Biathlon : Norwegians rule the Austrian Mass-Start 60
The Norwegians leave no room for their rivals in the IBU Cup. Having already scored an incredible hat-trick of victories in Thursday’s sprint, the men in red did it again this Saturday in the Mass-Start 60 on the slopes of Obertilliach (Austria).
And this time, not three but four riders took the first four positions of the day. Johan-Olav Botn, who had never managed a win on this circuit before, put in a solid performance to put that right.
Despite being at fault four times on the mats, the Scandinavian, as usual, crushed the race on the boards, setting the best skiing time of the day. The 25-year-old biathlete finished ahead of Isak Frey (17/20), Johannes Dale Skjevdal (16/20) and Sivert Guttorm Bakken (18/20).
Gaëtan Paturel best Blue of the day
In the French clan, the best performance of the day went to Gaëtan Paturel, seventh on the day and less than two seconds from the flower ceremony. Despite four shooting errors, the Haut-Savoyard was able to rely on his excellent skiing form to move up the rankings.
Oscar Lombardot (16/20) came close to another top ten finish in eleventh place, while Mathieu Garcia (17/20) and Théo Guiraud-Poillot (17/20) returned to the top ten in nineteenth and twentieth place. The Savoyard Rémi Broutier finished twenty-third with five faults on his scorecard against the targets. Axel Garnier (17/20) rounded off the Blues’ ranking in thirty-fifth place.
The full rankings
IBU Cup general ranking
Read also
- IBU Cup in Obertilliach: sidelined before Le Grand-Bornand, Gilonne Guigonnat already has a podium, Paula Botet also on the box
- Obertilliach: back in the IBU Cup, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal wins the sprint, Oscar Lombardot in the top 10
- Norway’s selection for the IBU Cup in Obertilliach
- Gilonne Guigonnat replaces Anaëlle Bondoux, Mathieu Garcia and Rémi Broutier come up: the French selection for the IBU Cup in Obertilliach
