In the absence of the overall World Cup leader Marte Olsbu and the Oeberg sisters (all three in training for the Olympics), there was a French double victory in the 15 km individual women's race in the South Tyrol Arena of Antholz.Here Justine Braisaz came with one minute penalty but again with absolute best time and a lead of 51.1 seconds over her teammate Julia Simon to her third World Cup victory . Surprisingly Mona Brosson from Sweden finished third with a gap of 1.37,2 minutes.
Dorothea Wierer from South Tyrol finished fifth in her home debut, 1:58.8 minutes behind the winner Braisaz.
Her teammate Lisa Vittozzi, on the other hand, had a very bad day and finished 13:10.8 minutes behind her. 93rd out of 96 starters.
The two Norwegians Ingrid Tandrevold with three penalty minutes and Tiril Eckhoff with four penalty minutes finished eighth and eleventh.
Best German with the eighth-best running time and rank 15 was again Franziska Hildenbrand, with fulfilled Olympic norm, which was however not considered by the DSV leadership for Beijing.
Results 15 km individual women, Antholz:
1. Justine Braisaz, FRA 42.20,6 Min.
2. Julia Simon, FRA + 51,1 Sek.
3. Mona Brosson, SWE + 1.37,2 Min.
8. Ingrid Tandrevold, NOR + 2.52,7 Min.
11. Tiril Eckhoff, NOR + 3.06,9 Min.
Statement Justine Braisaz." I am very happy and satisfied with my performance today.In my shooting mistake I had to fight with the wind and unfortunately then I was left behind.Luckily I was able to take my lead to the finish."
Statement Julia Simon:" It's nice to be on the podium with a teammate and I'm very satisfied with today's second place, even though the mistake in the last shooting was unnecessary."
Text: Helmut Hanus
Picture: K.Voigt Photography