16:03
5. Shoot
Johannes Thingnes Bø and Benedikt Doll arrive at the shooting range together and now complete their prone position. Will they also hit the track together again? Yes. Johannes Thingnes Bø finished slightly faster with one spare, but Doll follows with two spares, only 2.3 seconds behind. They are too much to bear. Felix Leitner ensures that the ÖSV series continues and with error-free shooting there are 20 seconds missing from Norway. France follows in fourth place, 27 seconds behind.
4:00 p.m
France continues to lose
Fabien Claude was able to grab the Austrians’ third man, but France continued to lose towards Germany and Norway.
15:58
2. Change
1:27 minutes pass until Switzerland enters the transition zone. Burkhalter made a lot of mistakes at the shooting range and couldn’t keep up with the running. Niklas Hartweg is now under a lot of pressure if they want to close the gap again.
15:57
2. Change
Tarjei Bø tried to overtake the DSV relay team in the last few meters, but Nawrath stuck with it and so Norway and Germany switched at the same time. Johannes Thingnes Bø is now on the track for Norway, while Benedikt Doll is supposed to do it for Germany. Austria changes in third position, 15.6 seconds behind. Felix Leitner covers the next 7.5 kilometers here.
3:55 p.m
Norway and Germany ahead
On the final lap, things happened as they had to. Tarjei Bø and Philipp Nawrath put the pressure on for Norway and Germany and it didn’t take long before they caught up with ÖSV man Eder and left them behind shortly afterwards. Austria is 8.8 seconds behind the two leading nations.
15:53
4. Shoot
Another penalty for Sweden! Malte Stefansson takes three reloads, then takes a long time to reload and in the end cannot avoid the penalty loop. Sweden is only in 18th place.
15:51
4. Shoot
Emilien Jacquelin comes back to the shooting range as the front runner for France, but now feels the competition breathing down his neck and gets into trouble. Simon Eder, for his part, shows no weakness and keeps the Austrians’ zero series. However, the gap remains small and it will probably be difficult for Austria to keep the five seconds in the direction of Bø and Nawrath, who each had to reload once. Emilien Jacquelin is in fourth place for France after two spare rounds. He is 12.1 seconds behind.
3:50 p.m
Fak no chance
The pace seems to be good at the front. Fak has no chance for Slovenia and is further left behind before the next shooting. He’s already missing more than 20 seconds.
3:47 p.m
Jacquelin moves away again
Jacquelin is already pulling away again on the route. The Frenchman caught Eder and gained a gap of 6.8 seconds. Eder runs into Nawrath and the Norwegian Tarjei Bø before the next smaller gap follows towards Fak. Switzerland continued to miss out on Burkhalter.
3:46 p.m
3. Shoot
Stalder had presented really well for Switzerland, but now it’s going backwards. Joscha Burkhalter needed three reloads before all five targets fell. He goes back on the lap 31.1 seconds behind.
3:46 p.m
3. Shoot
Emilien Jacquelin comes to the shooting range with a lead and throws herself on the mat. Can he now also deliver in shooting? The Frenchman made one mistake, but he can get over it because the competition also has to reload in batches. Only Simon Eder made it through from the chasing group without making a mistake, but his 4.2 second lead didn’t last long. Jacquelin goes around again on number two, directly behind Tarjei Bø for Norway in front of Fak for Slovenia.
15:43
Burkhalter swallowed
Shortly before the next shooting, Joscha Burkhalter from the Swiss team is mercilessly swallowed up by his pursuers and has to fit into the group. France’s lead is 15 seconds.
3:42 p.m
Jacquelin moves away
Emilien Jacquelin immediately leaves Burkhalter, who is weaker, standing and extends his lead to 12.5 seconds in just a few meters. The second group is led by Nawrath, who is also in a good running mood. At Sweden, Malte Stefansson has the difficult task of getting his team back on track. 45 seconds is a board in this strong running group. You have to hope for major mistakes at the shooting range.
3:40 p.m
1. Change
It’s the first change! Switzerland can pass in first position. Sebastian Stalder hands over to Joscha Burkhalter. France follows immediately behind with Emilien Jacquelin. The team from the USA follows in third place, ten seconds behind, ahead of Austria, where Komatz hands over to Simon Eder. David Zobel gave it his all again on the last lap and Germany is back in the thick of things! Philipp Nawrath is sent on his 7.5 kilometers 16 seconds behind. Directly behind them comes Norway into the transition zone, who have Tarjei Bø on the route.
3:37 p.m
Stalder stays in front
Sebastian Stalder shows strong on his last lap and stays at the front in a group of three. Komatz, who was one of the few athletes to finish twice without making a mistake, is also keeping Austria in the race in fourth place. Meanwhile, David Zobel continues to work his way forward for the DSV relay team and is now seventh.
3:33 p.m
2. Shooting
This time Zobel gets through much better and with a spare he can get back on the track in eleventh place. Strømsheim needed a total of two spares for Norway. Sweden has got itself into trouble: substitute Oskar Brandt has to go into the penalty loop!
3:32 p.m
2. Shooting
Led by Brandt for Sweden, the first runners return to the shooting range. Now you have to hit the targets while standing. Strømsheim starts first, but misses right away and has to resort to a spare. Sebastian Stalder presents himself completely differently! He quickly knocks down all the windows and goes on his final lap ahead of the American Germain!
3:30 p.m
Stalder runs in front
Sebastian Stalder set the pace for Switzerland. He was able to fight his way into the group of six, who were able to open up a small gap. Zobel has reduced his gap to ten seconds? Isn’t that punishing when you’re standing up?
15:29
Komatz loses
Shortly after the first shooting, David Komatz went back to the back again. The ÖSV man has already lost eight seconds after visiting the shooting range. For his part, Zobel is working his way forward and is now 13th.
15:27
1. Shooting
The field comes together for the first shooting. Who can get their team into a good position while lying down? Perrot shows strong for France and is the first to get back on the track, closely followed by a well-disposed Komatz for Austria. Sweden and Norway are also staying tuned. David Zobel, on the other hand, must be trembling! Three reloaders are recorded. Can he avoid the penalty?! Meager! But it still took time. Germany falls to 16th place, 19 seconds behind.
15:23
The favorites set the pace
After the start, the top nations gathered at the front and set the pace in the field. The squadron had to withdraw from Canada at short notice.
3:20 p.m
The start has taken place!
The starting signal has been fired and the starting runners of the 20 relay teams are setting off on their journey. Endre Strømsheim opens for top favorite Norway. Germany relies on David Zobel to replace Strelow. Sweden and France also had to make short-term changes to the first position. Oskar Brandt is on duty instead of Nelin. For France, Eric Perrot has to step in for Émilien Claude. David Komatz and Sebastian Stalder tackle the first 7.5 kilometers for Austria and Switzerland.
3:15 p.m
What’s going on for Switzerland?
With the result in the individual race, the men’s biathlon team got off to a false start, as only Sebastian Stalder managed to impress. The pressure to achieve a better result today is likely to be correspondingly great. Stalder should bring the team into the race in first place, before Joscha Burkhalter will follow in second place. Niklas Hartweg will take the third position in the relay, before Jeremy Finello will finish up.
15:11
Komatz opens for Austria
The Austrians are certainly hoping for a good performance from today, but they will certainly have to hope for a few mistakes from the competition if they are to achieve a really big coup. David Komatz was put first. Simon Eder should then keep the team on track in second position, before teammates Felix Leitner and Patrick Jakob follow.
3:06 p.m
Tough competition
The competition for victory is fierce. Of course, last season’s series winner, Norway, should be taken into account. The team is strong with Endre Strømsheim, the Bø brothers and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen and will be eager to emulate their teammates who won the women’s relay yesterday. France with Eric Perrot, Fabien Claude as well as Emilien Jacquelin and Quentin Fillon Maillet should always be taken into account. Sweden would certainly also like to get involved with Brandt, Stefansson, Ponsiluoma and Samuelsson.
14:57
Will the DSV biathletes step up their game?
The start could hardly have gone better for the German team. Roman Rees won the first individual race of the winter at the weekend after a good performance and took his first World Cup victory. On top of that, Justus Strelow took second place, another German double victory for men in six years. Both were originally scheduled for today’s season, but are now out due to symptoms of infection. David Zobel will be the starting runner and Johannes Kühn will be the last runner. Philipp Nawrath will take over the second position in the relay and then hand over to Benedikt Doll.
2:49 p.m
Welcome!
In Östersund, Sweden, the season opening week continues with the men’s relay over the 4 x 7.5 kilometers. It starts at 3:20 p.m.!