Biathlon : Martin Uldal topples Johannes Thingnes Boe
The first competition of this 2024 edition of the biathlon world cup in Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie) couldn’t have lived up to its promise any better. In a final of unbearable suspense, Martin Uldal managed to spring a surprise mid-afternoon on Thursday.
Taking off in front of the 11,740 spectators who flocked to the Sylvie-Becaert stadium, the Norwegian delivered a breathtaking performance in Haute-Savoie. With an excellent 10/10 against the targets, the Scandinavian nibbled away at every possible second in his final round to secure his first career win at this level.
The seventh fastest skier of the day, the young man, who has just five starts to his name at this level, nevertheless shook all the way to the finish against the ogre Johannes Thingnes Boe. With the yellow overall leader’s bib on his back, the biathlete with five crystal globes put the pressure on his young friend right to the end.
The world number one failed once on the mats and, despite setting the best final time on the boards, eventually lost out by just over a second. This was undoubtedly due to the return of the rain – which had nevertheless stopped when his compatriot passed – making the track, which had not needed to be salted before the race, increasingly capricious.
Behind this Norwegian duo, who played for victory, Sebastian Samuelsson climbed onto the podium for the second time this winter. The Swede only made one mistake behind the rifle, but as usual, he pulled out all the stops on his skis to claw back some places and take third place with a comfortable lead of 18 seconds over Germany’s Philipp Horn (9/10), who also put in an excellent performance.
Eric Perrot, Emilien Jacquelin and Quentin Fillon-Maillet move into the top 10
In the French clan, none of the six athletes competing in this sprint managed to secure a place at the flower ceremony. However, Peiserot Eric Perrot came very close. Impeccable on the shooting range with a perfect 10/10, the Savoyard was unable to make the difference on the skis. In the end, he had to settle for seventh place, just one tenth behind Philipp Nawrath (9/10) in sixth.
Just three seconds behind him, his team-mate Emilien Jacquelin took eighth place. The first biathlete in the top 10 with two faults to his credit, the Isère native confirmed his fine form on skis. This bodes well for the pursuit on Saturday.
With his first 5/5 score of the season in the individual prone shot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet thought he had done the hard part. However, the Jura native unfortunately let his last ball slip when he stood up. It was a fatal error that prevented him from aiming any higher than tenth place.
Following on from the French rankings, Fabien Claude (8/10) finished twenty-fourth, Antonin Guigonnat (8/10) twenty-seventh and Emilien Claude (7/10) thirty-seventh.
Live data from the men’s sprint
The full rankings
The overall sprint ranking
The overall World Cup standings
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- “The decision was obvious”: Stéphane Bouthiaux explains to Nordic Magazine why Gilonne Guigonnat won’t be taking part in the Grand-Bornand races.
- Gilonne Guigonnat on the sidelines: the French selection for the Grand-Bornand World Cup
