The Tyrolean missed twice in the ghost race without spectators in treacherous wind conditions. Her deficit on the clear winner Hanna Sola from Belarus for the pursuit on Sunday is considerable with 1:47 minutes. But the top ten should be within reach.
For the ÖSV men, the German Johannes Kühn’s first victory was an even bigger sprint defeat. Felix Leitner was only 32nd with two penalties. The top shooter Simon Eder also made two mistakes, he did not get above 40th place in the surprise triumph of the German Johannes Kühn.
Like Eder, Hauser missed two standing targets. “That is the worst case, from two it is not enough for a good result. That is bitter, but I am not brutally dissatisfied. I have to see that I can do better on Sunday,” emphasized Hauser. It was not easy for them to compete in the leadership jersey. “It was already clear to me that it would be difficult for me to keep it up in the sprint, for that you have to run into the top six. But I’m still within striking distance,” added the 27-year-old from Reith bei Kitzbühel, who started in Sweden won a sprint.
In Hochfilzen, however, the mass start world champion is still waiting for a podium. It will probably stay that way after Sunday, because the gap to the top around Sola, coached by former ÖSV trainer Reinhard Gösweiner, is enormous. “It is wonderful that she did it like this in the difficult conditions,” said Gösweiner, delighted with the first success of the 25-year-olds who recently improved their shooting skills. Sola won without a mistake and was superior in front of Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (FRA) and Marte Olsbu Röiseland. The Norwegian is the new overall leader ahead of Dschinara Alimbekawa (BLR) and Hauser.
Hauser’s teammates didn’t even get into the World Cup points. Only Julia Schwaiger made it into the pursuit as 55th. Before that, like in Sweden, the ÖSV men had nothing to do with the top spots in the sprints. “It was a hard day at work, I struggled at the shooting range. Two mistakes are too many,” said Leitner. He was 1:15 minutes behind Kühn.
Eder is missing a minute and a half before the pursuit on Saturday. The veteran struggled with the two missed shots. “It’s a shame, it hurts twice at home,” said the Salzburg resident. But the lack of fans is also painful. “You almost get used to it. It’s a shame, of course, but we have to be happy that we can also run in lockdown.” His starting position for the pursuit on Saturday is of course anything but ideal, but he is hoping for a similar race to catch up as he did recently in Sweden without a miss from 27th to 6th.
The other four ÖSV men missed World Cup points outside of the top 40. On his 30th birthday, David Komatz slipped into the chasing field of the best 60 on his 30th birthday as the 56th. The Kühn of the same age, however, skated completely unexpectedly to his first success with a miss. The Bavarian triumphed clearly ahead of world champion Martin Ponsiluoma from Sweden (1 penalty loop) and Belarusian Anton Smolski (0). Like the Austrians, the aces from Norway also disappointed, with obvious problems on the trail with Tarjei Bö (5th), only placing one in the top 15.
Source: Nachrichten
