by the decision to focus on individual training in the highlands, which, according to him, is more important than the starts at the end of the Olympic season.
The World Cup stage in Nove Mesto will take place from January 22 to 25 and will be the last official start before the Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The Ukrainian men's national team plans limited participation of the main squad, but Pidruchny decided not to go to the Czech Republic at all.
The team leader has been preparing for the second season according to an individual program under the guidance of ex-coach of the Ukrainian national team Juraj Sanitra. A key element of the plan is work in high altitudes, which is due to the conditions of the 2026 Olympics: the stadium in Antholz is located at an altitude of about 1,700 meters above sea level.
“It was possible to go in several directions in preparation for the Olympics. We chose the option that we consider the most logical, and planned this in the spring when drawing up the entire plan. The illness in Ostersund made some adjustments, but skipping the stage in Nove Mesto was decided in advance. There is too little time left to gain altitude and conduct the necessary training before the Olympics itself,” Pidruchny said in a comment to Suspilna Sport.
The biathlete noted that the world’s leading teams, including the teams of Norway and Germany, as well as individual athletes from other countries, use a similar approach. Relay races, a short individual race and a mass start are planned in Nove Mesto, but Pidruchny emphasized that the format of the stage is not fundamental for him at this stage of preparation. The Olympics in Antholz will be the fourth in his career for the captain of the Ukrainian national team.