Biathlon: the end of the drought for Fabien Claude
Fabien Claude had been waiting for this for 1,463 days. On 11 December 2020, during the sprint in Hochfilzen (Austria) and in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, the rider from the Vosges placed third and claimed his third World Cup podium. Since then, nothing in the individual rankings. Three times fourth, including twice in Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie) in 2022, in the intervening years, the man from Bassur puts an end to a long drought this Friday.
In four years and two days, although he became world relay champion in 2023 in Oberhof (Germany), he has had to swallow his pride on several occasions when he saw his team-mates shine solo: Quentin Fillon-Maillet at the 2022 Olympic Games in a season crowned with the big crystal globe, Emilien Jacquelin at the 2021 Worlds and Eric Perrot last week in Kontiolahti (Finland).
A just reward
In their wake, however, Fabien Claude continued to work. Putting in the work every summer, reaffirming his podium and victory ambitions at regular intervals, the biathlete from Basse-sur-le-Rupt (Vosges) is finally seeing his efforts pay off. With a 10/10 score in the shooting under the Tyrolean sun, Fabien Claude earned his fourth podium finish at the highest international level behind Johannes Thingnes Boe (9/10), the overall winner and new holder of the yellow bib, and Sturla Holm Lægreid (10/10).
A week after the victories and podium finishes achieved by Emilien Jacquelin, Eric Perrot and Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Fabien Claude is also enjoying the joy of a top 3 finish. A just reward and another positive sign that the French men’s team is on the (royal) road to recovery.
“I’m here to go for big performances. It’s time for me to step up to the plate and become the biathlete I was a few years ago”, he admitted in our columns a few days ago. And in this Austrian sprint, he showed just that.
Eric Perrot loses his yellow number
The day’s flower ceremony was completed by Endre Stroemsheim (10/10), Vebjoern Soerum (8/10) and Sebastian Samuelsson (9/10), while seventh-placed Martin Uldal (8/10) put in a magnificent performance in his first World Cup race of the winter.
As for the other Frenchmen, Eric Perrot (9/10), thirteenth, loses his yellow bib, whileEmilien Jacquelin (7/10), with the best time on cross-country skis, is fourteenth, Antonin Guigonnat (9/10) twenty-fifth, Quentin Fillon-Maillet (6/10) thirty-sixth and Emilien Claude (8/10) forty-fifth.
Full results
Eric Perrot on the cover of Nordic Magazine: CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS ISSUE
- 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 for the sunshine
- “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 performer
