Ladies hunting start
Anna-Karin Heijdenberg continued to take it a bit cautiously into the first split then pull on the rest of the lap. She extended her lead to almost double and was 14 seconds ahead of the nearest rider before the first layover. There was a boom, which made the Italian Rebecca Passler beat by a few tenths. But Anna-Karin got past again and was seven seconds ahead heading into the second shoot and then went out on the third lap with 17 seconds to spare against Fany Bertrand from France after five complete hits. The Swede continued nicely in the track and had almost a half-minute lead in front of the first standings. Thanks to another zero in 26 seconds, she then left the embankment 26 seconds ahead Frida Dokken who had climbed from 14th place – and when it came time for the last standing there was 19 seconds between the riders. Despite a second miss, Anna-Karin was first out on the final lap, 17 seconds ahead of the Norwegian who also missed a shot and was able to parade towards another victory. At the finish line, she was 13 seconds ahead Frida Dokken, while the French Paula Botet took care of the third podium. Today, the Swede had the seventh overall ride time, 37 seconds slower than that Sophie Chauveau from France and showed impressive coolness in a vulnerable position by holding out. Big congratulations Anna-Karin on another superb race!
Thanks to an initial zero advanced Emma Nilsson seven places to 14th place and was another five places better after the same result also in other lying. When she then put all the shots for the third time in 27 seconds in the first standing, Emma was in sixth place and held her position on the way to the final shoot. There was indeed a crash, but she still finished sixth and also got past Rebecca Passler from Italy with ninth time on the final lap and secured a place at the flower ceremony in fifth place at the finish, 1.01 behind Anna-Karin. This was one of Emma’s best ever races with 15th time overall in the track, 58 seconds behind the fastest rider. She also had 10th shooting time after four series of 1.56 and was as good as fourth in the actual chase start as the best of the Swedes after climbing 16 places!
Annie Lindh also got a promising start with full first lying and advanced eight places to 30th place. She got past three more riders with another zero in the second shootout, but hit a barrier in the first standing and was in 28th place going into the fourth lap. There, Annie continued with ninth ride time and advanced three places, but then scored with another missed shot in the last standing. Despite that, she was 24th and ended up in 22nd place at the finish after sixth time on the final lap, 2.38 from victory. Just like Emma, Annie made a strong effort and also climbed 16 places from the start. She was also three seconds faster than the countrywoman in the track overall, 54 seconds behind the best skater and had 13th time in the start of the chase itself.
Despite an initial barrage advanced Ida Eriksson to 50th place and was a further six places better after five full hits in second lying. When she then put all the shots once again in 22 seconds in the third shooting, Ida left the fence in 37th and was in the same position before the last standing. There, the 20-year-old impressed with a third zero in 25 seconds, climbing further to 29th and eventually finishing 30th to take her first World Cup points, 3.10 behind Anna-Karin. It was an impressive climb of 27 places by Moraåkaren, who had as good as 18th time in the chase itself. Ida was a total of 2.04 slower than Sophie Chauveau ride-wise, but had fifth shot time after four series at 1.51 and was seventh overall on the fence after his best international race.
Johanna Nordqvist fell and injured his neck in Saturday’s sprint and unfortunately did not make it to the start.
Men’s hunting start
Henning Sjökvist dropped one place to seventh place after a miss in the first layup, but managed to clear in the second shoot and was back in sixth place. On the other hand, he had to let four men pass him on the third lap, but put all the shots even in the first standing and was still sixth before the last shooting. There, Henning impressed by shooting full for the third time and was able to fix another flower ceremony as sixth on the final lap, but was passed by three fast riders and ended up in ninth place at the finish – 1.42 behind Johannes Dale-Skjevdal who defended the victory from the sprint. The Swede was a total of 1.22 slower than the Norwegian in the track and had 18th time in the start of the chase itself, but made another fine effort – especially on the shooting range.
Just as Henning started Oscar Andersson with a missed shot and fell to 20th place, but managed to clear in second lying and advanced eight places. In the first standing, there was another boom for the 23-year-old from Älvdalen, who went out on the fourth lap in 18th place, but fell four places after another missed shot in the last shooting. Oscar finally finished 27th, 2.50 from victory – and in the track he was a total of four seconds slower than Henning, 1.27 behind the fastest rider. Oscar, on the other hand, had eighth shooting time after four series at 1.46.
Emil Nykvist climbed 10 places to 31st after five hits in the opening round. He remained in the same position after another zero in the second lying, but then went on a bar in the third shooting. Despite that, Emil advanced to 30th place and was one place better after another missed shot in the final shootout. On the final lap he had to let a man pass him and ended up in 30th place at the finish, 3.18 behind Johannes Dale-Skjevdal. Emil was the fastest of the Swedes in terms of driving, a total of 1.18 slower than the victorious Norwegian.
After a fast start with fifth time on the first lap got Victor Berglund trouble on the shooting range and missed all five shots in the opening shootout. That dropped him to 55th, then went on to miss five more in the next two shoots and was lapped and unpicked. It was a sad ending for the 22-year-old who made such fine efforts in both sprint races.
The IBU Cup continues closest to Ridnaun, Italy for distance, sprint and pursuit starts – starting on Thursday 11th December.
Text and analysis: LG Alsenius
