Breakthrough Weekend for Anderson in Idre Fjäll

Lucinda Anderson (Golden Valley, MN/Team Birkie) toed the line for her first international biathlon race on Thursday, November 28 in Idre Fjäll, SWE. A newcomer to the sport with just months of practice on the range, she was able to secure the top result for the U.S. women in both IBU Cup sprints as well as the pursuit.  

The 2024-25 IBU Cup season opened with the men’s 10km sprint, where Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, UT/Team Crosscut) led the U.S. team in 19th, shooting a near perfect 9 for 10 on the range. Following Bonacci was Vaclav Cervenka (Grand Rapids, MN/Army World Class Athlete Program) in 51st, Eli Nielsen (Stehekin, WA/National Guard Biathlon) in 56th with clean shooting, and Luke Brown (St. Paul, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) in 66th. The women’s 7.5km sprint saw Anderson turn heads as she shot 2+2 on the range to finish 34th. Jackie Garso (Lake Clear, NY/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) crossed the line in 49th, Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, VT/National Guard Biathlon) just behind in 53rd, and Michaela Keller-Miller (Plymouth, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) in 71st.

After a day off from racing on Friday, the team was back for another pair of sprints, this time looking to qualify for Sunday’s pursuit races. Cervenka and Bonacci both snagged a spot in the pursuit finishing in 39th and 54th, as Nielsen and Brown fell short in 74th and 93rd. On the women’s side, Anderson bested her first sprint result by one spot to qualify for her first pursuit in 33rd, with Garso also qualifying in 52nd. Geraghty-Moats and Keller-Miller fell just out of contention in 78th and 80th. 

Once again, Anderson led the U.S. team in the pursuits to close out the first weekend of racing. Jumping 12 spots from bib 33 to finish in 21st, she bested herself yet again in her first four-stage race. Cervenka took home the second best result of the day finishing where he started in 39th. 

“The racing this weekend in Idre was icy and windy and fast,” said Anderson. “I had a lot of fun out there getting to race against some crazy good biathletes and I’m looking forward to some longer races in Geilo!” 

Next up, the IBU Cup team travels next door to Geilo, NOR to race an individual, sprint and pursuit December 4-6, 2024. Live race updates are available through the IBU App, information on how to download can be found HERE; spectator resources can be found HERE.

IBU Cup 2 - Geilo, NOR

Wednesday, December 4

W 15km Individual 04:00 EST/10:00 CET

M 20km Individual 07:50 EST/13:50 CET

Friday, December 5

W 7.5km Sprint 04:20 EST/10:20 CET

M 10km Sprint 08:20 EST/14:20 CET

Saturday, December 7

W 10km Pursuit 05:00 EST/11:00 CET

M 12.5km Pursuit 07:45 EST/13:45 CET