Johannes Thingnes Bö is still the measure of all things in biathlon. At the second World Cup this winter in Hochfilzen, the four-time Olympic champion in Beijing continued his successes at the start of the season in Finland and also won the sprint race in Austria. He didn’t make any mistakes in prone or standing shooting, the time of the 29-year-old Norwegian on the track was unassailable for the competition (23:04 minutes).
Second-placed Frenchman Emilien Jacquelin was 43 seconds behind, Bös’ compatriot Sturla Holm Lægreid was almost 47 seconds slower and finished third. Both Jacquelin and Lægreid recorded a shooting error. The best German starter was Justus Strelow, who finished ninth with a flawless shooting performance and a deficit of 1:14 minutes. “It’s just phenomenal what he does on the cross-country ski run,” said Strelow about the performance of the victorious Norwegian. “There’s still a lot of training to be done and maybe one day we’ll get closer.”
Flawless shooting
Bö was not bothered by the changed sprint route. The sun was still shining in Hochfilzen at the start of the race week, and the temperatures were hovering around freezing point. It had hardly snowed before. The trees and areas are only covered with a thin layer of snow – not enough for the usual route in the men’s sprint, as the world association IBU announced.
“I concentrated on finding a good pace, but as soon as I warmed up I noticed that the snow was pretty dry,” said Bö after the award ceremony. The flawless shooting “felt so good”.
The race in Hochfilzen usually takes place over three laps, each 3.3 kilometers long. However, because more snow is needed for the larger lap, this time the men ran four laps of 2.5 kilometers each. After the first round, shooting was initially prone, followed by two running laps, then the second shooting while standing and finally the fourth running lap.
“I knew that my legs would burn and get shaky after the five-kilometer loop,” said Justus Strelow after the race. “But it was fun today and it worked well on the shooting range. That’s why I’m satisfied overall.” The 25-year-old explained that despite the good shooting performance it wasn’t enough for a podium finish: “In the last lap I ran out of gas a bit.”
Justus Strelow was the best German starter in the Hochfilzen sprint race and finished ninth.
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Image: AFP
The difference in altitude to the first World Cup race may have played a role. “We were at sea level in Finland for almost a month. Now at 1000 meters – that’s not a great height yet, but the difference is noticeable, the lungs burn a little more than in Finland,” reported the Saxon.
With the top ten placing in the sprint, Strelow has also reached the norm for the World Championships in Oberhof next February. The German Ski Association (DSV) names its World Cup starters after the World Cup in Antholz, Italy (January 19th to 22nd). The DSV can nominate a maximum of six men and six women for the highlight of the season in Thuringia.
“The World Cup norm is a security. You have to look from race to race now,” said Strelow in Hochfilzen and added: “I would be happy if I could be at the start in Oberhof.”
The other German World Cup starters in Austria could not quite build on the good performances at the start of the season. Benedikt Doll finished 14th with three penalties, Philipp Nawrath was 28th with one penalty, Roman Rees was 30th with two penalties. Johannes Kühn (34th) and David Zobel (56th) each missed three times.
This Saturday, two races are on the program with the men’s relay (1.40 p.m. on ZDF and Eurosport) and the women’s pursuit (11.30 a.m. on ZDF and Eurosport), in which Denise Herrmann-Wick is the favourite.
