The German men's biathlon relay missed the first World Cup victory in just under three years by just two seconds. The quartet of the German Ski Association led by Philipp Horn, Johannes Kühn, Arnd Peiffer and Benedikt Doll took second place in Austria and were beaten in the final sprint Norway. The French came in third place.
It was the second podium for the biathletes this year. Previously, they had reached the podium with the non-Olympic mixed relay two weeks ago in Östersund, Sweden.
Starting runner Horn, who jumped in for the sick Erik Lesser at short notice, handed over to Kühn as second after a total of four spare rounds. The latter hit all ten shots and took the lead in his final round just ahead of France.
"I missed the punch on the home stretch. Johannes was able to suck himself in and was just too strong," said runner-up Benedikt Doll, who was 43 seconds ahead because he needed two extra cartridges in the last shoot. "I would consider it a victory. We did a top race."
German women only twelfth
The women's relay, on the other hand, drove to the worst result in DSV history on Saturday and only finished the race at Hochfilzen in twelfth place. "You might think that I only started biathlon yesterday. That would have made my grandma even better," said pursuit world champion Denise Herrmann.
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