The Norwegian biathletes suffered a defeat on the second day of the traditional “Sesongstart” competition, with two Frenchmen securing first and second places. Ski hunter Vebjörn Sörum couldn’t even finish the mass start due to an injury.
Eric Perrot presented himself in impressive form two weeks before the start of the World Cup (from November 29th in Östersund). On Sunday, last winter’s overall World Cup third-place finisher and reigning individual world champion won the mass start in Geilo. “I’m really proud of having driven a clean race. Exactly how I wanted it,” he cheered at “La Chaine L’Equipe”.
What distinguished the 24-year-old from his competitors: Perrot mastered all four tests on the shooting range without a single mistake. In the end, there was a lead of almost nine seconds over his compatriot Emilien Jacquelin, who secured second place despite three missed shots.
Behind the duo from France, the Norwegian Martin Uldal (2 errors, +11.2 seconds) completed the podium. Sivert Bakken (2 errors), Vetle Sjastad Christiansen (3) and Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (3) took the other places and thus ahead of the reigning overall World Cup winner Sturla Holm Laegreid, who came seventh.
The top biathlete had not come close to his best performance in the sprint on Saturday when he only came 17th. “I’m not in top shape yet,” he said after the first race of the “Sesongstart” on “NRK”.
Injury concerns for World Cup starters
Sprint winner Johan-Olav Botn had to settle for ninth place (3 errors) on Sunday, while second-placed Isak Frey (5) only ended up in 16th place. Also far away from the top 10 was former overall World Cup winner Quentin Fillon Maillet from France, who also recorded five shooting errors and finished in 17th place.
Things were even worse for Norwegian Vebjörn Sörum, who was unable to finish the race in Geilo. After the third shooting, the 27-year-old turned away.
“There’s something wrong with my body. It feels like something is blocked and I no longer have any blood circulation,” he complained afterwards to “TV2”. It may be a muscular problem: “It hurts like crazy.”
Sörum has already secured his place in the World Cup squad. He doesn’t want to decide yet whether he wants to give up due to injury. Laegreid, Uldal and Strömsheim will also be allowed to compete in Sweden in two weeks, and the remaining places will now be decided.