IBU Cup Trials

Well I’m not going to beat around the bush or anything here. I really surprised myself this past week at IBU Cup trials in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  But first let me tell you how team trials work in the US.

To make an international team here in the US you have to go to a set of trial races. These races usually consist of 3 or 4 races. At IBU trials there were 4. In the results, each racer gets a percentage based on the average time of the top 3. (Ex: Time1+Time2+Time3/3=X … time1/X= 102% … Time 2/X=100% … Time3/X= 98% ECT.) Then at the end of all the races your worst percentage is dropped and the average of your best races are put into a result list ranking you against all the other athletes at the trials. Some races, like Jr. World trials, you need to have over 98% at the end of the trials to qualify for Jr. Worlds. For IBU trials the criteria stated Sean Doherty (long-time friend) was pre-qualified, the top qualifier off points would be selected and one more off discretion would be selected. AND! One more could be selected on discretion. (If you have any more questions about the trial system just leave a message and I’ll do a better job explaining it)

Coming into the races I wasn’t really expecting to be in the mix. My races in Canmore were ok but not on the level to make the IBU cup (shooting 50% over 3 races and skiing decently) my goal was to get in some good races before Jr. World trials (At the same venue in MN a few days after Christmas). Also I was pretty upset with my 50% shooting in Canmore so I decided it was time to ramp up the dry fire (shooting training done without bullets, usually in your room.)

RACE 1: 10K Sprint. Prone, Standing

I don’t remember much from this race (it could be because I was in what top athletes call “The Zone” or it was 5 days ago and just don’t remember much). I will remember this race for a while though because this was the best I had ever shot in a race! 0-1 (misses, 0 prone, 1 standing). This race was a huge confidence boost for me because for most of my biathlon career I’ve been able to ski fast but had trouble on the range so this summer I put in a lot of time trying to become a more complete biathlete. This race told me the hard work is paying off. I ended up placing 5^th with a 96% and was feeling great.

Race 2: 10K Sprint. P-S

Sunday’s race was very foggy/ rainy. When you looked down the sights all you saw was a grey fuzz, then as you moved over the target you saw a darker grey fuzz. I knew shooting was going to be tough so the better shooters will probably have the better result. I had some trouble prone but recovered in the standing and finished shooting 3-1. Missing 4 was the average on the day so I was able to finish 5^th again with a 94%.

Race 3: 15K Mass Start. P-P-S-S

The mass start is by far my favorite event. Everybody starts at the same time so it’s easy to tell what place you’re in, but at the same time everybody comes into the range together so it’s easy to lose focus and shoot poorly. On the first loop there was a little bit of carnage but for the most part went smoothly. After the first shooting, I got off the mat with one miss and saw Sean also getting up. At this point we were the first two to leave the range. After a quick loop around the penalty loop we headed back out on course with Casey Smith (teammate) who shot clean but shot a little slower. On that loop, Sean and Casey pulled away from me a little bit but I was still within 10 seconds of them. In the next shooting stage I did the exact same thing, one miss. I’m not sure how Casey shot but Sean had 1 also so after a quick loop I was back out on course in 2^nd. On that loop Casey caught up to me and we came into the range together for standing. At this point Sean was way ahead, Casey shot clean and I had two penalties. Coming into the last shooting stage, I saw both Sean and Casey leave the range clean and I knew Wynn Roberts and Patrick Johnson were close behind me. With my 2 misses Wynn was able to pull ahead of me but I knew I was still ahead of Pat (a really fast skier, new to biathlon) so I knew I had to fight hard to not let him catch me. I was able to hold him off and finish 4^th with 95%. Shooting 1-1-2-2.

Race 4: 10K Sprint P-S

Going into this race I knew I was in a pretty good spot. USBA has the option to take 4 men to the IBU cup and right now I was sitting in 4^th. So today needed to be a final “look at what I got” race. I started 30 seconds ahead of Wynn so I knew if I could stay ahead of him, today would be a good race. The first lap felt really good. I felt I was taking the transitions correctly and I just felt plain fast. On the first shooting I came in and did what I had been doing all week and ended up cleaning, Again! I was right where I wanted to be. On my standing shooting I ended up missing 2 but I knew the race was on. Wynn shot 1-1 and was right on my heals as I left the penalty loop. After pushing as hard as I could on the last loop I was able to hold off Wynn and knew today was going to be a good one. I finished 4^th again, this time with 97%!

Now all I can do is wait. I did my part, I showed up and had the best races I could. What I am most excited about is all the hard work I put in this summer on the range is finally paying off. In these last 4 races I felt so comfortable and in control on the range, it feels like a whole different race.

Right now I am in Minneapolis with the Ellingson family for the holidays. Then I’ll be heading back up to Grand Rapids on the 25^th or 26^th of December for Jr. World trials. Friend me on Facebook and follow me on Instagram @brhalligan4 and Twitter @bhbiathlon. Happy Holidays everybody!