Biathlon World Cup Lenzerheide: The Biathlon Stalders are working on their house and career

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And boom, another car zooms past right in front of the entrance to the house. No, everyone who lives here cannot afford to step out of the door half asleep in the morning – because the building is directly adjacent to the main road that leads to the center of Alvaneu Bad. Without a sidewalk. “Here you have to be wide awake from the start,” jokes Sebastian Stalder.

The 25-year-old from Zurich, who started the new season as the best of all Swiss by finishing fifth in the individual race in Östersund (Sd), bought the house in 2020. It is only a fifteen-minute drive from the Biathlon Arena in Lenzerheide . In other words, the place that is not only home to Switzerland’s World Cup top players, but is also currently hosting a top-level event for the first time.

Sebastian Stalder saw a small gem in the dilapidated house: a project with potential. That’s why the trained carpenter and his family have rebuilt it in recent years. “Sometimes the parents helped, sometimes the uncle, who is a bricklayer,” reports “Sebi”. And of course his brother and teammate Gion also helped out. Even though he admits: “Actually, I gave more screws.” He now uses his barista skills and his coffee maker to provide the necessary kick before training.

Shower with the garden hose

The youngest of the Stalder brothers celebrated his World Cup debut at the beginning of this season, also in Östersund (place 80). Now he and Sebastian are in the men’s selection for the Swiss World Cup premiere – on the course where both know every meter. They have spent countless hours here. Also in the summer during the seasonal preparation, which could then be ideally linked to our own construction site in Alvaneu Bad.

The Stalders accepted that there would be a lack of hot water during the renovation of the bathroom and kitchen. Sebastian reveals with a laugh: “Sometimes the garden hose had to help, sometimes we showered with colleagues. At one point we installed an outdoor shower, which wasn’t so unpleasant in the middle of summer.”

Special apartment planned

The house has now been completed to the point where it can be lived in without any problems. The result is a modern bathroom, an elegant kitchen and a cozy living room, where old elements can also be found with the paneling and the fireplace. A proud Sebastian Stalder says: “I think we got the best possible out of these rooms.” He is still in the planning phase with a major project: at the very top, in the screed, a so-called high-rise apartment is to be built.

An enclosed apartment in which the oxygen can be reduced to such an extent that the resident has the feeling of living in a significantly higher location. At some point, fitness equipment will be installed here so that the two top athletes can do some kind of altitude training. And Sebastian Stalder could also imagine making the space available to other top athletes.

He already has the first plans for the project, but implementation will probably only be possible “between 2026 and 2030”. After all, money and time are also important factors.

Until then, some refinements are still being made to the house. And the priority at the moment is the sports development and training to become a specialist in customs and border security, both of which are being completed. For Gion it is about a breakthrough at the highest level, while Sebastian, who started the season promisingly, is dreaming of his first World Cup podium. Does it also work at your own door? “That would be the best!”

Source : Blick