Seppälä is confident about a tough race week, Eder is especially looking forward to the message

For the representatives of the Finnish national team, the pieces of the whole are in place, so the desire to compete in international circles on home soil is great.

Tero Seppälän did not have to qualify for his place in the Finnish team for the opening competitions, so his preparation for the opening week went through training.

"I've been training really hard here for a very long time. Now we'll see how I've had time to recover and how I'll go. There's a tough race week coming up, the standard distance right away. I haven't raced an awful lot of those (normal distances), but the track is familiar and a shooting bench, so I'm in a good mood," Seppälä told the media conference.

Eder especially looks forward to Thursdays

Mari Eder has always enjoyed the encouragement of the public in Kontiolahti, no matter how things went in the competitions. Eder has had a different training season, but everything is fine during the season.

He is especially looking forward to one day of competition.

"I'm waiting for Thursday's message. Rarely have we succeeded in having four women healthy and in good shape heading into the season. Now there are five of us. I'm waiting for Thursday," Eder said at the national team's press conference.

He hasn't been seen in Kontiolahti yet in GP competitions, but he has been looking for a competitive feeling in the German biathlon camp competition in Vuokatti and on the cross-country side in Taivalkoski in the Finnish Cup.

Both competitions brought the athlete a performance that made him happy, so everything seems to be in order under one more World Cup season.

Herrmann tries to capture his self-confidence

Norwegian Sverre Olsbu Röiseland, who joined the coaching team of the German women's national team, has also brought something new to Denise Herrmann in terms of shooting.

Herrmann's preparation for the season has gone according to plan. He has tried to combine things that were found to be good in previous years with the contribution of the new coaching.

"The clear goal of the season is the home World Cup competitions. Before that, the events are a journey there. I'm trying to increase my self-confidence," says Herrmann about his early season towards the World Cup competitions.