2012 World Junior Champion Kurtis Wenzel began mulling retirement in December; despite his first World Cup start and a national title, come April, it still felt like the right decision. The Canadian biathlon team is also losing 2012 Female Biathlete of the Year Melanie Schultz, who struggled to find her ski speed - and motivation - all season.
When American and Canadian skiers start consistently winning domestic races, they face a choice: do they stay on their home circuits, or head to Europe? And if a trip across the Atlantic is in the cards, where will they race? With limited World Cup quotas and a myriad of regional race circuits, skiers have to not only choose which of the many races they might attend, but also generally organize and fund the trips themselves....