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18.01.2024 - Bø again: Norwegian dominates Antholz opener
The Biathlon World Cup week in Antholz opened on Thursday with the men's individual competition.
It ended with a familiar face as the winner: Norway's Johannes Thingnes Bø, who once again lived up to his title of "King of Antholz" in the Südtirol Arena.
The dominant Norwegian clearly left his signature on the first of a total of six races in Antholz: the veteran 30-year-old, who has lived and trained in the Norwegian winter sports mecca of Lillehammer for many years, made the rest of the field on the course look old. He was also clean at the shooting range. This made it impossible for any other biathlete to catch up with Bø. In the end, the Scandinavian finished with a winning time of 37:28 minutes.
The undisputed supremacy of the overall World Cup leader was unassailable. With this latest success (his 10th individual victory here in the Südtirol Arena and 96th in the World Cup), Bø further extended his lead in the overall standings. His older brother and overall World Cup runner-up Tarjei Bø posed the greatest threat to the Norwegian today, but he trailed him by 1:36 minutes at the finish. Germany's Johannes Kühn also delivered a strong performance, achieving the podium with two misses and a great skiing performance. Another Norwegian, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, came fourth, while fifth place went to the Swede Martin Ponsiluoma.
Tommaso Giacomel best "Azzurro"
As expected, Tommaso Giacomel was the best "Azzurro" at the Antholz opener. The 23-year-old missed four targets at the shooting range and finished in 8th place, 2:38 minutes behind. Things didn't go quite as well for Lukas Hofer: despite a strong performance on the track, the local hero from Montal had to settle for 65th place after a very weak shooting performance (eight misses). Patrick Braunhofer from Ridnaun did far better, finishing in 36th place. The other Italians, Elia Zeni and Didier Bionaz, finished 42nd and 49th respectively.
The World Cup programme at the Südtirol Arena will continue on Friday with the women's 12.5 km individual race. The start is scheduled for 1:40 pm.
Biathlon World Cup in Antholz (ITA):
15 km individual race men
1. Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR) 37:28.0 minutes (0 misses)
2. Tarjei Bø (NOR) +1:36.1 (2)
3. Johannes Kühn (GER) + 1:44.0 (2)
4. Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (NOR) +1:47.3 (3)
5. Martin Ponsiluoma (SWE) +1:58.6 (3)
6. Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR) + 2:16.4 (2)
7. Danilo Riethmüller (GER) + 2:27.6 (1)
8. Tommaso Giacomel (ITA) + 2:37.7 (4)
9. Artem Pryma (UKR) + 2:38.8 (1)
10. Roman Rees (GER) + 2:41.3 (2)
11. Otto Invenius (FIN) + 2:44.1 (1)
12. Sebastian Stadler (SVI) + 2:46.5 (2)
13. Andrejs Rastorgujevs (LAT) + 2:54.0 (2)
14. Jesper Nelin (SWE) + 2:54.9 (2)
15. Florent Claude (BEL) + 2:55.5 (2)
36. Patrick Braunhofer (ITA) + 4:26.5 (3)
42. Elia Zeni (ITA) + 4:56.9 (3)
49. Didier Bionaz (ITA) + 5:26.3 (6)
65. Lukas Hofer (ITA) + 6:17.4 (8)
The undisputed supremacy of the overall World Cup leader was unassailable. With this latest success (his 10th individual victory here in the Südtirol Arena and 96th in the World Cup), Bø further extended his lead in the overall standings. His older brother and overall World Cup runner-up Tarjei Bø posed the greatest threat to the Norwegian today, but he trailed him by 1:36 minutes at the finish. Germany's Johannes Kühn also delivered a strong performance, achieving the podium with two misses and a great skiing performance. Another Norwegian, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, came fourth, while fifth place went to the Swede Martin Ponsiluoma.
Tommaso Giacomel best "Azzurro"
As expected, Tommaso Giacomel was the best "Azzurro" at the Antholz opener. The 23-year-old missed four targets at the shooting range and finished in 8th place, 2:38 minutes behind. Things didn't go quite as well for Lukas Hofer: despite a strong performance on the track, the local hero from Montal had to settle for 65th place after a very weak shooting performance (eight misses). Patrick Braunhofer from Ridnaun did far better, finishing in 36th place. The other Italians, Elia Zeni and Didier Bionaz, finished 42nd and 49th respectively.
The World Cup programme at the Südtirol Arena will continue on Friday with the women's 12.5 km individual race. The start is scheduled for 1:40 pm.
Biathlon World Cup in Antholz (ITA):
15 km individual race men
1. Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR) 37:28.0 minutes (0 misses)
2. Tarjei Bø (NOR) +1:36.1 (2)
3. Johannes Kühn (GER) + 1:44.0 (2)
4. Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (NOR) +1:47.3 (3)
5. Martin Ponsiluoma (SWE) +1:58.6 (3)
6. Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR) + 2:16.4 (2)
7. Danilo Riethmüller (GER) + 2:27.6 (1)
8. Tommaso Giacomel (ITA) + 2:37.7 (4)
9. Artem Pryma (UKR) + 2:38.8 (1)
10. Roman Rees (GER) + 2:41.3 (2)
11. Otto Invenius (FIN) + 2:44.1 (1)
12. Sebastian Stadler (SVI) + 2:46.5 (2)
13. Andrejs Rastorgujevs (LAT) + 2:54.0 (2)
14. Jesper Nelin (SWE) + 2:54.9 (2)
15. Florent Claude (BEL) + 2:55.5 (2)
36. Patrick Braunhofer (ITA) + 4:26.5 (3)
42. Elia Zeni (ITA) + 4:56.9 (3)
49. Didier Bionaz (ITA) + 5:26.3 (6)
65. Lukas Hofer (ITA) + 6:17.4 (8)
