The shooting range is currently not the friend of the German biathletes. Too often they miss the mark - and have to leave other opponents to the top positions.
Nove Mesto (dpa) - Olympic champion Arnd Peiffer & Co could not even use the laboratory conditions with almost no wind: Because the German biathletes in the World Cup sprint from Nove Mesto missed too often, it was not enough for the second win of the season or a podium finish.
At the eighth success of the season for the Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Bö, Johannes Kühn was the best German in eleventh place - with a total of ten mistakes, the protégés of national coach Mark Kirchner continued the trend from the World Championships, where they remained without an individual medal due to too many mistakes.
"Mark told me beforehand that I should consciously take my time with the first shot - and I did that. And yet I make a mistake right away, that would have been avoidable and annoyed me," said former world champion Benedikt Doll on ZDF . He also missed the last shot and was twelfth, 1: 46.4 seconds behind the flawless winner. In contrast to him, no German ski hunter came through without a penalty loop.
Having traveled to the World Cup with ambitions to win a medal, Doll hadn't been able to cope with the shooting range in Antholz and had given away the possible gold with a penalty loop in the relay. He left his rifle on the left four days after the World Cup. "After the season, I didn't take any mental restrictions with me," said the 29-year-old Black Forest, who had fun shooting again: "I hope that I can bring a zero here again."
Kühn finished 1.9 seconds ahead of Doll. "The conditions at the booth were very good, so it's very annoying," he said. Peiffer finished the ten kilometers in 14th (+ 1: 48.8 minutes) and commented on his race as "average and hard work". Because the route became dull and slow due to the fresh snow that had fallen overnight, the ski "went mad, you get more and more broken and the ski slower and slower," said the 32-year-old. The four-time world champion Simon Schempp ran to a solid 21st place after his two-month abstinence after returning to the World Cup. "Things are going a little better, but there is still a piece missing," said the 31-year-old. The Uhinger hopes that he can run a few races in Oslo until the end of the season.
Peiffer was less bothered by the fact that fans of the Ghost World Cup had to stay outside on all four days of the competition due to the fear of the spread of the corona virus. "I am sorry for the fans, for me as an athlete it is also nice that it is sometimes calmer," said the Harzer.
When Denise Herrmann won on Thursday evening, the ladies' team in the empty stands made up for the dreary mood with a spontaneous party. And Karolin Horchler, Vanessa Hinz, Franziska Preuß and Herrmann also want to spread a good mood on Saturday after the season (2:00 p.m. / ZDF and Eurosport). After the World Cup silver, the quartet is aiming for the second podium of the season. Anyone who starts with the men (5:00 p.m.) is still open.
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