Biathlon: Johannes Dale-Skjevdal strikes hard in the IBU Cup, Oscar Lombardot second, Théo Guiraud-Poillot in the flowers
A few hours after the women’s race won by Paula Botet from Bresse, the first men’s sprint of the 2025/2026 IBU Cup biathlon season took place early this afternoon in Obertilliach (Austria).
Once again, one athlete impressed the international competition: Johannes Dale-Skjevdal. Rejected from the Norwegian selection for the World Cup in Östersund (Sweden), he clocked a 9/10 and a fantastic time on his cross-country skis to claim his eleventh individual IBU Cup victory.
A cut above the rest, he won by no less than 49 sec 1 ahead of… Doubiste Oscar Lombardot. The ES Saugette biathlete, who scored 10/10 on the mats, got his winter off to a magnificent start with this podium finish on the B circuit. Just a few weeks after being the great disappointment of the races in Geilo (Norway), he is back on track and can look forward to a rapid return to the World Cup.
The third step of the podium was taken by Germany’s David Zobel (9/10) at 51.4 seconds, while Finland’s Jimi Klemettinen (9/10), Norway’s Joergen Sæter (10/10) and Haut-Savoyard Théo Guiraud-Poillot (9/10) completed the flower ceremony.
Valentin Lejeune also in the top 10, Paul Mehdi Benhayoun makes history
A third Frenchman made it into the top 10 with the ninth place of Valentin Lejeune (9/10) from the Vosges. Elsewhere, Germany’s Elias Seidl (10/10) is seventh, Austria’s Dominic Unterweger (10/10) eighth and the Czech Republic’s Adam Vaclavik (9/10) tenth.
Bornandin Damien Levet (9/10) finished twelfth, Gaëtan Paturel (6/10) fortieth and Corentin Jacob (7/10), making his first IBU Cup appearance, fifty-fourth.
Finally, there was eighteenth place for Croatian hopeful Matija Legovic (9/10), twenty-fourth for Switzerland’s Matthias Riebli (9/10), forty-first for Great Britain’s Jacques Jefferies (8/10), in his first race for his parents’ country, and one hundred and twenty-seventh for Morocco’s Paul Mehdi Benhayoun (8/10), the first African to take part in an international biathlon race.
Full results
C73B_v1-1IBU Cup general ranking
C78B_v1-3The overall sprint ranking
C78A_v1-3- The full programme for the IBU Cup in Obertilliach, the first stage of the 2025/2026 B circuit season
- Fany Bertrand, Damien Levet, Valentin Lejeune, Célia Henaff, Corentin Jacob and Louise Roguet selected: the full list of French players selected for the IBU Cup in Obertilliach
- “I immediately want to race 100%”: selected for his very first IBU Cup, Corentin Jacob from the Vosges is ambitious.
- Brilliantly qualified for the IBU Cup after the Bessans selections, Célia Henaff wants to establish herself there: “Make my place and prove what I can do on this circuit”.
- “I want to try and get rid of all the pressure”: almost a year after her first appearance in the IBU Cup, Louise Roguet is back, better equipped to shine.
- Before the IBU Cup in Obertilliach, Paula Botet, Louise Roguet and Fany Bertrand prepare in Bessans
- “The approach we adopted proved to be the right one”: this season, the IBU Cup will once again not be broadcast.
- The new IBU Cup overall leader’s bib will be… green!
- Obertilliach: Paula Botet dominates the opening sprint of the IBU Cup, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin third ahead of Fany Bertrand
