World Cup in Ruhpolding
Break after the podium party: Herrmann-Wick thinks about the Biathlon World Cup
Biathlete Denise Herrmann-Wick skipped the mass start race in Ruhpolding. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
The German biathlon relays impress with second places at the party home game in Ruhpolding. The greatest hope for a medal then takes a break. Everything is geared towards the World Cup.
The euphoric podium party was followed by a break. “Staying healthy is now the be-all and end-all. I think the way is right,” said Denise Herrmann-Wick after the acclaimed second place with the German relay at the Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding.
A day later, the Olympic champion decided not to end the atmospheric home game in adverse conditions in Chiemgau on Sunday – and just like the entire team, she was already thinking about the home World Championships from February 8th to 19th in Oberhof.
“With a view to Oberhof, this is a precautionary measure not to overdo it. Our focus is fully on the World Cup,” said sports director Felix Bitterling from the German Ski Association on Herrmann’s decision not to compete in the mass start. Both the women’s team on Saturday and the men’s team on Friday had raised hopes of World Championship medals in Thuringia with their second relay places behind Norway. “The two seasons were extremely important for the team,” said Bitterling. You really wanted to attack the competition in front of your home fans. And this plan worked.
Voigt fifth in mass start race
Vanessa Voigt almost rewarded herself with another podium finish. But a mistake in the last mass start shooting prevented that and brought him fifth place after a total of two penalties. Victory at the World Championship dress rehearsal in this discipline went to Julia Simon from France. Justus Strelow was the best German in eighth place for men. Johannes Thingnes Bö secured his ninth win of the season in front of a record crowd of 19,000 spectators despite three penalties. After two World Cups, the German biathletes are still waiting for the first individual podium of the year.
The 34-year-old Herrmann-Wick meanwhile was “not 100 percent fit after the intensive exertion of the past few days” and thus traveled to the next station in Antholz, Italy, without having to start again. There, the ex-cross-country skier has to do altitude training before continuing with the next sprint in South Tyrol on Thursday. The Saxon wants to continue to work on her form at around 1500 meters, together with Vanessa Voigt there is still another week at high altitude on the Alpe di Siusi. The rest of the team is preparing separately from the duo in Ridnaun for the world title fights on the Rennsteig.
World Cup dress rehearsal in Antholz
“I will run all the races in Antholz,” said Herrmann-Wick. After the sprint, there are still the World Championship dress rehearsals in the pursuit and with the relay. In Ruhpolding, the German women’s quartet showed itself to be very strong after initial problems. The slightly injured Anna Weidel, who also did without the mass start, Voigt, Sophia Schneider and Herrmann-Wick delighted 17,000 spectators in the stands and saw it as a good World Championship test.
“When you run at home with the fans, it gets tingling. You have to absorb it positively,” said Herrmann-Wick. Although the conditions were difficult with high temperatures and some rain, the artificial snow course held up to the end. Thuringian Voigt, who competed in front of a large home crowd for the first time, added: “It’s totally cool to run in front of an audience, I don’t know that.” The corona pandemic had prevented fans in Germany from being able to attend for the past two years. “I’m really looking forward to Oberhof now,” said Voigt: “It’s about performing.”
However, the association does not have a medal specification like in the past. “We want to be part of every competition. We want to attack in the relays,” said Bitterling: “If it’s one or the other medal, then we’re happy. But we don’t believe in strict medal requirements in our team.” At the last World Championships on the Slovenian Pokljuka in 2021 there were only two silver medals, and this balance should definitely be increased. Franziska Preuß, who could return to the World Cup in Antholz after surviving an infection, could also help.