Biathlon: an incredible pursuit
Five years ago to the day, Isère biathlete Emilien Jacquelin won his first ever World Cup race in a pursuit at Hochfilzen (Austria). On that day, 14 December 2019, he started with bib number 18 and clocked a 20/20 to climb back up to third place. Also on that day, Johannes Thingnes Boe achieved a fabulous sprint/chase double.
On Saturday afternoon, the scenario that saw the Norwegian double his tally in back-to-back races in the Tyrol was repeated. After winning the sprint on Friday, he once again shone in the pursuit. The only problem was that the smooth ride of five years ago was not repeated. The native of Stryn (Norway) fell on two bones, Sturla Holm Lægreid (19/20) and Emilien Jacquelin (19/20).
One last electric ride
Together at the front before the last shot of the race, all three of them made a mistake on one occasion. If victory wasn’t to be decided on the mats, it would be on the Tyrolean track. The final lap got off to a brilliant start and Lægreid was the first to crack. The result was a magnificent duel between Boe and Jacquelin, just like at the 2020 World Championships in Antholz (Italy) in the same event.
The Dauphinois fell on one of the climbs on the course. All this as he tried to force the decision. As a result, Johannes Thingnes Boe (18/20) flew to a solo victory, his 87th in his career, and Emilien Jacquelin bravely got the better of Sturla Holm Lægreid to finish in second place. It was his seventh career podium in Hochfilzen, by far his favourite venue.
Among the other French riders, Fabien Claude (16/20) was ninth, Eric Perrot (16/20) twelfth, Antonin Guigonnat (19/20) fifteenth, Quentin Fillon-Maillet (16/20) twentieth and Emilien Claude (16/20) fortieth.
Full results
- The full programme for the Hochfilzen World Cup, the second stage of the 2024/2025 season
- Corinne Niogret: my best memory of… Hochfilzen
- “It’s like stepping out of the shadows into the light”: between Kontiolahti and Hochfilzen, the World Cup leaves the darkness for the sunshine
- “I just feel super happy to have achieved this”: how did Eric Perrot digest his victory in the Kontiolahti mass-start and his assumption of power in the general standings?
- “It’s like one last shot at victory, until you experience it, you don’t know what it’s like…”: during the Hochfilzen sprint, Eric Perrot will experience his first race with the yellow bib on his back.
- “There’s the Dominik Landertinger climb, which is really hard and long…”: Austria’s Anna Gandler describes the track and shooting range at Hochfilzen
- Hochfilzen: Sophie Chauveau, beaten only by Franziska Preuss in the sprint, takes her second World Cup podium
- “A mixture of pride, relief and recognition”: Sophie Chauveau, the podium that came just at the right time in the Hochfilzen sprint
- Hochfilzen: Franziska Preuss takes the yellow number from Elvira Oeberg thanks to her sprint success
- Hochfilzen: after the sprint, Océane Michelon once again wears the blue bib as the best U23 player
- More than four years after his last World Cup podium, Fabien Claude finishes third in the Hochfilzen sprint
- “I didn’t win, but for me it’s a great victory”: after 1,463 days without a win, how Fabien Claude returned to the World Cup podium
- “I’m still hungry for victory”: Johannes Thingnes Boe won the Hochfilzen sprint for the first time this season
- Hochfilzen: the photo album of Eric Perrot’s day with the yellow bib
- “It makes you want to go back to him”: Eric Perrot looks back on his Hochfilzen sprint in the yellow bib
- “I really don’t know how I managed to do that…”. when Greenland’s Sondre Slettemark, number 1 in the Hochfilzen sprint, fell on mondovision
- Hochfilzen: Lou Jeanmonnot crushes the chase and triumphs in the Tyrol after a superb performance
- “A perfect race like few others”: Lou Jeanmonnot savours after his masterly victory in the Hochfilzen pursuit
- Hochfilzen: Lou Jeanmonnot in red in the Grand-Bornand pursuit and second overall behind Franziska Preuss
- Hochfilzen: Océane Michelon keeps her blue bib as best U23 and will wear it in Grand-Bornand
