Rees in contact with the top
Be the first DSV-Starter Rees went on the track at Grenzadler. In significantly better conditions than the day before with only light winds, all 24 relays got through the first prone shooting without a penalty loop. Rees had to reload once and was almost 15 seconds behind in pursuit of the leading duo, consisting of the Norwegian Tarjei Bö and Mikita Labastau from Belarus.
The two were also the first to go back to the trail after the standing position, Rees followed in fifth place after a faultless insert (+18.7 seconds). The Swede Sebastian Samuelsson still had two black targets even after three additional cartridges and had to turn an additional 300 meters in the penalty loop.
Until the first change, Rees ran into Labastau, who could no longer follow Bö and also had to let the Russian Maxim Tsvetkov go. The German team moved to third place. “I’m really happy with my race. I got through very well standing and was able to go one better in the final lap. The route in Oberhof with the Birxsteig and the long descent suits me“was Rees’ conclusion.
Bö runs out a lead
Doll was able to hold his position up to the shooting range and took four good first shots, but forgave the last. So the Belarusians were able to pass again at first. At the top, the second of the Bö brothers, Johannes Thingnes, had now been able to break away by almost 20 seconds and further expanded this lead. Russia, Belarus and Germany formed a joint group in the second round.
Doll made two mistakes standing up and lost touch with his opponents, but at least had Russia in sight. Front runner Bö also needed a spare, but still kept a comfortable lead of almost half a minute. Doll first fought his way to Alexander Povarnitsyn, who was running in front of him, and finally even pulled past and away. Bö and the Belaruse Anton Smolski were too far away.
“The race wasn’t perfect, but I felt good as a runner. I was able to get something out of the mountain. But three spare rounds are too many“, said Doll, who had the second-best running time of his group in the dull track conditions.
Voigt keeps the podium dream alive
Local hero Vanessa Voigt, who was twelfth best German ski hunter in the sprint on Friday, started her mission in third place, almost 50 seconds behind. But she lost another 25 seconds and two positions on the way to prone.
There she had to reload once, in the meantime she was able to push past Italy with Dorothea Wierer, who was clearly faster on the trail. In the lead, Norway ran its own race with Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, and Dzinara Alimbekava from Belarus also had a reassuring lead over the pursuers.
After a flawless appearance in the second shooting bout, Voigt was able to go with Russia on the trail, and Wierer was unable to break away either. From behind, however, the Czech Republic and France now came much closer. “I am very satisfied, even if the first shot goes wrong. That’s annoying. You could see that I still have deficits on the track, but that was clear to me beforehand“, Voigt explained in the sports show.
Hinz can’t keep up with the pace
So after the last change there was a pentathlon for the last remaining podium, and in the middle was Vanessa Hinz, who, however, had to tear something down on the first lap. Thanks to five hits in five attempts, she was able to overtake her opponents, who allowed themselves spares, and took third place again.
While nothing more should happen at the front, third place was decided with the last shooting. The French Julia Simon was able to run out a small lead and maintain this even after two additional cartridges. Hinz’s deficit (one mistake) on the podium was nine seconds before the last lap. Ultimately, however, too much to catch up. Instead, Hinz was overtaken by Sweden and Russia.