2023-12-01 14:54:34
Once again the German biathletes are at the forefront in Östersund. Franziska Preuß narrowly missed the podium in the sprint on Friday, but will wear the yellow jersey on Sunday.
Franziska Preuß and Vanessa Voigt delivered the next strong performances at the World Cup opener in Östersund. Five days after her surprising second place in the individual, the 29-year-old Preuß finished fourth, just 0.7 seconds short of the podium. Vanessa Voigt finished a further 1.7 seconds behind Preuß in fifth place. The French Lou Jeanmonnot (0 errors) won ahead of the Norwegian Karoline Offigstad Knotten (1/+8.5), third place went to compatriot Juni Arnekleiv (1/+17.6).
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Two shooting errors by Preuß were one too many on the 7.5 kilometer long route under the floodlights of Östersund. With just one missed target, Preuß would probably not have been able to take the day’s victory. But Preuß can now look forward to the yellow jersey.
Preuss together with Knotten in yellow
As the first German biathlete in more than six and a half years, she has conquered the overall World Cup leader’s bib, but has to share it with Knotten. Both have identical points and race results.
Janina Hettich-Walz (19th place) and Selina Grotian (21) ensured a good DSV result. Hanna Kebiger (32) and Sophia Schneider (41) also qualified for the pursuit on Sunday (2 p.m.).
“The two mistakes annoy me”
“The two mistakes annoy me when you see the result. It was the last shot in both shootings. I was perhaps a bit too impatient,” said Preuß on ZDF. The Upper Bavarian confirmed her good impression on the cross-country ski trail.
“I tried to go full-on right from the start and was worried in the middle of the second lap that I was going too fast. I was lucky that Marketa Davidova pulled me along as a driving force,” said Preuß, her teammate Voigt lost a total of half a minute on the route.
Voigt with numb fingers in the cold
Voigt, who finished third in the individual, hit the first nine targets and then missed the target with her last shot. “The mistake shouldn’t have happened, but I have to say, I’m glad I was able to shoot at all.
In double-digit temperatures in Östersund, Voigt had to fight hard. “I didn’t feel anything in my fingers anymore. On the track it was just using the sticks without power. That drew a lot of energy,” said Voigt after the race.
Top placement “goes to our wax truck”
After missing out on the podium at the mixed opener, Preuß and Voigt were in strong form at the individual in Östersund last weekend. The skis also seem to run very well. “We had top material, the ranking definitely goes to our wax truck,” said Preuß: “They did a great job. It’s really fun when the skis glide so well.”
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