Benedikt Doll won the mass start in Antholz. Shortly before the Olympics he is getting better and better. And another German seems to find his form on time.
After the last shooting in the mass start at the Biathlon World Cup in Antholz, Italy, Benedikt Doll had a seven-second lead over the Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Bö. A time that the strong Norwegian can usually easily catch up. “I knew: I have to go full throttle in the first half lap. If he shortens the gap there, he has a good chance of catching me,” Doll said to t-online after the race.
World Cup victory at exactly the right time
“When I came up the last climb to the ‘Huber Alm’, I noticed: Okay, he’s gone,” says the native of the Black Forest, describing the moment when he realized that in the end it would be enough for him. Doll celebrated his first World Cup victory this winter. And it comes at exactly the right time, because in two weeks (February 4th to 20th) the Olympic Games will start in Beijing.
Tips from the Olympic champion – Uschi Disl: You shouldn’t miss this at the Olympics
Tips from the Olympic champion
Uschi Disl: You can’t miss that at the Olympics
The best athletes compete against each other at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The former Olympic champion Uschi Disl tells in the t-online interview which disciplines should not be missed this time. more
That’s another reason why the victory is so important, according to the 31-year-old. “The win is of course very important. It gives me peace and self-confidence.” Nevertheless, it is not “a surefire success” that things are going similarly well in Beijing.
Benedikt Doll’s form curve is rising ahead of the Olympics. (Source: GEPA pictures/imago images)
But the victory of the German biathlete does not come out of nowhere. In the last few weeks, Doll’s form has been getting better and better. Already in the individual race (12th) on Thursday he showed a strong mileage. There it was still lacking with four mistakes at the standing stop.
Doll now also with good shooting performance
In the mass start on Saturday he only allowed himself one shooting error. “I’m really good at running, so you can save a little more energy on the track and have more grain on the shooting range,” explained the 31-year-old.
DSV colleague Johannes Kühn was happy about Doll’s excellent performance. “It’s really strong. In the last lap I saw that he was in front of Bö. So I kept my fingers crossed,” said Kühn to t-online and added with a smile: “Now, of course, the pressure is increasing for him personally before the Olympics .”
“I felt powerless”
Kühn himself celebrated his World Cup comeback after a corona infection. “I imagined it would be very, very difficult today – but in the end it was only difficult. That’s why I’m satisfied overall, even if shooting and running weren’t great,” explained Kühn, who finished 19th in the mass start.
He justified his placement as follows: “The course gives me a few points for the overall standings. That was the reason why I even started today.”
Johannes Kühn felt “powerless” on the track in Antholz. (Source: Christian Heilwagen/imago images)
Nevertheless, the 30-year-old has not felt as well as before the illness. “I felt quite powerless on the track,” he admitted. In the men’s relay on Sunday (12:50 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) Kühn will not start.
That’s why the native of Passau is already looking at the games in Beijing. “I’m very optimistic that my form will be better there. I still have two weeks to prepare. I have no concerns about that.”
Doll and Kühn are the best German biathletes this winter. Both seem to be in top form at the height of the season in China. That gives hope for Olympic precious metal for Germany.