The French team claimed victory in the 4x7.5 km men's relay with an outstanding team performance, finishing ahead of Norway and Sweden. Italy secured an impressive fourth place.
Following Lou Jeanmonnot’s triumph in the women’s pursuit earlier in the day, the French team achieved another victory just a few hours later in the men's relay. This success further cemented the "Bleus" as the strongest quartet in this winter’s World Cup circuit. Fielding Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Eric Perrot, and Emilien Jacquelin, the French team showcased exceptional accuracy at the shooting range, requiring only four spare rounds in total. Their skiing was as formidable as ever.
The relay was effectively decided after the second exchange, where Fillon Maillet handed over to Perrot with a nearly 40-second lead over Norway. Anchor Emilien Jacquelin managed to maintain the sizeable lead effortlessly, crossing the finish line with a time of 1:13:33.
Norway and Sweden round out the podium Norway attempted to keep pace with the French team but finished with a massive deficit of 43.6 seconds. Sweden claimed the bronze medal, narrowly missing silver by just 0.4 seconds.
Italy close to a medal finish
Until the final shooting stage, it seemed as though the host nation could contend for a medal. The Italian team, consisting of Daniele Cappellari, the impressive Lukas Hofer, Elia Zeni, and anchor Tommaso Giacomel, delivered strong performances. Each athlete required only two spare rounds. However, Giacomel missed his final shot, dashing Italy’s medal hopes. Despite this, the "Azzurri" celebrated a solid fourth-place finish. Switzerland came in fifth, followed by the Czech Republic and Germany.
The Biathlon World Cup in Antholz wraps up on Sunday with the women’s 4x6 km relay at 12:05 pm and the men’s pursuit race at 2:45 pm.
Biathlon World Cup Antholz
Men’s Relay 4x7.5 km
1. France (Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Eric Perrot, Emilien Jacquelin) 1:13:33.6 (0+4)
2. Norway (Sturla Holm Laegreid, Tarjei Boe, Johannes Thingnes Boe, Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen) +43.6 (0+12)
3. Sweden (Viktor Brandt, Jesper Nelin, Martin Ponsiluoma, Sebastian Samuelsson) +44.0 (1+8)
4. Italy (Daniele Cappellari, Lukas Hofer, Elia Zeni, Tommaso Giacomel) +1:03.4 (0+8)
5. Switzerland (Sebastian Stalder, Joscha Burkhalter, Jeremy Finello, Niklas Hartweg) +1:54.6 (0+7)
6. Czech Republic (Vitezslav Hornig, Michal Krcmar, Jonas Marecek, Adam Vaclavik) +2:16.6 (1+12)
7. Germany (Justus Strelow, Philipp, Johannes Kuehn, Philipp Nawrath) +3:12.5 (1+10)
8. Ukraine (Dmytro Pidruchnyi, Vitalii Mandzyn, Anton Dudchenko, Taras Lesiuk) +3:30.2 (1+9)
9. USA (Maxime Germain, Campbell Wright, Sean Doherty, Jake Brown) +3:41.4 (2+9)
10. Finland (Jaakko Ranta, Tero Seppala, Olli Hiidensalo, Otto Invenius) +4:00.0 (1+11)
11. Austria (Felix Leitner, Simon Eder, David Komatz, Patrick Jakob) +4:40.8 (2+12)
12. Slowenia (Miha Dovzan, Jakov Fak, Anton Vidmar, Lovro Planko) +4:51.9 (3+14)
