Generation change in the DSV men's team: “It's going to be a tough road.”
Up-and-coming late starters, but no youngsters in sight for the time being: DSV sports director Felix Bitterling has praised the development of late starters Danilo Riethmüller and Simon Kaiser, but at the same time sees a big gap between the established athletes and those moving up from the junior ranks. “We have nine men who are all competitive in the World Cup, but there is a real gap behind them.”
At 25, Riethmüller and Kaiser are the youngest athletes in this group. Riethmüller in particular, who recently caused a stir with a second place in Le Grand-Bornand and is even currently wearing the red jersey of the mass start leader, is developing very well according to the sports director. “When we first met two years ago, I wouldn't have put much stock in him reaching this level. He wasn't a professional then,” Bitterling says of the former junior world champion. “In terms of attitude and discipline, he was very far from world class. It's all the more impressive that he made this journey. Riethmüller, who even slipped out of the B squad in the meantime and was in danger of falling out of the sports promotion system, has now matured a lot. “He's self-confident, asks a lot of questions, soaks up everything - that's what characterizes a good young athlete,” says Bitterling.
The native of Saxony-Anhalt had “fallen into the cellar unchecked” and had started to “dig himself out” last year. The one or other “not so friendly conversation” with Bitterling, but also with his coaches, contributed to this. It was made clear to him: “Either you go the right way now, otherwise the train will leave without you”.
“Perhaps”, Bitterling speculates, the young Riethmüller ‘took things too easily too soon’. He didn't have to “pull out all three feet to be good” at junior level. Bitterling also sees parallels here with the rest of the field in the men's biathlon. “Half of the good athletes aren't born talents, they've made their 20th attempt at some point and then it worked out because they simply have the will.”
Colleagues like Justus Strelow have also closely observed the development of Kaiser and Riethmüller. “It was only a matter of time for both of them. Both have developed well,” says Strelow. “I'm delighted that the Oberhof training group is so well represented here. It shows what a cool and high-performing squad we are.”
But why does it take so long in Germany for top talent to make the transition to the men's game? Why do young athletes like Martin Uldal run and shoot at world-class level straight away in Norway and compete for victories in the World Cup?
“If I had the answer to that, I would no longer be at the DSV, but at NASA,” jokes the sports director from Berchtesgaden. Moreover, this is not an exclusive DSV phenomenon, but an international trend. Across the nations, the teams either have strong men or strong women - the only exception being France, who embody world class in both the men's and women's events. The Norwegians seem to have an endless supply of extremely strong men, but have definitely had problems in the women's game recently. There is a lot of international discussion about this. “But I haven't met anyone yet who can tell me why this is the case,” says Bitterling.
With “different approaches”, the German team now wants to promote permeability to the senior sector and push talent. “We don't have enough young athletes who move up to the next series early on and who really put the pressure on from the IBU Cup.” In future, a quota will therefore be reserved for certain age categories in the IBU Junior and IBU Cup.
The boys should get a taste of international flair, even if they are not yet as capable. “But it's not as if I can quickly turn three screws and then next year I'll have five. We've seen one or two small attempts at junior world championships, but it's a tough road,” predicts Bitterling. This weekend, at least the late starters from the Oberhof training group will be able to prove themselves in front of a home crowd for the first time.