25.01.2019 - Johannes Thingnes Bø is unbeatable in the Anterselva sprint
The outstanding Johannes Thingnes Bø has firmly left his mark on the first men's race in the Südtirol Arena and further extended his impressive winning streak this World Cup winter
The local South Tyrolean athletes also delivered a compelling performance.
Who could possibly slow Johannes Thingnes Bø down? In Anterselva, the 25-year-old Norwegian has won the fifth of six sprints of the season and at the same time clinched his tenth victory this winter. He repeated his Val Pusterian victory from last year.
Twelve months ago, Bø scored one miss in the shooting range but exceeded himself in the cross-country track. The same happened this Friday, when the Scandinavian scored one error in the standing position, but left the competition behind on skis. In the end, he was 17.5 seconds faster than Erlend Bjøntegaard, who made no mistakes, thus achieving the perfect Norwegian double victory.
Third on the podium was Antonin Guigonnat who impressed in the track. He rounded off the strong French team result that included three further top ten places from five‑times Olympic champion Martin Fourcade (4th), Simon Desthieux (6th) and Quentin Fillon Maillet (7th).
Lukas Hofer impresses the local audience
The best skier in the Italian team was once more Lukas Hofer from Montal. The strong Anterselva sprint winner of 2014 crossed the finish with the eighth best time - although he had to run several penalty loops. For the fifth time this season Hofer finished in the top ten. His team mate Dominik Windisch never managed this trick until the Anterselva sprint this winter. Now he broke the spell with an all-round convincing performance and a tenth place.
Of the other Italians, only Thomas Bormolini (44th) qualified for the pursuit competition on Saturday. The race will start at 3:30 pm. The women’s pursuit starts at 1:30 pm.
Comments on the race:
Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR), 1st place: “I have scored nine shots today, I am very happy with my performance in the shooting range. In the finish I gritted my teeth one more time, to increase my lead with a view to the pursuit race. But tomorrow is going to be really tough”.
Erlend Bjøntegaard (NOR) 2nd place: “I have worked a lot on the shooting range over the past weeks, and it paid off. I knew Anterselva would suit me. Everything finally came together, the race simply could not have been better.”
Antonin Guigonnat (FRA), 3rd place: “I am very happy to stand on the podium again. After a good start to the season this month hasn’t gone as well as it should have so far, and so it was really important to deliver a good performance here. I'll give anything to keep up with the Norwegians in pursuit.“
Biathlon World Cup in Alterselva (ITA): Men, sprint 10 km
1. Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR) 23:59.9 minutes (1 miss)
2. Erlend Bjøntegaard (NOR) +17,5 (0)
3. Antonin Guigonnat (FRA) +20,2 (1)
4. Martin Fourcade (FRA) +21,3 (0)
5. Simon Eder (AUT) +23,9 (1)
6. Simon Desthieux (FRA) +33,5 (2)
7. Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) +33,7 (2)
8. Lukas Hofer (ITA/Montal) +42,0 (1)
9. Arnd Peiffer (GER) +43,9 (2)
10. Dominik Windisch (ITA/Rasen) +45,5 (1)
…
44. Thomas Bormolini (ITA) +1.51,4 (0)
74. Daniele Cappellari (ITA) +2.43,2 (1)
95. Giuseppe Montello (ITA) +3.41,9 (3)
Who could possibly slow Johannes Thingnes Bø down? In Anterselva, the 25-year-old Norwegian has won the fifth of six sprints of the season and at the same time clinched his tenth victory this winter. He repeated his Val Pusterian victory from last year.
Twelve months ago, Bø scored one miss in the shooting range but exceeded himself in the cross-country track. The same happened this Friday, when the Scandinavian scored one error in the standing position, but left the competition behind on skis. In the end, he was 17.5 seconds faster than Erlend Bjøntegaard, who made no mistakes, thus achieving the perfect Norwegian double victory.
Third on the podium was Antonin Guigonnat who impressed in the track. He rounded off the strong French team result that included three further top ten places from five‑times Olympic champion Martin Fourcade (4th), Simon Desthieux (6th) and Quentin Fillon Maillet (7th).
Lukas Hofer impresses the local audience
The best skier in the Italian team was once more Lukas Hofer from Montal. The strong Anterselva sprint winner of 2014 crossed the finish with the eighth best time - although he had to run several penalty loops. For the fifth time this season Hofer finished in the top ten. His team mate Dominik Windisch never managed this trick until the Anterselva sprint this winter. Now he broke the spell with an all-round convincing performance and a tenth place.
Of the other Italians, only Thomas Bormolini (44th) qualified for the pursuit competition on Saturday. The race will start at 3:30 pm. The women’s pursuit starts at 1:30 pm.
Comments on the race:
Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR), 1st place: “I have scored nine shots today, I am very happy with my performance in the shooting range. In the finish I gritted my teeth one more time, to increase my lead with a view to the pursuit race. But tomorrow is going to be really tough”.
Erlend Bjøntegaard (NOR) 2nd place: “I have worked a lot on the shooting range over the past weeks, and it paid off. I knew Anterselva would suit me. Everything finally came together, the race simply could not have been better.”
Antonin Guigonnat (FRA), 3rd place: “I am very happy to stand on the podium again. After a good start to the season this month hasn’t gone as well as it should have so far, and so it was really important to deliver a good performance here. I'll give anything to keep up with the Norwegians in pursuit.“
Biathlon World Cup in Alterselva (ITA): Men, sprint 10 km
1. Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR) 23:59.9 minutes (1 miss)
2. Erlend Bjøntegaard (NOR) +17,5 (0)
3. Antonin Guigonnat (FRA) +20,2 (1)
4. Martin Fourcade (FRA) +21,3 (0)
5. Simon Eder (AUT) +23,9 (1)
6. Simon Desthieux (FRA) +33,5 (2)
7. Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) +33,7 (2)
8. Lukas Hofer (ITA/Montal) +42,0 (1)
9. Arnd Peiffer (GER) +43,9 (2)
10. Dominik Windisch (ITA/Rasen) +45,5 (1)
…
44. Thomas Bormolini (ITA) +1.51,4 (0)
74. Daniele Cappellari (ITA) +2.43,2 (1)
95. Giuseppe Montello (ITA) +3.41,9 (3)
