Biathlon: a bad shot for Les Bleues in the Hochfilzen relay
During the women’s relay at the Biathlon World Cup in Hochfilzen (Austria) on Sunday lunchtime, Julia Simon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Sophie Chauveau and Lou Jeanmonnot compiled a penalty lap and thirteen picks. A poor score against the targets, but that didn ‘t stop Les Bleues from taking second place at the finish line, beaten only by the Germans.
“We’re not satisfied with the work we’ve done, explained Bornandine Sophie Chauveau to Nordic Magazine afterwards. It’s a second place, but let’s be honest, it’s not good in terms of shooting. The conditions were difficult, so we’re not making excuses, on the contrary, but overall the shooting scores were not good.”
With the French aiming to retain their world gold medal next February in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), this difficult shooting relay was a wake-up call.
“We have to be better if we want to hope to win the world relay title again, we have no choice, says Sophie Chauveau. The advantage is that a little slap like that in the shooting will allow us to analyse what went wrong and change it for the next relay. It’s time to make the mistakes before the big goal of the winter.”
While the next group event is scheduled for January, the Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie) stage, in Sophie Chauveau’s village, is a good one for the French team.
- 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 player
- More than four years after his last World Cup podium, Fabien Claude finishes third in the Hochfilzen sprint
- “I didn’t win, but for me it’s a great victory”: after 1,463 days without a win, how Fabien Claude returned to the World Cup podium
- “I’m still hungry for victory”: Johannes Thingnes Boe won the Hochfilzen sprint for the first time this season
- Hochfilzen: the photo album of Eric Perrot’s day with the yellow bib
- “It makes you want to go back to him”: Eric Perrot looks back on his Hochfilzen sprint in the yellow bib
- “I really don’t know how I managed to do that…”. when Greenland’s Sondre Slettemark, number 1 in the Hochfilzen sprint, fell on mondovision
- Hochfilzen: Lou Jeanmonnot crushes the chase and triumphs in the Tyrol after a superb performance
- “A perfect race like few others”: Lou Jeanmonnot savours after his masterly victory in the Hochfilzen pursuit
- Hochfilzen: Lou Jeanmonnot in red in the Grand-Bornand pursuit and second overall behind Franziska Preuss
- Hochfilzen: Océane Michelon keeps her blue bib as best U23 and will wear it in Grand-Bornand
- “When I see the picture at the finish, I have the impression that there’s a bug…”: 19th in the sprint then 12th in the pursuit at Hochfilzen, Belgian Maya Cloetens enters the big league
- Hochfilzen: after a crazy last lap, Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the pursuit, Emilien Jacquelin second
- “It’s never normal with me”… Emilien Jacquelin crashed while battling for victory against Johannes Thingnes Boe in the final of the Hochfilzen pursuit.
- Hochfilzen: Johannes Thingnes Boe keeps the yellow bib, Emilien Jacquelin third overall before Le Grand-Bornand
