The German ski hunters missed out on a possible victory. Benedikt Doll was unlucky in the Norwegian victory.
Despite the best chances, the DSV athletes in the biathlon mecca of Ruhpolding did not manage to beat the Norwegian team, which started the race without superstar Johannes Thingnes Bö, in the relay.
For the Scandinavians it was their fourth victory in the fourth relay race of the season over the 4×7.5 kilometers. A possible German success was missed by Benedikt Doll, who was most accurate at the time, with six errors at the shooting range. “It’s crazy that something like this still happens after so many years in biathlon“, said Doll, who consoled himself for the messed up performance with second place.
Strelow does a good job
Starting runner Justus Strelow was able to deliver on point with just one spare in his first appearance of the season in a men’s relay. The 27-year-old handed over to Johannes Kühn just ahead of France and the United States. His tactics: “IIt’s very narrow in Ruhpolding. You always have to maintain leadership or maintain contact with the leadership group“, said Strelow in the ZDF interview.
He managed to do that during the handover. For favorites Norway, Sturla Holm Laegreid handed over fourth place to Johannes Dale-Skjevdal. Sweden was surprisingly only in 16th place.
Kühn hands over to first position despite stumbling
Kühn distributed his forces, initially scored safely and repeatedly took over the leadership role in the leading group. The 32-year-old Bavarian only had to take a spare shot while standing. He also had a mishap on the final lap.
Kühn stumbled over his stick, but quickly found his rhythm again and took the top position ahead of the co-favorites from France with Emilien Jacquelin and Norway. The USA were still at the forefront, while Sweden lost touch after two penalties. “The pressure is particularly high at home, and that was the biggest sticking point for me today“Kühn admitted.
Doll shoots the powder
Now it was up to Benedikt Doll to maintain and expand his position. The top trio of Doll, Fabien Claude and Tarje Bö remained error-free in prone and played tactical games. Everything was going perfectly for the DSV quartet up until the standing stop, but then Doll lost his aim and had to do two penalty laps. “I have to slow down a bit“, said Doll. He was tricked into shooting too quickly, said the 33-year-old: “That’s not my thing and that annoys me. But what the other three have done is all the more impressive.”
The cards have been reshuffled. Switzerland surprisingly moved behind Norway. France was in third place. Germany was one minute behind the leading gust. Norway seemed unassailable, but the podium was not yet far away.
Nawrath has to fix it
What else could Philipp Nawrath achieve? The 30-year-old went hunting. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen led confidently, but at least the gap in second and third place narrowed. After the prone attack, the Norwegian remained in front despite two spare rounds. But Nawrath was back on course for the podium with a spare, just behind Quentin Fillon Maillet in third place.
Christiansen could no longer be caught. Nawrath overtook the Frenchman with a quick second shooting session, despite having to reload again, before the final lap and ultimately took second place. The DSV ski hunters were also second best on the podium in Oberhof.