Arnd Peiffer sank to the ground completely exhausted at the finish – but the exertion was worth it. The 33-year-old took a very strong second place in the Sprint at the World Cup in Kontiolahti. On Tarjei Bö from Norway (0/24: 03.7 minutes) Peiffer was only 13.9 seconds missing after a strenuous 10 km on a soft track and faultless shooting performance.
“I knew that I was doing well. I was actually too aggressive, so I thought I couldn’t pull it off,” said the Olympic champion on ARD. Above all, he is “extremely happy that it worked out well on the shooting range this time. That worried me in the first sprint.” On Sunday he missed a top placement in seventh with a shooting error.
This time Peiffer even outpaced the high-flyer Johannes Thingnes Bö (+29.4) in difficult conditions in “Bärenbucht”. For the German Ski Association (DSV) in the third race of the season it was already the second podium after third place for Erik Lesser at the beginning of the individual. Peiffer, who was not entirely satisfied with his start into the winter (17th and 7th place), landed on the podium for the 36th time in his successful career. For the pursuer on Saturday (1:20 p.m. / ARD), the veteran achieved a brilliant starting position in his 13th World Cup season. Benedikt Doll (1 / + 50.9) rounded off the very good German result in eighth place. After disappointing placements at the start of the winter, he showed a clear upward trend with ranks 29 and 32.
“I am now very happy that it was enough for a top placement. At first I had the feeling that it wasn’t going right, but then I catapulted myself into it,” said Doll, sprint world champion in 2017. Lesser, who has already won the World Cup. Norm made it, this time finished 16th after two shooting errors (+1: 05.5 minutes). “The placement is better than my race itself. Two errors are unacceptable. All in all, I’m still satisfied. I got to the last meter the feeling that there is still something in it, “said the 32-year-old.
Roman Rees (1 / + 1: 23.9) and Johannes Kühn (2 / + 1: 24.5) also collected World Cup points as 27th and 28th, Lucas Fratzscher (2 / + 2: 15.3) as 54th just got the chase. Last winter, the start of the German biathletes was still unsuccessful. It was not until the third World Cup that Doll won the sprint in Le Grand Bornand.
Two Öbergs ahead of all Germans
Former world champion Denise Herrmann took fifth place in the sprint at the start of the second Biathlon World Cup week in Kontiolahti, Finland. After a shooting error, the 31-year-old Saxon was 47.6 seconds behind the Swedish winner Hanna Öberg on Thursday.
The overall World Cup leader Öberg prevailed ahead of the also faultless French Anais Chevalier-Bouchet and her sister Elvira Öberg (1 fault).
The second best German was Franziska Preuß (2 mistakes) in 16th place. Vanessa Hinz (1) and Janina Hettich (1) also got World Cup points in 33rd and 39th places. Things went less well for Maren Hammerschmidt (2/49.) And Sophia Schneider (4/87.), Who fell short of expectations.
I
.
