Biathlon World Cup: Preuß back on the podium even without 100 percent

After a show of strength on the final lap, biathlete Franziska Preuß ended up missing her second win of the season by a tiny 1.4 seconds. But with second place in the World Cup sprint in Le Grand-Bornand and her fourth podium of the winter, the 30-year-old underlined her impressive form. But the next sense of success and expanding the overall World Cup lead took a lot of effort because the Bavarian didn’t feel at 100 percent before the start and for this reason and as a precautionary measure she skipped the obligatory TV interviews.

Preuß only had to give way to the Frenchwoman Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (28/1 errors). Now she is hoping for a quick recovery in order to defend her yellow jersey in the pursuit on Saturday (2.45 p.m./ARD and Eurosport).

Not only Preuß is in the flow, overall women’s coach Sverre Olsbu Röiseland’s protégés have delivered great results so far. In the French Alps not far from the Swiss border, Selina Grotian in fifth (1/+20.1 seconds) and Vanessa Voigt in sixth (0/+22.8 seconds) rounded off another strong team performance. “Three in the top six is ​​great. They did a great job. I’m very proud of the girls,” said Olsbu Röiseland.

Preuß was on the podium even without 100 percent

The running time showed that Preuß wasn’t completely fit this time – she lost almost 43 seconds to the former cross-country skier Anamarija Lampic (2 errors/+ 13.4 seconds) from Slovenia, who made it onto a World Cup podium for the first time. This makes your next top result even higher. She showed her top class again, especially when shooting. She is currently almost always at 100 percent; she only missed once in all individual races in this sub-discipline. “She’s a feast for the eyes when she’s lying down. Even when she’s standing, she just looks like she’s safe,” praised former world champion and ARD expert Erik Lesser.

Grotian, who had to go into the penalty loop once, would have achieved her first World Cup victory or her first World Cup podium of her career without making a mistake. “I’m more than happy. Just the fact that it’s working lying down again makes me extremely positive,” said Grotian. After doubts in the last few days, she “modified” her attack, with success – especially since she also met the World Cup standard: “Yes, finally,” said the 20-year-old with a beaming smile. In the hunting race she just wants to “shoot well”, then a lot is possible.

Like Preuß, Voigt also reported a slight sore throat before the race. Nevertheless, she was also going strong. The 19-year-old young hopeful Julia Tannheimer (2 errors) had to settle for 53rd place. “She’s a little tired,” explained Olsbu Röiseland. World Cup returnee Anna Weidel made no mistakes, but was unable to keep up with her running and crossed the finish line in 43rd place. Julia Kink doesn’t start in France after slight signs of infection.

Men also want to attack in hunting races

In the men’s pursuit on Saturday (12.30 p.m./ARD and Eurosport), Philipp Horn starts the race in fourth place, 29 seconds behind sprint winner Martin Uldal from Norway, as does Philipp Nawrath in sixth place (+42 seconds).