Franziska Preuß wants to attack again in the Biathlon World Cup after her absence due to illness.
“Start of the season 2.0. Hopefully with a little more luck on my side this time. I’m excited to see how the sprint goes tomorrow and what my body can handle,” Preuß said on Instagram on Wednesday.
The reigning biathlon overall World Cup winner had completely missed the last stop in Hochfilzen, Austria. Previously, Preuß had to miss the last weekend in Östersund, Sweden.
The German ski hunter was struggling with a double infection. Before the end of the year in Annecy, France, Preuß returned to the DSV squad. Marlene Fichtner received a break for this. Selina Grotian is still missing due to illness.
The German biathlon squad for Annecy
Women: Janina Hettich-Walz, Julia Kink, Franziska Preuß, Julia Tannheimer, Vanessa Voigt, Anna Weidel
Men: Philipp Horn, Simon Kaiser, Philipp Nawrath, Danilo Riethmüller, Justus Strelow, David Zobel
As the defending champion in the overall biathlon World Cup, Preuß is currently 302 points behind leader Anna Magnusson from Sweden.
German biathlon team wants to take “positive spirit” with them
“We have very good memories of Le Grand-Bornand from last year. However, a look at the weather report suggests that it could be a challenging week again. The forecasts point to very high temperatures, especially during the day, which could make the conditions wet and challenging in places. We dealt with this well last year and hope that we can do it this time too,” said DSV sports director Felix Bitterling, looking ahead to the competitions in Annecy.
The German biathlon official explained: “Overall, it is already the fifth week of the competition if you take the qualifications into account. The fatigue factor therefore plays a role, not only for us, but for the entire field. We want to take the positive spirit from Hochfilzen, continue to build on it and take the next step, especially with regard to the Olympic qualifications that are still open for some of our athletes.”