12:13
Oberg comes closer
Chloé Chevalier is getting closer and closer to Samuela Comola, the leading athletes are only a few meters apart. Hanna Öberg also plays off her strong running condition and is slowly stalking Italy and France.
12:11
Chevalier presses the gas pedal
As a fast runner, Chloé Chevalier has already made up ground on Samuela Comola. Possibly the two nations will show up at the same time in the next shooting. Vanessa Voigt is also nibbling the gap slightly and is 29 seconds behind the leader.
12:09 p.m
ÖSV team scratches the top five
Anna Gandler has also completed her section and can be very satisfied. The ÖSV relay is in sixth place in the race and is still in contact with Norway in fifth place. Elisa Gasparin has meanwhile switched to Lea Meier in the Swiss team.
12:08 p.m
2nd change
Dorothea Wierer has arrived back at the stadium and hands over to Samuela Comola with a lead of twelve seconds to the French relay. Chloé Chevalier is now on the track for France and Hanna Öberg for the Swedes. Germany is fourth after the second change and is now hoping for Vanessa Voigt.
12:06
Chevalier-Bouchet is out of breath
On the final lap, Dorothea Wierer is just under 15 seconds ahead of Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, who now lets things slip a bit. Anna Magnusson and Franziska Preuss keep a respectful distance from each other before Emilie Ågheim Kalkenberg follows just under a minute behind.
12:04
Gandler catching up
Cheered on by the home fans, Anna Gandler does an excellent job! The Austrian shot clean in standing and has since jumped to sixth place. Aita Gasparin follows immediately behind for Switzerland. Both nations are just over a minute behind.
12:02
4. Shoot
The first athletes have already returned to the shooting range and are preparing for the standing stage. Dorothea Wierer fires the first shot, clears all discs and takes the lead alone. Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet has more problems and has to reload twice. Franziska Preuß, on the other hand, shows no weakness and keeps the DSV relay in fifth place.
12:01
Wierer in the slipstream
Dorothea Wierer hangs onto Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet’s skis the whole time and shows no interest in taking the lead herself. Together, the top duo continues to gain ground on the pursuers.
11:59
Chevalier-Bouchet dictates the pace
Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet and Dorothea Wierer also run the second round together on the trail. Anna Magnusson is third but remains in third place, she is currently 16 seconds behind. Franziska Preuss follows in fourth, a further seven seconds behind the Swede.
11:57
3. Shoot
Anna Gandler went back on track with one spare, which put the Austrian in eleventh place. Aita Gasparin, meanwhile, has consolidated the fifth position of the Swiss team and asserted herself in front of the Norwegian Emilie Ågheim Kalkenberg.
11:56
3. Shoot
Anna Magnusson runs into the stadium in prone and immediately slams the first round onto the rim. Both Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet and Dorothea Wierer, on the other hand, solve the task perfectly and take the lead. Franziska Preuss also hits everything and runs after them.
11:54
Magnusson loses easily
Behind Anna Magnusson, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, one of the best runners, is gradually closing in and reducing the gap to ten seconds. In the slipstream of the French, Dorothea Wierer from Italy is also pulling along.
11:53
How is Gandler doing?
The Austrians in particular will now take a closer look. There it is Anna Gandler’s turn, who only celebrated her World Cup debut in the sprint on Thursday and ended up in 51st place. The home nation is currently only in 13th place and is 55 seconds down on the front.
11:50
Switzerland in the pursuit role
Elisa Gasparin was able to complete a good final lap and send her sister Aita into the race in fifth place. Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet is now running for France and it is Emilie Ågheim Kalkenberg’s turn for Norway.
11:49
1st change
Linn Persson is the first runner to arrive in the transition area and hands over to Anna Magnusson for Sweden. After the strong performance in the first part, Rebecca Passler reached the stadium in second place and now sends Dorothea Wierer into the lane. Anna Weidel is 21.7 seconds behind the leaders and changes to Franziska Preuss.
11:47
Jeanmonnot overtakes Weidel
Behind the first-placed Linn Persson is now Rebecca Passler from Italy, who completed an excellent section. France’s Lou Jeanmonnot started a bit of a comeback and passed Anna Weidel, who is now fourth on the final lap and fighting for every tenth.
11:44
2. Shoot
Elisa Gasparin doesn’t quite go to plan this time and has to use two spares. Dunja Zdouc didn’t get through flawlessly either, but held on to a good eighth place, 34 seconds behind the leader.
11:43
2. Shoot
And the second shooting is coming up! Now it’s time for the runners to prove themselves in the standing position. Linn Persson starts first and casually knocks down all five targets. Anna Weidel conjures up her usual rapid fire from the gun, hits the mark five times and starts chasing the Swede.
11:42
Persson keeps the pace high
Meanwhile, only Linn Persson from Sweden is at the top, who seems to want to build up a little cushion for the standing stage. Meanwhile, Anna Weidel dropped back to seventh place.
11:40 a.m
Duo separates easily
Lisa Persson and Elisa Gasparin tore a small gap on the trail. Behind them, Paulína Bátovská Fialková from Slovakia is pushing hard and slowly leading the pursuers back to the front. Anna Weidel is also in the second group.
11:38
1. Shoot
Austria’s Dunja Zdouc had to use a spare round, but still starts the next round in sixth place, just behind. In contrast, Norway and France only rank 13th and 14th.
11:37
1. Shoot
Now, for the first time today, things are getting serious as the entire field heads to the shooting range. Who can put their nation in the best position after prone? Elisa Gasparin fires the first shot and is the first to run through the timekeeping. Lisa Persson and Anna Weidel solve the first task just as well and remain error-free.
11:35
Irwin runs ahead
For the first time, the athletes are running through the Omega, where there have already been a number of falls this World Cup week. Luckily everything goes well this time, because of course the last risk is still avoided. At the front of the field, Deedra Irwin from the USA is currently dictating the pace. Anna Weidel is in third position.
11:32
The relay schedule
All runners complete a running distance of over six kilometers over their section. In addition, they each face the task at the shooting range once in a prone and standing position. In contrast to the individual races, three reloading cartridges per series are available there. For each disc that has not fallen, an extra 150 meters must be run in the penalty loop.
11:30
Here we go!
The women’s relay has started and the fights for position on the track begin immediately! For the German quartet, Anna Weidel starts, who duels with the Austrian Dunja Zdouc and Elisa Gasparin from Switzerland over the first six kilometers.
11:20
Who are the favourites?
Of course, after their opening win, the Swedish squadron is back at the top of the lists. There is great potential in the cast of Linn Persson, Anna Magnusson, Hanna Öberg and Elvira Öberg, especially in terms of running. As usual, the French are also to be expected, with Lou Jeanmonnot, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, Chloé Chevalier and Julia Simon at the start. And the Norwegians also want to get involved in the podium fight with Karoline Offigstad Knotten, Emilie Ågheim Kalkenberg, Karoline Erdal and Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold.
11:12
Swiss team with outsider chances
The Swiss team was also able to demonstrate in Kontiolahti and, after a strong race, finally achieved a sovereign fifth place. Two Gasparin sisters will start the relay again today and definitely want to lead them into similar areas. Aita and Elisa Gasparin run in the first two positions, ahead of the rather inexperienced Lea Meier. Lena Häcki-Groß is currently set as the final runner.
11:01
Special race for the ÖSV quartet
In front of the home audience in Hochfilzen, the athletes of the Austrian Ski Association will certainly be particularly motivated. However, a lot will depend on the position in which the anchor Lisa Theresa Hauser can intervene in the competition, because the 28-year-old is clearly the strongest starter from the red-white-red camp. Before that, it’s Dunja Zdouc, Anna Gandler and Julia Schwaiger’s turn, who should keep their team in the best possible position.
10:53
DSV wants to attack again
For the German team, the start of the relay winter last weekend was a success. The DSV quartet took a respectable second place in Kontiolahti behind the dominant Swedes. The strong shooter Anna Weidel will again be in demand as the starting skier. This time, the recovered Franziska Preuß takes over the second position for Sophia Schneider, before the seeded Vanessa Voigt and Denise Herrmann-Wick follow. A podium finish is always within the realm of possibility.
10:45
Warm welcome!
Hello and welcome to the Biathlon World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria! On the final day of competition, the women’s 4×6 km relay is on the agenda. At 11:30 a.m. the ski hunters should start!