World Cup in Antholz
Another setback: Doll goes to the Biathlon World Championships feeling unsure
Currently not in form: Benedikt Doll. photo
© Alessandro Trovati/AP/dpa
The World Cup dress rehearsal is over. Not all Germans achieved the goal of regaining self-confidence. But there is another enemy before the climax: health.
In just a few weeks, Benedikt Doll went from being a medal candidate to being a problem for German biathletes. After two sprint successes in a row, the 33-year-old veteran now misses safety at the shooting range and also missed the mass start in 16th place Antholz has the opportunity to gain self-confidence before the World Cup.
This was achieved at the dress rehearsal in South Tyrol by his teammates Vanessa Voigt and Justus Strelow, who achieved the first ever success of a German single mixed relay team the day before – thanks to almost perfect shooting. Voigt also finished fourth twice and also hit all targets in both individual races.
Doll can only dream of that at the moment. “I’m glad it’s over. It was a lot of overcoming work. Now the rifle will be put in the corner for a few days,” he told the German Press Agency after four missed shots at the end. In the individual on Thursday, when Johannes Kühn drew attention with a third place, the Black Forest native ended up in 44th place. In the mixed relay on Saturday, Doll had to go into the penalty loop despite three spare rounds – which meant that the quartet achieved a decent placing out of reach.
Few bright spots
Kühn’s podium finish and the surprising success of Strelow/Voigt were, along with Voigt’s two fourth places with perfect shooting, the only bright spots for the German Ski Association team. In the second mass start of the season, five DSV men made it into the top 20, but only Strelow made it into the top ten. “I’m going into the break with a good amount of self-confidence,” said the 27-year-old. “With two mistakes in ninth place, I can be very happy with that.” Above all, the first World Cup victory the day before felt “outstanding”.
Sports director Felix Bitterling was less satisfied. “We don’t need to beat around it. We didn’t show what we wanted to show. A fifth of the field was German. So our goal was to get at least one through.”
In the women’s category, Voigt came in fourth, Janina Hettich-Walz in seventh and Franziska Preuß in eighth place showed solid individual performances. However, Hettich-Walz and Preuß were put out of action on Sunday by a gastrointestinal infection. With Voigt and Sophia Schneider there were only two women left in the mass start. The Frenchwoman Julia Simon secured the victory, while Voigt again narrowly missed the podium by 7.9 seconds despite another impeccable shooting performance. Schneider (2 shooting errors) took 16th place.
Some diseases
Before the World Cup from February 7th to 18th in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, it is also important to pay attention to your health. Talent Selina Grotian was unable to compete in Italy – also due to a gastrointestinal infection – and Philipp Horn had to leave early due to cold symptoms.
The DSV has long been warned. “We wear masks in the hotels and in public areas. There is a special seating plan so that the same people always sit together. Anything that can be done in any way, we try to do,” said Bitterling. But you can never be 100 percent sure.
The Norwegians, who were once again outstanding, were spared any failures. In the men’s mass start they celebrated their sixth triple success of the season – this time led by Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen.
Despite their dominance, Strelow and Co. want to attack the Scandinavians at the World Cup. “The Norwegians are brutally strong, we can keep up with them to some extent when it comes to running. But at the shooting range they are simply a force and rarely open the door. And if they do, another Norwegian goes through,” said Strelow. “We have to be a little more ripped off at the shooting range, but at the peak of the season it depends.” Benedikt Doll would also like to have found his form again before the medal hunt in the Czech Republic.