In particular, the leader of the overall standings – Johannes-Thingnes Bö made one mistake on each of the firing ranges. It seemed that two misses are nothing for the owner of the yellow bib, and having an advantage after the second shooting over the fifth place, he will not only be able to hold the fourth position, but also try to grab a medal. However, the last lap was very difficult for the Norwegian. Losing thirty seconds over the distance, he ended up finishing outside the flower ceremony – in 9th place. In turn, Sturla Legrade, who had one fault in standing shooting, took second place in the race with good speed over the distance and became the new owner of the yellow bib.
The distance between the two Norwegian champions is only 3 points, so incredible intrigue awaits us in the pursuit race that will take place on Sunday. How will Johannes react to the loss of leadership and will he regain the status of the strongest before the World Championship in Lenzerheide, Switzerland? And the fate of the gold medal of the race was decided by only… 0.4 seconds, which Bö Sr. won from his teammate – Legrad. It will be recalled that this is already the second victory of the season for Tarye.
And the Italian Tommaso Giacomel, who demonstrated incredible speed, finished third to the delight of the local fans. Especially on the last lap, where he “flew” to the last meters, trying not only to hold the third position, but also to repeat the success of the mass start at the previous stage. In the end, Giacomel lost only 2.6 seconds to the winner. The main competitors of the Norwegians – the Germans and the French – did not have a very successful race, making too many mistakes on the firing lines and not impressing with speed. It is also worth noting the success of one of the most famous Slovenian biathletes – 37-year-old Jakov Fak, who demonstrated perfect shooting and was able to make it to the flower ceremony.
After the race, Tarjei Byo followed his younger brother in announcing his retirement from the sport at the end of the season. With tears in his eyes, he said, “I promised myself that I would say this when I got back to the top. And that moment was today. I want to stop at this level and spend more time with my family.” Therefore, in the next season, the fans will be without two, perhaps, the best biathletes of our time.
Red bib
Before the start of the sprint, Johannes was the leader of the standings of this discipline, but a successful race from Sturla led to a reduction of the gap between the biathletes in favor of the latter. This brings back the intrigue in the fight for the Small Crystal Globe, considering that in the calendar of the current season of sprint races leading up to the qualification of this discipline, there are only two left, which will take place after the World Championship.
Blue bean
Campbell Wright and Vitaly Mandzin, who are fighting for the leader’s blue bib, did not have a very successful race. Both athletes did not make it to the scoring zone, finishing in 55th and 61st places, respectively. Thus, Mandzyn is out of the pursuit race, while Wright will be able to extend his lead over the Ukrainian if he finishes in the top 40 in the next race.
National team of Ukraine
The Ukrainian national team fielded four biathletes for the sprint. Our leader Dmytro Pidruchny lived up to expectations by running a very strong race. Until the equator of the race, Dmytro even led it, and this, despite one mistake at the last firing line. The captain of the Ukrainian national team once again made it to the flower ceremony, finishing in fifth place. Well done, Dmitry!
Other Ukrainians could not please with too high results. 28-year-old Anton Dudchenko started the performance in the first starting group. The Ukrainian demonstrated perfect shooting on two firing ranges. However, unfortunately, Anton was not enough for the last lap, where he lost a lot and ended up in 36th place. Other Ukrainians had many mistakes on the firing line. Vitaly Mandzin made three mistakes and this did not allow him to qualify for the pursuit race (61st position), and Taras Lesyuk, starting last among the Ukrainians, made two mistakes, and in the end also finished outside the top 60 – in 68th place.
We look forward to the next race. And perhaps it is in the pursuit race, in the discipline where Dmytro Pidruchny became the world champion, that he will finally be able to win the first personal medal of the season and please Ukrainian fans before the World Championship.
Biathlon World Cup. 6th stage Antholz (Italy), January 24
Sprint, 10 km, men
• 1. Tarje Bjo (Norway) – 23:51.0 (0+0)
• 2. Sturla Legreid (Norway)+0.4 (0+1)
• 3. Tommaso Giacomel (Italy) +2.6 (1+1)
• 4. Martin Uldal (Norway) +20.5 (0+1)
• 5. Dmytro Pidruchny (Ukraine) +22.0 (0+1)
• 6. Yakov Fak (Slovenia) +26.8 (0+0)
• 36. Anton Dudchenko (Ukraine) +1:38.4 (0+0)
• 61. Vitaly Mandzin (Ukraine) +2:08.8 (2+1)
• 68. Taras Lesyuk (Ukraine) +2:22.5 (1+1)
Source: sport.ua