The Swede Elvira Öberg won the sprint on the Pokljuka with a flawless shooting line. Despite two penalties, Denise Herrmann-Wick made it into the top ten.
The Christmas break is also over for the biathletes. Victory in the first sprint of the year went to Elvira Öberg with a flawless shooting performance and impressive form on the 7.5 km long track. The Swede was ahead of French Julia Simon (0/+ 6.9 seconds). The Italian Dorothea Wierer (0/18.7 sec.) took third place.
Herrmann-Wick with weaknesses at the shooting range
A flawless shooting performance was a basic requirement to finish on the podium. Denise Herrmann-Wick, who landed on the podium in the last sprint in Annecy, was the fastest on the demanding cross-country ski run with a best time – but two shooting errors were too many to be able to compete at the front. In the end it was sixth place (+36.3 sec.). “Having the fastest time is really cool, but two mistakes are one too many for the podium,” said Herrman-Wick.
Anna Weidel and Vanessa Voigt did better at the shooting range. Both remained flawless and thus established a good starting position for the pursuit on Saturday. Despite her shooting performance, Voigt was not entirely satisfied with the sprint: “The shooting part was right. The part performance running was not so good. I felt weak on the mountain, I was missing a few grains – but that’s how it is sometimes“Said the 25-year-old on ZDF.
Comeback for Röiseland
For Marte Olsbu Röiseland, last season’s outstanding athlete, it was the first competition this season after recovering from illness. The Norwegian made a mistake – the lack of competition practice was noticeable when running.
Preuss and Hinz not present in Slovenia
Franziska Preuss missed the World Cup in Slovenia because of a cold. Vanessa Hinz, who wanted to make her World Cup comeback on the Pokljuka, also failed due to respiratory problems.