What Lisa Hauser has her sights set on this winter

Gone are the days for Austria’s biathlon women’s relay team, when they had to be taken out of the race after lapping or when they ended up in the back of the field due to sometimes catastrophic performances on the shooting range. The red-white-red female power, led by front woman and former world champion Lisa Hauser, was already noticeable in the previous season with two fifth places at the World Cup in Oberhof and in the World Cup in Antholz. Which also gives hope today at the first quartet competition of this winter over 4 x 6 kilometers in Östersund (3:15 p.m., live on ORF1).

The 29-year-old Hauser has already celebrated many great successes in her career. She has one thing in particular planned for her twelfth season in the World Cup. “It’s still an open question for me to achieve a podium in the women’s relay,” said the Tyrolean with this goal firmly in her sights.

At the opening individual event last Sunday, she showed strong early form with sixth place, while her ÖSV teammate Tamara Steiner, who was also flawless, surprised with 13th place – the best result of her career to date. Hauser also thinks highly of former junior world champion Anna Gandler. “It’s cool because she brings a new zest to it,” she says of the 22-year-old.

Manfred Hierschläger should also contribute this. The Mühlviertler is the new service manager in Austria’s biathlon team. After several years with the cross-country skiers, he moved to the ski hunter camp. The work didn’t get any less for him. As in all other ski disciplines, the fluorine wax ban has been in effect in biathlon since this season, which presented the teams with major challenges during their preparation.