In the individual race in Oslo, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold delivered an almost perfect race and celebrated victory on her home track at Holmenkollen. World champion Lisa Vitozzi secured the small crystal ball for the discipline World Cup. Vanessa Voigt came sixth and narrowly missed winning the small ball.
“Of course I’m a little annoyed“, said Voigt on ZDF about the only missed shot and thus the missed chance of overall victory in the individual World Cup. “But that’s biathlon“. The overall ranking was secured by Vitozzi, who said she was “happy with the race”. Although she missed the podium in fourth place, she was ahead overall in points.
Three biathletes with a chance of winning the crystal ball
After the cancellation on Thursday, the biathletes had to be patient on Friday. On the perfectly prepared route, Lena Häcki-Groß, wearing the red jersey of the World Cup leaders, was the first to start the race, half an hour late due to fog. World champion Lisa Vitozzi (-2 points) and Vanessa Voigt (-7 points) were only slightly behind. But the competition for the coveted crystal ball was fierce.
In the individual competition, the focus was on shooting performance, as every mistake cost a penalty minute. Local hero Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, who was still struggling with her shooting performance at the World Cup, was once again accurate with the exception of one target at Holmenkollen at home. The Norwegian took the lead with 44:13.1 minutes. The Swede Elvira Öberg was only 28.8 seconds slower. Ida Lien (+32s) rounded off the good Norwegian result in third place.
Voigt narrowly missed the discipline World Cup
Vanessa Voigt, who had not yet missed a shot in the individual this season, missed a target and kept the chance of winning the discipline World Cup open. After Lena Häcki-Groß was worse with four mistakes and one fall, only world champion Lisa Vittozi could challenge the 26-year-old for the ball. Voigt was 1:19.5 minutes behind Tandrevold at the finish. Vitozzi didn’t miss the chance and placed clearly ahead of Voigt, 51.2 seconds behind.
Johanna Puff also showed a strong race, as the second best DSV starter, she easily finished in 18th place with only one mistake, unimpressed by the biathlon elite. “I’m really happy” said Puff. “Just tried to do the best.“
Hettich-Walz: “Easy served with four penalty minutes”
Teammate Selina Grotian only missed twice, but she ended up at the bottom of the top 20. Sophia Schneider (39th) and Janina Hettich-Walz (46th) did not deliver their best race, each receiving four penalty minutes. “In singles you can easily get a four minute penalty” said Hettich-Walz afterwards, visibly disappointed.