Biathlon : Siegfried Mazet’s joy after Tarjei Boe’s success
For several days, biathlon World Cup watchers had been wondering whether Norway’s Tarjei Boe had not had one winter too many. At the age of 36, he had only managed three top 10 finishes, and had not taken part in any of the flower ceremonies.
The final straw came on Monday, when the Scandinavian was ejected from the national team for the sprint and pursuit in Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie). Only lined up for the mass-start thanks to his world ranking, he took his revenge by winning brilliantly on Sunday lunchtime.
In hindsight, that’s what you might think, but you never know what’s going on in an athlete’s head,” explained Siegfried Mazet, his shooting coach, in the mixed zone. They never show any weakness. From time to time, they say everything’s fine, but deep down they’re stressed. This [Sunday] morning, I didn’t see Tarjei [Boe] any more vengeful [than usual]. I saw him as usual, ready to go out and race to do the best he could.
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During his ban, Tarjei Boe was seen training several times on the snow of Bornand. “He didn’t do a race simulation, but he had an intense programme on Friday. A bit of rest on Saturday and today [Sunday] BANG”, enthuses the man from Drôme.
I’m really pleased because, despite all his experience, he hadn’t put in that kind of performance until now,” continued Siegfried Mazet. The shooting didn’t go very well and the skiing was average. As he wasn’t qualified for this week, some people were beginning to wonder if this wasn’t the year too soon. Just because he’s at the end of his career doesn’t mean it’s one year too many. It’s a bad start to the season, full stop, and that’s the end of it. The fact that he’s doing that, there’s no doubt about it, it’s not one year too many and he’s going to make the most of it.
Tarjei Boe‘s success also gave Norway a magnificent treble in the men’s races at Le Grand-Bornand. The French public supports the French first, but then follows Norway,” says Siegfried Mazet. It’s nice and it’s changed a lot in recent years. Here, the whole stadium was for Tarjei [Boe] on his last shot!
- Le Grand-Bornand: sidelined in the sprint and pursuit, Tarjei Boe triumphs in the Bornand mass-start, Fabien Claude breaks into the top 10
- “You weren’t expecting it”: how Tarjei Boe experienced his victory in Le Grand-Bornand
