Seppälä enjoys the technical section of the track and is looking for a lot of mc points in Kontiolahti

Tero Seppälä wants to show his best when the world cup starts in the Kontiolahti landscapes he is very familiar with. Seppälä, who opens the international season with confidence after a successful snow camp, lists his goals with a smile:

- Immediately I want to be among those who get World Cup points. My best ranking here has been somewhere around 30, so a good goal for these two weeks could be to improve it, says Seppälä at the remote media conference of the Finnish national team.

Seppälä was the number one name among Finnish male biathlon skiers last year. The training season has brought the desired development.

- Hoe technology has been one of the biggest developments in skiing. At least based on the training photos, it is forward, in shooting, at least the results of the training shootings have improved. In the national team, we have done well, says Seppälä, and hopes the team will also show it in international competitions.

The international biathlon competition is tough and you have to seriously fight for the rankings.

- Every year, the difference between getting into the chase or getting into the points has narrowed.

So far, Seppälä from Kontiolahti remembers his first World Cup best:

- Even though they weren't so successful in terms of results, I remembered the encouragement of the home crowd.

Each turn of the track is even more familiar to Seppälä. He also praises the climbs, but there is a particularly pleasant bit elsewhere:

- Nelonen's run has a very technical section, Seppälä says, with a section that requires versatile techniques.

A successful training season behind also Sanna Laari and Tuomas Harjula.

- I have thought that if you do the same work as in training and get that know-how out, won't the result also come in the games, says Laari.

- I expect a clear level rise again in the competition season. The goal would be to get World Cup points, says Harjula.

The national team has behind them a summer and autumn that included high-quality domestic training.

- The camp season has gone well as a whole, and we will go into the opening of the World Cup season with confidence to show the team's skills at the beginning of the new season, sports manager Jouni Kinnunen says.

Photo: Petri Kiukas / BMW IBU World Cup Kontiolahti