Franziska Preuß also made it onto the podium in the penultimate race before the Biathlon World Championships. The victory in the Antholz pursuit once again went to her closest competitor in the overall World Cup.
Preuß finished the race on Saturday (January 25, 2025) in third place after a shooting error. As in the sprint, Lou Jeanmonnot from France won again, making only one mistake and celebrating her sixth World Cup victory this winter. In doing so, she also shortened the gap in the overall World Cup to Preuß, who was 53.6 seconds behind at the finish.
Second place also went to a French woman, Julia Simon. Jeanne Richard and Michelon Oceane in fourth and fifth place completed the French team’s outstanding team result. Selina Grotian landed directly behind. The 20-year-old started the race in second place, but made two shooting errors.
Early mistakes by Grotian and Preuß
With their podium places in the sprint, Grotian (+7 seconds) and Preuß (+17) had carved out an excellent starting position behind Jeanmonnot, who opened the race. But the strong Frenchwoman was able to quickly expand her lead, first on the cross-country ski trail and then at the shooting range, as the two Germans each shot a ticket. Julia Simon also moved into second place.
In the second prone stage, Preuß and Grotian made it through without any mistakes, but the competition didn’t show any weakness either – especially Jeanmonnot, who was already in the lead by more than a minute at this point.
Preuß fights for the podium in a duel with Richard
Simon in second place remained within reach for the German duo. The former overall World Cup winner performed a rapid-fire performance while standing, Preuss also hit all the targets, but the gap continued to grow. Grotian, on the other hand, had to go into the penalty loop again and lost sight of the podium. Meanwhile, Jeanmonnot had once again shot as precisely as clockwork and was able to afford a mistake in the last shooting to move towards victory.
Preuß came to the last shooting at the same time as Jeanne Richard. In the fight for the last remaining podium place, Simon also made no mistakes, and both athletes scored five hits. The decision had to be made on the final lap. Preuß finally made the decisive attack on the last climb and was able to distance herself from her competitor.
EM in focus – Scherer renounces pursuit
A fourth German biathlete, Stefanie Scherer, also qualified for the pursuit. In consultation with the coaching team, the 28-year-old decided not to start in order to rest herself for the European Championships next week in Martell (Italy). shearers have “many competitions under way since the beginning of January“, explained sports director Felix Bitterling. A waiver is therefore “much more sensible” – also because the starting position as 54th in the pursuit wasn’t too rosy.
Scherer will therefore not start in the season on Sunday (12.05 in the live ticker). Marlene Fichtner and Julia Kink have moved up to the German World Cup team. It is not yet clear which of the two will compete in the relay.