World Cup in Oberhof
Horn and Co. celebrate second place – the women’s relay only fifth
The men’s biathlon relay team is happy about second place in Oberhof. photo
© Martin Schutt/dpa
The German men’s relay team achieved an acclaimed conclusion at the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof. The women disappoint. In the end, there were three podium finishes in front of a home crowd.
“It doesn’t normally work like that in a race. I’ve probably run there 1,000 times – the atmosphere today was already intense,” said Horn enthusiastically.
While the men only had to let the Norwegians go first in difficult conditions with wind and cold, Vanessa Voigt, Janina Hettich-Walz, Sophia Schneider and Franziska Preuß couldn’t cope at all despite the support of the 20,500 fans: after three penalties and 15 spare rounds, it was enough She only finished fifth, more than four minutes behind the successful French women.
“We have to be happy with second place”
The men of the German Ski Association had no chance against the Norwegians, who were once again overpowering. But the DSV quartet kept the remaining competition for third place Italy at bay, even if a lot was wasted during the shooting with a penalty loop from Nawrath and a total of 15 spare rounds. After two third places in Östersund and Hochfilzen, the men achieved the team’s best result of the season.
“We have to be happy with second place,” said men’s national coach Uros Velepec. “Norway is simply stronger. But we fought hard and showed that we were there – that was important for the team.” The Slovenian said he wanted to see faster shooting from his quartet in the future. “I have the feeling that we can then take up the fight with Norway.”
The German team thus ended the first home World Cup with a total of three podium places and seamlessly continued their strong start to the season. Doll’s success and second place for Preuß were outstanding in the sprints. Things didn’t go quite so well for the pursuers with Johannes Kühn as the best in eighth place and Preuß in seventh. And the women’s relay team also had to say goodbye to a place on the podium early on.
Difficult weather situation in Oberhof
“Unfortunately, the prone shooting was a bit messed up and I couldn’t deliver. I didn’t have a bad feeling, but I couldn’t judge the wind correctly,” said Sophia Schneider, who found the three spares weren’t enough in difficult conditions. She had to do an extra lap, and her teammate Preuß even had to do two.
Unlike the day before, it was much more wintery on the stretches along the Grenzadler. The wind caused freezing temperatures and made it easier for the organizers, who had recently faced major challenges due to the heavy rainfall, to prepare the cross-country trails. This is how the big goal was achieved. “We managed to hold all six competitions,” said the head of the organizing committee, Bernd Wernicke.
However, it is not yet possible to predict to what extent the greater effort due to the weather situation will be reflected in the balance sheet. “The goal is still to finish the Biathlon World Cup with a slight surplus,” explained Wernicke.
In the coming season, the elite ski hunters will be guests in Oberhof a week later. This scheduling could help to avoid the increasingly frequent lack of snow at the beginning of the year. “The first week of January is simply not popular. It’s about discussing a lot of things. But this location is a classic in the racing calendar and it must be given due consideration,” demanded DSV President Franz Steinle.