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Montage of the SP biathlete relay in Ruhpolding
“It’s such a contradiction. You have to shoot well in Ruhpolding, because once it starts, you can’t finish it. Penalty laps happen, but in the competition that’s here, it’s possible.
Coach Michael Málek decided after a solid sixth relay in Oberhof on Sunday that he would not change anything in the line-up, he would only change the individual sections, leaving Vítězslav Hornig on the last one. Jakub Štvrtecký did not get into the race again.
The American Wright and the Austrian Unterweger left in first place almost at the same time, but Mikyska certainly did not let himself be embarrassed and without a single mistake he continued to the fourth position, which dropped by six places after one charge on the stand.
“It was difficult to be honest. I wasn’t going well. I had a rival in front of me, I was trying to hold him, but I was extremely nervous before the first leg… I didn’t expect the handstands to be fired so quickly, then I was sorry, that I didn’t shoot faster,” he said in an interview with ČT sport.
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Montage of the SP men’s relay in Oberhof
Krčmář started after the first pass with a gap of thirty-five seconds on the German, but the field continued to spill over, because after the second lay, Kazach Akimov was in the foreground, while the Czech number one had to make two corrections and was in 13th place.
The next handstand went to the American Doherty the fastest, Krčmář made a mistake on his third shot, but he was able to quickly correct it, overall in a very acceptable twenty-eight seconds. On the contrary, the Swedes already had two penalty circles during the second handover and were only twenty.
“A total sprint, a total biathlon is run here. They also shoot at an incredible pace, but I enjoyed it. Unreal for the fans, in contact like that, it’s great. I tried it, one shot jumped out a bit, but a really great race and I believe that we will see it through to a decent end,” said the satisfied Krčmář.
And it looked promising indeed. Mareček flashed a flawless fly and from the layup he was aiming for sixth place, roughly forty seconds behind the leader Němec Doll. Everything was open.
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Montage of the relay of biathletes in Hochfilzen
But on the penultimate stand, the situation became significantly more complicated from the Czech point of view. Mareček, who has not missed a single relay of the season so far, did not correct even on the third attempt and was heading for the penalty round. Tarjei Bö was in the lead at that moment, the Czechs trailed the Norwegians by more than a minute and a quarter from eighth place.
“I’m very sorry for the stand, but my leg was knocking from fatigue, probably because of the frozen item, otherwise I shot quite well,” said Mareček.
Christiansen had a sea of time on the last item lying down, so he could afford two repairs, even so he was half a minute behind France. Hornig scored twice. Even after another mistake, nothing changed in the fact that the Norwegians could go to the collection for another victory. The Czechs finished ninth with the ninth running time.
“I would divide it into two parts. The run was not very good, I was stiff, my legs hurt. I like to lie a little on the range, there was no problem in the standing position, I think that was a very good item,” said Hornig.
The WC in Ruhpolding continues on Friday with the biathlon women’s sprint, on Saturday the men will also run the sprint, and the program in Germany will be closed by Sunday’s fighters. The second trimester of the elite series will end next week in Anterselva, Italy. Watch live broadcasts from SP on ČT sport and ČT sport Plus.
SP race in biathlon in Ruhpolding, men’s relay (4×7.5 km):
1. Norway (Laegreid, Dale-Skjevdal, T. Bö, Christiansen) 1:09:49.6 (0 tr. circuits + 8 charging), 2. Germany (Strelow, Kühn, Doll, Nawrath) -45.0 ( 2+7), 3. Italy (Zeni, Bionaz, Hofer, Giacomel) -58.7 (0+10), 4. France -1:11.0 (1+10), 5. Austria -1:22, 8 (0+2), 6. Slovenia -1,23,8 (0+2), … 9. Czech Republic (Mikyska, Krčmář, Mareček, Hornig) -2:18.2 (1+7).
