The Julia Simon surprise! Tenth in the sprint this Friday and author of an average start to the exercise, the 2022-2023 pursuit world champion raised her arms by winning a race long dominated by Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. This is the first victory of the season for the winner of the last big crystal globe, awarded to the biathlete who dominates the general classification of the World Cup.
She also signs her first success since the outbreak of a legal case in which her teammate Justine Braisaz-Buchet accuses her of having made several purchases on the Internet with her bank card during a competition in Norway in August 2022. Foul of an “amicable” settlement of this matter, the reigning Olympic mass start champion decided to file a complaint. At the end of November, the two women were linked together for the first time since the start of the controversy. In the finish area, this Saturday, they were content with a simple “check”, fist to fist, when Julia Simon then warmly greeted the arrival of the Norwegian Ingrid Tandrevold who completed the podium.
Questioned on the Channel L’Equipe microphone after the race, Julia Simon confided that she had approached her pursuit “with rage”. “I let the emotions speak. It was hard, it was long, I felt relief on the last lap. This morning, Ingrid Tandrevold said to me: “I dreamed that you were going to win!” » During the last lap, I told myself that if she had dreamed of that, I couldn’t let go. It was a great race,” added the Frenchwoman.
Braisaz-Bouchet remains at the head of the general
Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, winner of the sprint on Friday, remains leader in the general classification. The Albertville native was on course for a fifth victory in a row after her hat-trick in Lenzerheide before the holidays, but she missed on her last pass on the shooting range, receiving two penalty rounds to finish at 18”9 from her teammate despite a 17/20 shooting.
“My feelings are mixed. I’m mostly happy anyway, even if I’m disappointed with my last shot. My bitterness is the impression of not having completely done the job,” declared the boss of the circuit, still speaking to La Chaîne L’Equipe. “Five individual races, five podiums, I wouldn’t have imagined that at the start of the season,” she was still positive.
Two other Blues fill the top 10: Lou Jeanmonnot (5th) was taken over by Ingrid Tandrevold (3rd) and Elvira Oeberg (4th) during the last lap while the young Jeanne Richard, once in the fight for the podium, finished 9th. . Behind, Sophie Chauveau, who started in third position, lost the shot during the third round.
