Biathlon: a tribute to Sivert Guttorm Bakken and Laura Dahlmeier to open the World Team Challenge
This Sunday, the twenty-second edition of the World Team Challenge took place in Gelsenkirchen (Germany), in the VELTINS-Arena. A few days after the death of Norwegian Sivert Guttorm Bakken, the evening opened with a minute’s silence in his honour and that of Laura Dahlmeier, who died during the summer.
Next, the shooting competition was won by Germany’s Justus Strelow ahead of Franco-Belgian Florent Claude and Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen, with Doubt’s Lou Jeanmonnot fifth.
Lou Jeanmonnot, a solid 18/20 shot
This was followed by the first part of the biathlon show, with a mass-start pitting the ten mixed pairs competing on the banks of the Ruhr. Run as a single mixed relay of nine laps for eight shots (four each for boys and girls in staggered formation), it was a great success for France’s Lou Jeanmonnot and Fabien Claude.
With a 5/5 from the start, the Franc-Comtoise rider enabled the French duo to take the lead very quickly. However, Fabien Claude was twice fouled on his first dismount, passing back to his compatriot at 23 sec 8.
With another perfect standing shot, Lou Jeanmonnot took advantage of his opponents’ mistakes to come back to within 1 sec 8 of first place. Halfway through the race, after a 4/5 from the Vosgien on the standing, Les Bleus were in the top three with the Germans and the Austrians.
Perfect on her second dismount, Lou Jeanmonnot put France in the top two nations in the ranking with five rounds out of nine. But Justus Strelow was there to save the day with a quick 5/5 on his dismount when Fabien Claude missed another target. The Germans were now 14.7 seconds clear of the French.
Fabien Claude enabled Les Bleus to reduce the gap at the end of the race: anything is still possible before the chase scheduled for 19:12
On his last shot of this first race of the evening, Lou Jeanmonnot missed twice and was unable to make up any time, launching Fabien Claude one last time 19 sec 1 off the lead. On his final shot, the Bassurois put in the first four balls before missing the last one.
Germany’s Janina Hettich-Walz and Justus Strelow won the opening mass-start of the World Team Challenge by 10 seconds 8 seconds over France’s Lou Jeanmonnot and Fabien Claude, while Norway’s Juni Arnekleiv and Mats Oeverby completed the podium at 28 seconds 9 seconds.
For the chase, scheduled to start at 7.12pm and which will decide the winners of this World Team Challenge 2025, the gaps will be halved, promising a great battle on the VELTINS-Arena track.
Full results
- Lou Jeanmonnot and Fabien Claude signed up for France: the full programme for the World Team Challenge 2025 scheduled for Sunday 28 December
- Biathlon auf Schalke: Florent Claude and Lotte Lie are the first guests of the World Team Challenge 2025
- Biathlon auf Schalke: Janina Hettich-Walz and Justus Strelow form the first German team for the World Team Challenge 2025
- Czechs Tomas Mikyska and Marketa Davidova join the starting line-up for the World Team Challenge 2025
- World Team Challenge 2025: Norway with Juni Arnekleiv and Mats Oeverby
- Biathlon auf Schalke: Slovenia’s Jakov Fak and Anamarija Lampic announced at the start of the World Team Challenge 2025
- World Team Challenge 2025: Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen and Tero Seppälä invited to take their turn
- Biathlon auf Schalke: World Team Challenge outdoor track extended to 1.4 km
- World Team Challenge 2025: Marlene Fichtner and Danilo Riethmueller form the second German team
- A two-time winner with Julia Simon, Fabien Claude will be taking part in this year’s World Team Challenge with Lou Jeanmonnot.
- World Team Challenge 2025: Switzerland’s Lena Haecki-Gross and Joscha Burkhalter the final guests
- World Team Challenge 2025: Lovro Planko replaces the injured Jakov Fak
- World Team Challenge: at the last minute, Tamara Steiner replaces Anna Gandler and Lovro Planko gives up his place to Miha Dovzan
- All the opponents of Frenchmen Lou Jeanmonnot and Fabien Claude in the 2025 edition of the World Team Challenge
- “Getting the most out of it”: Fabien Claude talks to Nordic Magazine on the morning of his participation in the World Team Challenge with Lou Jeanmonnot.
- “What made the biggest impression on me was the noise”: ten years after winning the World Team Challenge with Martin Fourcade, Marie Dorin-Habert remembers
- Entries, venue, format, route: all the information you need to know before the World Team Challenge 2025, where Lou Jeanmonnot and Fabien Claude will represent France.
- “To honour and commemorate the devoted and wonderful person he was”: former girlfriend of Sivert Guttorm Bakken, Juni Arnekleiv will take part in the World Team Challenge
