The French team made up of Fabien Claude, Émilien Jacquelin, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Eric Perrot narrowly missed victory, returning to Norway at the end of the suspense.
The Blues are on the verge of a hell of a victory. The French Fabien Claude, Émilien Jacquelin, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Éric Perrot took second place this Sunday in a relay with twists and turns in Oberhof (Germany) counting for the Biathlon World Cup, one month before the Olympic Games in Milan Cortina.
Despite two penalty laps for Émilien Jacquelin, the French managed a comeback with Quentin Fillon Maillet and Éric Perrot, who ceded victory in the final sprint to the Norwegian Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, taking second place in the relay, the penultimate before the 2026 Olympics (February 6-22).
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In a five-way finish for victory, 3rd place went to Sweden, Italy (4th) and Germany (5th), finishing five seconds from victory. Despite the absences of Johan-Olav Botn and Sturla Lægreid, who skipped the Oberhof stage, the Norwegians won their third relay in as many races this season in the World Cup, each time ahead of France and Sweden.
Jacquelin’s setbacks
On Sunday, each nation experienced difficulties, at different times on the shooting range. For the French, it was Émilien Jacquelin as second torchbearer, who missed his prone shot, with three picks and two penalty rounds. Quentin Fillon Maillet, who took over from France a minute later, reduced the gap to 20 seconds when Eric Perrot chased the trio of Norway, Sweden and Germany.
A final relay is on the program next week (Thursday) in Ruhpolding (Germany) before the Olympic race, scheduled for February 17 at the high altitude site of Anterselva.
