Denise Herrmann-Wick describes her miss in the biathlon sprint in France as an “unnecessary challenge”. First place is gone, but thanks to the fastest time, the Olympic champion made it onto the podium.
Denise Herrmann-Wick paced back and forth in the finish area after her furious run. The German model biathlete, who started with number six, had to tremble for a long time, but then she was able to grin – it was enough. Admittedly not for the repetition of the really big coup from the previous week, but very much for the second podium place of the winter. With third place in the Annecy-Le Grand Bornand sprint, the 33-year-old is increasingly becoming a favorite for the home World Championships in Oberhof.
After a penalty loop, the fastest runner was 15.2 seconds behind the flawless premiere winner Anna Magnusson, who made for a Swedish celebration in front of Linn Persson. She was “already sweating while waiting in the finish area,” said Herrmann with a smile: “All in all, a cool race in front of a great backdrop.” Even more was possible. The target wobbled on her last shot in prone, but she didn’t fall – millimeters were missing. The victory was gone.
“That annoys me a bit,” said the Olympic champion on ARD: “Then I had to shoot the zero standing, that was an unnecessary challenge.” Which she mastered with flying colors. Her flawless second stop and above all the mileage should give further self-confidence after the win in the previous week. After a long time, the former cross-country skier once again set a best time, 4.3 seconds ahead of Marie Eder from Finland.
“Very stable and controlled,” praised ARD expert Arnd Peiffer: “I really liked that.” Herrmann-Wick had already narrowly missed the podium in fifth place four times in the French Alps, now she made her 20th individual podium in the World Cup in front of an atmospheric backdrop. The starting position for the pursuer on Saturday (2:15 p.m. / ARD and Eurosport) is brilliant.
Almost eight weeks before the start of the home World Championships, the other German ski hunters were no longer in the form they had at the start of the season. Franziska Preuss (1 1:01.4 minutes) after her late start due to an infection managed to finish 24th, her best result of the season. “It was ok at the shooting range, but I don’t feel so good when it comes to running. It’s very tough from the first meter, the power is lacking,” the Bavarian quarreled.
Sophia Schneider (1/ 1:04.3) was 28th, Vanessa Voigt (0/ 1:11.8) was 30th and Anna Weidel (1/ 1:11.8) was 38th despite weaknesses in running still in the points. Janina Hettich-Walz (2/ 1:47.1), pulled up from the IBU Cup, missed the top 40.
In the men’s category, Benedikt Doll is on Saturday (October 12) with a brilliant starting position, just 39 seconds behind dominator Johannes Thingnes Bö, also in third place. The first mass starts of the winter are planned for Sunday (12:10 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.) as the last races before Christmas.