This week Östersund has hosted the season-opening races of the biathlon world cup. I bought a ticket early this week for Sunday's pursuit race and have been eyeing it lustily for the better part of this last se'en-night. The days would have marched past even without any incentive on my part, but it's fun to get really excited. And the race justified it. I won't waste words, (instead I have to read
Buddhismens historia by Knut A. Jacobsen)
but the competition was awesome.
 |
| Checkpoint Charlie: entry to the nosebleed seats. |
 |
| A random tourist got in the way when I was trying to take a picture of the sponsor of today's race. |
 |
| The scene in the svenska skogen |
 |
| There is something about Saab...it's a stove with two gigantic pots of soup cooking behind the logo. The racers are climbing the hill halfway through their second lap in the background. |
 |
| "Martin Foucade tar sin andra seger under världscup öppningen i Östersund!" |
 |
| This is from Wednesday: I went down to the stadium a few hours before the first race. These three had the same idea. "We wanted to see the arena, but we'll watch it on TV," she explained, "You see it so much better anyway." Maybe so, but I can conclude that there is something special about a thousand screaming fans and soup-wardens in the woods that beget a special stämning--"atmosphere"--which television has hitherto failed to capture. Though rumours suggest that 3D movies might have succeeded. |
Incidentally, it started snowing right as the last racer crossed the
målstrecken and on the way home I got caught in a veritable blizzard. Advent 2011 is two for two for "precipitous" snow-storms.
