Biathlon: first career victory for Sophie Chauveau
In her career as a biathlete, Sophie Chauveau from Bornand has never experienced the joy of winning an individual international race. Although she has been world champion in the relay for almost a year now and has two World Cup podium finishes to her name, the native of Haut-Savoie has never triumphed before.
That incongruity is now a thing of the past, as 25-year-old Sophie Chauveau won the mass-start 60 at the IBU Cup in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna (Italy) on Saturday afternoon. Competing this week with Gilonne Guigonnat and Paula Botet for sixth place at the World Championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), she put in the right performance at the right time.
Fifth in the sprint, third in the pursuit and first in the mass-start 60, Sophie Chauveau should soon be heading for Switzerland to fill the role of substitute during the world championships. The scenario for this race, moreover, was a little crazy, as the Montblanc native missed two targets on her first shot.
A 3/5 to start, then a 15/15
Finding herself a long way from the lead, she set to work again and gradually made up the deficit, clocking 18/20: 48.5 seconds off the lead at the halfway stage, she found herself 39.0 seconds behind after the first standing run and then 8.0 seconds behind after the last run on the mats. Taking advantage of her opponents’ mistakes and her speed on cross-country skis, Sophie Chauveau caught up and then overtook her team-mate Camille Bened (19/20) in the final lap to win solo.
The Chablais native came second at 8.6 seconds, with Italy’s Rebecca Passler (19/20) third at 18.6 seconds, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin (17/20) fourth at 32.4 seconds and Juni Arnekleiv (18/20) and Amandine Mengin (18/20) completing the day’s top six.
Paula Botet (14/20), with a very poor 5/10 on the prone shots, completely missed out on her race and finished twentieth. Her hopes of taking part in the World Championships are probably over. Gilonne Guigonnat did not take part in this mass-start 60.
Full results
IBU Cup general ranking
- The full programme for the Ridnaun-Val Ridanna IBU Cup, the seventh stage of the 2024/2025 B circuit season
- Paula Botet back in contention for a place at the World Championships, only four boys: the French team selection for the IBU Cup in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna
- “We’ve 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 win: “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”.
