Johannes Thingnes Boe is back! The Norwegian wins his first individual World Cup race since last January and is crowned the winner of the 10 km men's sprint in Annecy LeGrand Bornand in top conditions and a fanatical audience. Fast as lightning and safe he put all shots directly into the target, completed both shooting stages without any mistakes and was always in the lead at all intermediate times.
After 17 races Johannes Boe can finally cheer again. Behind him the Russian Eduard Latypov was happy about second place in sprint race with a gap of 7.2 seconds. However, the big surprise of the race was the third place of the young Norwegian Filip Fjeld Andersen, who also remained faultless and achieved his best World Cup result so far with a gap of 18.2 seconds.
The French biathletes unfortunately went empty-handed on the podium in the first race of their home race. Quentin Fillon Maillet, however, was able to secure fourth place with one mistake and a great run time. With Sturla Holm Laegreid in fifth and Vetle Christiansen in eighth place, two more Norwegians finished in the top ten. Alexander Loginov was twelfth, Simon Desthieux thirteenth and Tarjei Boe finished fifteenth. Things went much worse for the DSV team. No German stayed clear today and so Philipp Nawrath remained the best German in 16th place.
Results 10 Km Men's Sprint Le Grand Bornand:
1. Johannes Thingnes Boe, NOR 23.30,3 Min.
2. Eduard Latypov, RUS + 7,2 Sek.
3. Filip Fjeld Andersen, NOR + 18,2 Sek.
4. Quentin Fillon Mailett, FRA + 21,3 Sek.
5. Sturla Holm Laegreid, NOR + 24,5 Sek.
8. Vetle Christiansen, NOR + 38,8 Sek.
12. Alexander Loginov, RUS + 49,1 Sek.
13. Simon Desthieux, FRA + 52,1 Sek.
15. Tarjei Boe, NOR +53,4 Sek.
Statement Johannes Thingnes Boe: “Mein Schießen war heute perfekt und der Ski ist wunderbar gelaufen. Ich mag die Strecke hier von Le Grand Bornand und speziell das Publikum, das alle Athleten begeisternd angefeuert hat. Ich bin sehr Glück nach so langer Zeit wieder als Sieger auf dem Podest zu stehen.“
Statement Fipip Fjeld Andersen:" What can I say, I have been in a good shape for a long time and I felt very comfortable in the last races. The coaches have always stood by me and now I could give it back with a top result. A great day for me."
Pictures: K. Voigt Fotografie