Istomin described Alimbekova as a benchmark for Russian biathletes

“Everyone knew we had a tough competitive schedule in December, we kept up. How anyone reacts to that is another matter – one more serious, one less serious. That’s our trouble, we can start well.” , but then we are not enough for the final races, for which you need to prepare psychologically. This is our reserve. Everyone has a wide base, you can ask the girls, they will approve. Another thing is how to approach it mentally. Of course the Belarusians helped them miss the race, but for us that should not be an excuse so Dinara Alimbekova comes and wins all the starts. For us, Dinara is a standard here. They’re the leaders in the World Cup, so we’ll get ahead,” Istomin told RIA Novosti.