Biathlon : Elvira Oeberg relinquishes her yellow jersey to Franziska Preuss
Elvira Oeberg left Kontiolahti and Finland after a commanding victory in the closing mass-start of the first stage of the biathlon World Cup season. Strengthening her lead in the overall circuit ranking at the same time, the Swede impressed by showing early signs of real development.
Back in the Alps, in Hochfilzen (Austria), the biathletes faced off this Friday in a sprint, the second of the winter. Expected to confirm her domination, the world number one failed to deliver the performance she had hoped for.
Four costly mistakes
Twenty-fifth when she crossed the line – her worst result on the circuit since 8 March on the Soldier Hollow track (USA) – the Scandinavian completely lost her footing during her two passages in front of the targets. She failed to score twice in her prone shot, and was not at her best in her standing shot.
Troubled on the mats, Elvira Oeberg found herself with another hole. A total of four errors that didn’t do the young woman any favours, despite her fine form on skis. Second fastest in the event on the boards behind Anamarija Lampic, she was nevertheless unable to make up for her loss of control on the shot: “It’s very bad”, she briefly told SVT Sport in the mixed zone.
Describing it as “a disaster”, the 25-year-old biathlete knows that she hasn’t got the best deal of the day. After winning the race in style just ahead of France’s Sophie Chauveau, Franziska Preuss will now don the yellow leader’s bib that was previously firmly screwed onto the shoulders of the Swede.
Read also
- Hochfilzen: Sophie Chauveau, beaten only by Franziska Preuss in the sprint, takes her second World Cup podium
- Elvira Oeberg was in complete control in Kontiolahti and didn’t waver when she wore the yellow bib: “I’ve never felt as safe as I did today”.
- Kontiolahti: winner of the mass-start, Elvira Oeberg consolidates her yellow bib before flying off to Hochfilzen
