Breakthrough of the Ukrainians and the battle for the top 3. The men’s pursuit took place in Rupolding

On January 18, the final race of the fifth stage of the World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany created intense intrigue and tension until the very finish.

The name of the winner and the composition of the top three in the pursuit race remained unknown until the last meters of the distance – the biathletes fought an extremely close fight.

The fourth firing line was marked by mistakes by Sebastian Samuelsson and competitors, a chance for Eric Perrault and a breakthrough by Johannes Dahl-Sevdal.

The Frenchman Perrault came out first after the last shooting range, followed by Dale-Shevdal. In this case, youth lost and Eric lost leadership.

Johannes passed the 24-year-old and took the win with one miss throughout the race. Perrault mentally gave the victory to the Norwegian and settled for second place.

It seemed that Tommaso Giacomel was supposed to finish third, but the Italian did not calculate his strength and unexpectedly lost to two biathletes right before the finish line. Swede Martin Ponsilouma took advantage of the moment and broke into the top 3.

Ukrainian biathletes finished the stage in Rupolding on a positive note. Both Vitaliy Mandzin and Dmytro Pidruchny were able to regain positions. If not for two misses each, they could well compete for a place in the top 20.

As a result, Vitaly rose from the 41st step to the 31st, while Dmytro made his way from the 59th to the 39th.

Biathlon World Cup. January 18, Rupolding (Germany)

Men’s Pursuit Race

• 1. Johannes Dale-Sevdal (Norway) (0+0+1+0) 30:23.9
• 2. Eric Perrault (France) (2+0+0+1) +4.9
• 3. Martin Ponsiluoma (Sweden) (2+0+1+1) +7.5
• 4. Fabien Claude (France) (0+0+1+1) +8.2
• 5. Tommaso Giacomel (Italy) (1+2+1+1) +8.5
• 6. Sebastian Samuelsson (Sweden) (1+1+0+2) +12.3
• 31. Vitaly Mandzin (Ukraine) (0+1+1+0) +1:18.3
• 39. Dmytro Pidruchny (Ukraine) (0+0+1+1) +1:42.9