Exciting throughout last winter, Norwegian Johannes Boe obtained his first victory of the season at the end of the pursuit in Hochfilzen (Austria) on Saturday during the second stage of the Biathlon World Cup. Starting in eleventh position, 47 seconds behind his older brother Tarjei, winner of the sprint the day before, Johannes climbed to the top step of the podium in the fifth individual race of the season, thanks to a 19 out of 20 in shooting.
The four-time winner of the big crystal globe led a Norwegian hat-trick, and even a quadruple, as he was ahead of Johannes Dale, second at 22 seconds with three faults, and his brother Tarjei, third at 28 seconds with two faults. Sturla Lagreid finished at the foot of the podium, 39 seconds behind with two missed targets.
QFM and Jacquelin gain momentum
Emilien Jacquelin, who started in thirteenth position 56 seconds from the race lead, placed himself back in the top 8 from the first of four passes on the shooting range and even finally made a place in the top 6 with an 18 out of 20, 52 seconds behind Boe. He finished just ahead of the young Eric Perrot, seventh at 1 minute, after only one missed target on the shooting range. Also a good comeback from Quentin Fillon Maillet, from 18th to 9th place, despite two mistakes from his first prone shot. He equaled his best result of the season so far.