Last but not least: Team Belgium completes the starting field at this year's biathlon WTC in Schalke. Lotte Lie and Florent Claude, the brother of Fabien Claude, who is competing for France, will take to the track in Gelsenkirchen on December 28.

Norwegian-born Lotte Lie competed for Belgium for the first time in the 2019/2020 season. At the start of the season, she competed in the IBU Cup and, in addition to several top 30 finishes, also achieved a 6th place in the single mixed relay together with Tom Lahaye-Goffart. In January 2020, the athlete made her World Cup debut and finished 53rd in the individual race in Pokljuka. At the 2020 World Championships, she finished 25th in the mixed relay, and together with her teammate in the biathlon at Schalke, Florent Claude, she came 20th in the single mixed event.

Lotte Lie also competed regularly in the World Cup in the 2020/2021 season. Together with Florent Claude, she finished twelfth in the single mixed race and achieved the best relay result in the history of Belgian biathlon up to that point. In the races at the next World Cup stop in Nové Město na Moravě, she finished 36th in the pursuit for a second time and also achieved the first top ten result for Belgium in a relay competition at World Cup level with Claude in ninth place.

Her team-mate Florent Claude was granted Belgian citizenship in June 2016 and was able to compete for Belgium from the 2017/2018 season. In the Belgian World Cup relay teams, he took the position of second runner after Michael Rösch, who handed over the lead to Claude in both Hochfilzen and Oberhof. The 33-year-old also regularly finished in the points in individual World Cup races, with his best result of the season being an 18th place in the pursuit in Annecy in December.

In the following years, Claude placed among the top 40 athletes in many World Cup races and finished between 22nd (in the 2023/2024 season) and 51st (2018/2019) in the overall rankings of the competition series. In March 2021, he and Lotte Lie finished ninth in the single mixed relay in Nové Město, marking the first top ten finish for a Belgian relay team in a World Cup race. Just under a year later, the two Belgians finished sixth in the single mixed relay at the World Cup in Oberhof. On the same race weekend, Claude achieved his best individual World Cup result to date, finishing ninth in the sprint. In August 2023, he became sprint world champion in the summer biathlon at the title competition in Osrblie.

Fans and visitors can find all information about the event on the VELTINS-Arena's social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, X and Threads.

Get your tickets now for the biathlon WTC on Saturday, December 28, 2024

Biathlon gift box

Looking for a suitable Christmas present? With the purchase of two tickets in the PK2, PK3, PK5 and PK10 categories, the limited biathlon gift box is now available. In addition to the tickets and a greeting card, fans receive two scarves and two heat pads for just €15 - the perfect equipment for an unforgettable day at Schalke. Grab it now and give the gift of joy!