The Swedish biathlete Sebastian Samuelsson is the first hunter of DSV ski hunter Philipp Nawrath in the overall ranking after the start in his home country. Before the World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, he particularly rates the French highly.
Sebastian Samuelsson sees Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Emilien Jacquelin and Fabien Claude as the biggest competitors on the second World Cup weekend of the season. It was the three Frenchmen “who should be kept in mind,” he told the specialist portal “Nordic Magazin” before the start of the sprint on Friday.
The reigning mass start world champion said: “I think the French team will be dangerous this weekend. The French are always a bit slow at the beginning and only show themselves in Hochfilzen.”
During their preparation, the biathletes of the Équipe Tricolore placed great emphasis on altitude training, which could now pay off in Austria. The route on the edge of the Tyrolean community is located at almost 1,000 meters above sea level.
Samuelsson is happy about his “outstanding form”
France’s sports director Stéphane Bouthiaux had recently made it clear that the men’s hopes of a good result in Austria were quite high. He expects that his protégés in Hochfilzen will be “even closer” to the top of the world than in Östersund.
Meanwhile, Swede Sebastian Samuelsson is pleased to have shown “excellent form” at the start. Although the 26-year-old has respect for heights, he was still optimistic before the second biathlon weekend. “I should be able to ski well. Good enough to have a say in the win.”
The biathlon men start with the sprint on Friday (10:30 a.m.) and the pursuit takes place on Saturday (12:15 p.m.). On Sunday, the biathlon elite will fight for the podium places in the relay competition (11:30 a.m.).