Biathlon: a rollercoaster last few weeks for Camille Bened
The last few weeks have not been the easiest of the season for Camille Bened. After putting in some encouraging performances in Arber (Germany) at the start of January, the Chablais native fell ill with flu in Brezno-Osrblie (Slovakia).
“It’s been complicated for me because the overall [of the IBU Cup] is an objective this season. Not being able to take part in two races wasn’t easy, as was seeing the others close in the overall standings and having a series of average races,” she tells Nordic Magazine.
It has to be said that Camille Bened came through the European championships in Martell-Val Martello (Italy) on the back of illness without shining in the individual event. Sixteenth in the individual, tenth in the sprint and twenty-first in the pursuit, she was understandably disappointed with her performances.
A smile to round off the Italian tour
“To finish the week, I did a relay like I’m used to doing, which was pretty good. It got me back into the swing of things, says the biathlete from Chablais Nordic. I thought I’d be able to trust myself and get my shot back, but it was the same thing again in the sprint this week [at Ridnaun-Val Ridanna] with a mistake on every shot. There were quite a few questions during the rest day. When you’re a biathlete, things can get pretty messy pretty quickly when things don’t go your way. I tried to find my bearings in the pursuit, which I managed to do to some extent.”
After dropping from ninth to fourth place in this race, Camille Bened threw all her energy into the battle on Saturday in the mass-start 60, and was finally back on the podium.
“I knew that if I had a good run on the shooting line, it could have helped because everyone was very tired. I came out of the last shoot in the lead, 8 seconds ahead of Rebecca Passler and Sophie [Chauveau], who came back on the last climb. She passed me because she was a step ahead. I didn’t manage to get on her skis and she took off”, said the Haut-Savoyard.
Aiming for the crystal globe at the IBU Cup
Second at the finish line, Camille Bened finished this Italian tour exhausted, but reassured. “This podium gives you a bit of confidence and cheers you up, she says delightedly. It’s good to finish on a high note, especially as we have three weeks without racing coming up. It’s good to build up confidence before going off to rest and then train again.”
Her main objective for March is to close the gap on Voldiya Galmace-Paulin of 48 points to win the IBU Cup crystal globe in the closing stages in Otepää (Estonia). “It’s still possible, I haven’t said my last word”, she concluded.
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- “We decided to pit them against each other in the IBU Cup”: Paula Botet, Sophie Chauveau and Gilonne Guigonnat will battle it out for sixth place at the Worlds in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna.
- The Norwegian selection for the IBU Cup in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna: Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen still here
- IBU Cup Ridnaun-Val Ridanna: German David Zobel wins the sprint by a whisker ahead of Sivert Guttorm Bakken and Paul Schommer, with Les Bleus outside the top 10
- Ridnaun-Val Ridanna sprint: first IBU Cup victory for Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, second-placed Paula Botet takes a big step towards the Worlds
- Voldiya Galmace-Paulin tells Nordic Magazine after her first IBU Cup victory: “One of the best races I’ve ever done”.
- IBU Cup Ridnaun-Val Ridanna: Johannes Dale-Skjevdal wins the pursuit, Oscar Lombardot moves up to fifth place
- IBU Cup Ridnaun-Val Ridanna: on cloud nine, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin wins the pursuit, Sophie Chauveau third
- Voldiya Galmace-Paulin’s reaction after her sprint/chase double at the Ridnaun-Val Ridanna IBU Cup: “It’s just incredible”.
- IBU Cup Ridnaun-Val Ridanna: Sophie Chauveau triumphs in the mass-start 60 and should go to the Worlds, Camille Bened second
