Denise Herrmann underscored her claim to winning the overall World Cup in the very first race, Erik Lesser celebrated his first podium in three years: The German biathletes got off to a strong start into the new season. Herrmann missed her eighth World Cup victory by just 0.8 seconds in the Kontiolahti singles over 15 kilometers on Saturday. The 31-year-old showed, however, that she is prepared for the duel with the victorious defending champion Dorothea Wierer from Italy. Lesser came third behind the two Norwegians Sturla Holm Laegreid and overall World Cup winner Johannes Thingnes Bö in the stadium, which was empty due to the corona.
“0.8 seconds is a bit annoying, but overall I am very satisfied,” said Herrmann on ZDF after she almost made up her deficit of 35.1 seconds after the fourth shooting on Wierer on the final lap. In the end, after a penalty minute, only a blink of an eye was missing from Wierer, who had not made a mistake.
Shoot quickly and safely
Before the start of the season, Herrmann had declared the attack on the large crystal ball and the yellow jersey as the target. As the last German, the double Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier made it on March 19, 2017. And that the former cross-country skier, who was able to rely on her running strength as always, is now also becoming more and more stable in shooting, is the decisive factor for the leap forward.
Shooting trainer Engelbert Sklorz, from whom the world pursuit champion of 2019 got new tips, gives help. “It went ahead for me,” said Herrmann in advance. In the individual, she only missed one of her 20 shots. “The prone error annoys me. The fact that I got through standing twice is great, ”said Herrmann, who is the top favorite in the sprint on Sunday (1.40pm / ZDF and Eurosport).
Lesser can shoot quickly and safely, since he always had a hard time running in the end. But with his great third place and cracking the World Cup norm, the Thuringian showed that he is not yet an obsolete model. “For a few weeks now, I’ve been feeling very sensible on skis. The way it went today, I can be absolutely satisfied with myself, ”said the 32-year-old on ZDF. Otherwise, only Arnd Peiffer managed to make it into the top 20 in 17th place. “I’ll put it carefully: The track was anything but optimally prepared,” said Peiffer about the very difficult track conditions. With a strong final lap and the best German run time after 20 kilometers, Lesser took his first podium since December 17, 2017.
“I want to establish myself again”
Only with two victories in the internal elimination races did Lesser secure his World Cup ticket after being demoted to the IBU Cup in the preseason after poor performance. Lesser had only traveled to the World Championships in Antholz as a substitute, but then won single mixed silver and relay bronze. “I want to re-establish myself so that there is no longer any question of whether or not to exchange ideas,” said the man from Suhl and delivered an impressive job. In the sprint on Sunday (10.30 a.m.) he can add more.
Even before the start, the ski hunters had to deal with numerous corona cases and in some cases quarantine in eight nations so far, despite the extensive hygiene concepts. The Thuringian Philipp Horn, who had a positive test several weeks ago, flew home after an “indifferent” result.
Nevertheless, the world association IBU is sure that its system will work. “It will work in, there is no increased risk for the participants. After checking into the bubble you are relatively safe, ”said IBU press spokesman Christian Winkler.
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