Fierce broadside for the German biathlon women as part of the IBU Cup: In the Italian Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, the DSV ski hunters didn’t have the slightest chance in the individual event on Thursday. While the majority of the German representatives couldn’t even begin to keep up on the cross-country ski trail, the two-time World Cup medalist Sophia Schneider failed at the shooting range.
Sophia Schneider collected a whopping eight penalty minutes in the individual over 15 kilometers and therefore naturally had nothing to do with the outcome of the race. The 28-year-old, who has already finished in the top 10 twice in the World Cup, finished 7:58.9 minutes behind the victorious Frenchwoman Paula Botet (2 errors/42:24.5 minutes).
In terms of running, Schneider was still one of the German bright spots: Stefanie Scherer (1 mistake/+3:40.2/23rd place) and the young Selina Kastl (1 mistake/+3:35/21st place) only made one shooting mistake each, but were unable to stand up to the competition at all on the cross-country ski trail. Mareike Braun (3 errors/+4:32.3) also finished distant in 33rd place.
Kebinger is still the best DSV biathlete
Hanna Kebinger, who also has World Cup experience, did a little better. Like Botet, she had to accept two penalty minutes, but finished “only” 2:52.8 minutes behind the winner in 15th place and thus became the best DSV athlete. The German men had previously fallen short of expectations.
Meanwhile, Botet won ahead of her compatriot Voldiya Galmace-Paulin (2 errors/+23.3 seconds) and the 23-year-old Austrian Lara Wagner (1 error/+23.9 seconds).
The Dane Anne de Besche caused a big surprise, finishing in sixth place, 1:00.8 minutes behind, without a penalty minute and was able to celebrate by far her best result.
The next competition for the women is on Saturday in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna with the sprint, and on Sunday they will compete in the pursuit.