Biathlon : another Norwegian IBU Cup hat-trick
Obertilliach in south-west Austria was the venue for the thirdIBU Cup of the biathlon season. After the first two stages in Scandinavia, in Idre Fjäll (Sweden) and Geilo (Norway), the antechamber to the World Cup returned to Central Europe.
At mid-morning, it was the men’s biathletes who kicked off the hostilities in the sprint. Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, making his return to this circuit after some less than expected performances in the elite, did not miss a beat.
With a perfect 10/10 in front of the targets, the Norwegian then worked hard on the skis to beat his compatriot Johan-Olav Botn, who was at fault on one occasion but still supersonic on the skis, by just six seconds to the line. Continuing the tradition of Norwegian hat-tricks in the IBU Cup, Sivert Guttorm Bakken (10/10) took third place on the day ahead of Germany’s Lucas Fratzscher (10/10).
Oscar Lombardot back in the top 10, Mathieu Garcia makes his debut
In the French clan, the best of the six French competitors on Thursday was Oscar Lombardot. Thanks to a fine ski time, the fourth of the event, the Doubiste skier took a fine tenth place at the finish, despite making two mistakes against the targets. Behind him, two of his compatriots were in the top 15.
Competing at this level for the very first time in his career after some convincing performances in the French Cup, Mathieu Garcia put in a solid performance. Excellent on the mats with a fine 10/10, the Dauphinois hung on on the boards to finish thirteenth. Returning to the IBU Cup, Rémi Broutier also made a good start.
Despite making two mistakes behind the rifle, the Savoyard still put up a good fight to finish in fifteenth place, just 1 min 30 seconds behind the leader. Gaëtan Paturel struggled against the targets with a total of four faults, but could nevertheless be satisfied with a solid performance on the boards with the third fastest ski time of the day to climb to twenty-first place.
A few seconds further back, we find Axel Garnier (8/10) in twenty-fifth place and Théo Guiraud-Poillot (8/10) in twenty-eighth.
The full rankings
The overall sprint ranking
The overall IBU Cup standings
Read also
- IBU Cup Obertilliach: sprint start lists
- 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
