Baiba Bendika | Photo: KIM HONG-JI / Reuters
Latvian biathlete Baiba Bendika finished in 37th place in the 10-kilometer pursuit on Saturday in the third stage of the World Cup in France and did not qualify for Sunday’s upcoming competition with a joint start.
The victory was celebrated by Swedish biathlete Elvīra Eberga, who closed all 20 targets and finished in 29 minutes and 42.4 seconds. Bendika started the chase as 25th, 62 seconds behind Sweden’s Anna Mangnusson, who won the sprint on Friday. In the first prone shoot, Bendika made one mistake and was third at the end of ten, but in the second prone she closed all the targets and rose to 22nd place.
It is true that two penalty laps after the next firing line dropped the rider to the 35th position, but after another penalty lap in the last shooting she returned to the 37th place on the track. Until the finish, the Latvian did not change her position and finished the chase four minutes and 10.7 seconds later than the winner. After the first shooting, six biathletes were within nine seconds, but from the second, Frenchwoman Gillia Simona and Swedish Elvira Eberja were the first to leave the firing line. In the third shooting, Simona made one mistake, while Erberga shot accurately and became the sole leader.
The Swedish biathlete also shot the last five targets, while Simona, who had approached her rival on the track, was forced to measure two penalty laps. Thus, the Italian Lisa Vitoci became the vice-leader, who lost 20.4 seconds to Eberg at the finish, but Simona crossed the finish line 26.5 seconds later.
The Swiss Aita Gasparina made an impressive climb, who after the 45th place in the sprint was in the 12th position in the pursuit. On Sunday, the third stage of the World Cup will end, with biathletes competing in distances with a common start. The fourth stage of the World Cup is scheduled from January 2 to 8 at the Pokljuka track in Slovenia, while the last of the ten stages of the World Cup is scheduled for March in Oslo.
