Anton Shipulin wins sprint race in Antholz - AUDIOS

Anton Shipulin seems to feel particularly comfortable in Antholz. Today he not only celebrated his second victory, but also climbed onto the podium here for the fourth time: last year he came second in the mass start and in 2011, always in the mass start, third. It was a start-to-finish victory for the Russian, who dominated the race. The 25-year-old remained flawless at the shooting range and showed an extremely strong performance on the cross-country ski trail. He completed the 10 km distance in an excellent 22:45,8 minutes.

The Norwegian Emil Helge Svendsen had to settle for second place, 12,8 seconds behind Shipulin. After the second shooting he was still in fifth place, but then gained three places in the last kilometers. It was Svendsen's fourth podium finish this season. Antholz also seems to suit him, as the 27-year-old from Lillehammer has already triumphed here three times and came third once.

The Slovenian Jakov Fak, who already has two World Cup victories to his name this year, also made it onto the podium today. Fak was 20,4 seconds behind Shipulin at the finish, fourth-placed German Andreas Birnbacher was only seven-tenths of a second slower. Birnbacher gave away the podium place on the final lap when he fell from second place to fourth. World Cup leader Martin Fourcade from France, however, finished the race in sixth place.

Dominik Windisch best “Azzurro” The best Italian was local hero Dominik Windisch. The 23-year-old from Oberrasner missed a target while shooting and came twelfth, 55,5 seconds behind Shipulin. In doing so, he equaled his best performance of the season, as he also finished 12th in Östersund. Lukas Hofer, who also had a shooting error, crossed the finish line in 23rd place, 1.12,4:26 minutes behind the winner. There were also World Cup points for Christian De Lorenzi (41th place), while Christian Martinelli in 43st and Pietro Dutto in XNUMXrd narrowly missed out.

Results World Cup Antholz (January 18, 2013) Men's 10km sprint 1. Anton Shipulin (RUS) 22.45,8 (0 misses) 2. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) +12,8 (1) 3. Jakov Fak (SLO) +20,4 (1) 4. Andreas Birnbacher (GER) +21,1 (0) 5. Evgeniy Garanichev (RUS) +36,6 (1) 6. Martin Fourcade (FRA) +38,0 (1) 7. Lowell Bailey (USA) +40,3 (0) 8. Daniel Mesotitsch (AUT) +42,3 (0) 9. Friedrich Pinter (AUT) +47,3 (1) 10. Jaroslav Soukup (CZE) +51,2 (0) 11. Jean Guillaume Beatrix (FRA) +52,8 (1) 12. Dominik Windisch (ITA/Oberrasen) +55,5 (1) 13. Florian Graf (GER) +57,3 (0) 14. Dmitry Malyshko (RUS) +59,1 (1) 15. Fredrik Lindström (SWE) +1.02,2 (1)

23. Lukas Hofer (ITA/Montal) +1.12,4 (1) 26. Christian De Lorenzi (ITA) +1.16,8 (0) 41. Christian Martinelli (ITA) +1.41,0 (1)

Voices from Antholz The top three finishers - winner Anton Shipulin from Russia, Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen in second place and third-place finisher Jakov Fak from Slovenia - answered questions from journalists after the men's sprint. Also the two “Azzurri” Dominik Windisch (11th) and Lukas Hofer (23rd) about their impressions of the home World Cup.

Anton Shipulin (RUS), winner: “Antholz is my favorite place in the World Cup. I was really looking forward to the races here. Over the course of the season I had some difficulties on the shooting range, but today I tried to ignore all of that and I succeeded. The fact that my sister (Anastasiya Kuzmina, editor's note) won yesterday obviously motivated me a lot today. Running at heights is not a problem for me. I can adapt to that very quickly.”

Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR), second: “I tried to concentrate fully on my race and not look at what Anton or the others were doing. I'm very satisfied. I went back to Norway on Monday and didn't get here until Wednesday. That's why I didn't have much time to train. The cross-country ski trails here in Antholz are perfect. After Oberhof and Ruhpolding, I was really looking forward to Antholz because it always has normal winter weather. The decision to live in the valley below has proven to be the right one.”

Jakov Fak (SLO), third: “Unfortunately the last shot missed, it was a stupid lapse in concentration. My thoughts were probably already on the line. On the last lap I received information from the trainers that I was fourth. I knew then that I had to give it my all to make it to the podium. In the end I managed to do that and I’m satisfied.”

Dominik Windisch (ITA), twelfth: “It was an ideal race for me today. The skis were perfect, the wind, everything. Unfortunately I made this one mistake while standing, but that's biathlon. I am super satisfied and this result is unexpected for me. I am overwhelmed. The dream setting in Antholz inspired me. I really found the support to be support and not pressure. I was able to concentrate well on myself while shooting. The slopes here are better prepared than anywhere else. I will do my best in the pursuit race tomorrow. Then we’ll see what emerges.”

Lukas Hofer (ITA), 23rd: “I'm happy with the shooting, even though the last shot missed. Maybe I was too excited to get back on the track too soon. That was a stupid mistake that shouldn't have happened. Walking was very difficult, my legs felt like they were locked. I noticed on the first lap that it was going to be very tough. That's why I tried to be very controlled when shooting. That's how I saved the race. Everything is possible in the pursuit race tomorrow.”

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Anton Shipulin wins sprint race in Antholz - AUDIOS

The 25-year-old Russian prevailed in the 10 km sprint on Friday ahead of the Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen and the Slovakian Jakov Fak and celebrated his second victory in the South Tyrol Arena after 2011. The best “Azzurro” was local hero Dominik Windisch 12th place.

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