Biathlon: Franziska Preuss defeats Lou Jeanmonnot
When Sophie Chauveau, France’s third relay runner, launched Lou Jeanmonnot intothe lead of the biathlon World Cup relay in Hochfilzen (Austria), we thought the race was won. It has to be said that the Doubiste native, who put in a fine performance in the pursuit on Saturday, is now a key member of the French women’s team.
Lining up as the last runner-up in place of Julia Simon, who had been positioned as an opener after seventeen relays in the closing stages, all she had to do was finish off the work of her friends. Except that in front of her, less than 10 seconds away and in the snow, was Germany’s Franziska Preuss, currently wearing the yellow bib.
On fire in front of a sold-out crowd, she scored 10/10 and completely derailed Lou Jeanmonnot. After two picks on the dismount, the Frenchwoman went straight to the penalty ring on the stand-up. Although second place remained in the hands of the French thanks to the gaps created earlier in the race, this one-lap, thirteen-pick relay clearly didn’t live up to the talent of the quartet crowned world champions last February.
Third place on the podium went to Sweden, with a great Elvira Oeberg, while Slovenia, fourth, and Switzerland, fifth, were not far off the mark. Norway, who were weighed down by Gro Randby ‘s two standing rounds, were only sixth, ahead of Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Poland, Finland and Italy, eleventh without Dorothea Wierer.
Full results
General relay rankings
- 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 behind to find the sun again
- “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 finish
- “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 reflects 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 with 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
- “When I see the picture at the finish, I have the impression that there’s a bug…”: 19th in the sprint then 12th in the pursuit at Hochfilzen, Belgian Maya Cloetens enters the big league
- Hochfilzen: after a crazy last lap, Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the pursuit, Emilien Jacquelin second
- “It’s never normal with me”… Emilien Jacquelin crashed while battling for victory against Johannes Thingnes Boe in the final of the Hochfilzen pursuit.
- Hochfilzen: Johannes Thingnes Boe keeps the yellow bib, Emilien Jacquelin third overall before Le Grand-Bornand
