Martin Fourcade's yellow jersey is hanging by a thread. This Friday, during a sprint disputed in a sad atmosphere to die for because of the closed session decided by the Czech organizers of the test of Nove Mesto - coronavirus obliges -, Johannes Boe struck very hard by winning his twelfth success of the season. At the end of a new show of force. On skis, as usual. But also rifle in hand with a perfect ten out of ten. However, today, when the Norwegian achieves a faultless on the shooting range, he is simply invulnerable. However, Quentin Fillon Maillet had done the job by not missing any target and not having fun with the gallery on skis. But that just made him the only biathlete to finish second with less than a minute behind - 22''8 exactly - on an imperial Boe.
"It's hard to fight for the Big Globe but I will try to do it!"
The reaction of Johannes Boe after his superb race. # lequipeBIATHLONpic.twitter.com / GqAUZHFKHa
For Fourcade, the day was much more contrasted. Everything was going well during the first kilometers of the race, since it kept up with Boe's hellish pace. But on the down shot, if the five-time Olympic champion scored five out of five, it still took some time to shoot some of his balls, giving the Norwegian a few seconds. The Frenchman explained it perfectly: “I was off to a good start and I broke a stick at the start of the second round. I did half of this lap with one stick, which handicapped me well. Suddenly, I am a little disappointed but it remains a nice race despite these hazards. That penalizes me by two or three places. It's part of the race. ” This stroke of bad luck also forced Fourcade to take more risk on standing fire, sanctioned by a foul. All this added up to 1'19''1 and a frustrating 6th place.
A classification which means that Boe takes 22 points from the Frenchman (60 units for the winner against 38 for a 6th place). In general, Fourcade remains 76 points ahead of its number 1 rival. However, this is a sham margin as the rules provide for subtracting the points from the two worst results of the season. Boe having missed four tests because of his fatherhood, he will not lose any points while the Catlana, he will be cut 60 points. So his "real" lead is only 16 points. Knowing that Fillon Maillet did not give up either, even if it looks more complicated for the compatriot of Fourcade. Relays will take place on Saturday before a mass start on Sunday, which already promises to be extremely important for Fourcade, who would like to start from Nove Mesto with the yellow bib still on his shoulders.
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