Selina Grotian, Johanna Puff and Ida Lien. © Sportissimus

The Germans set the tone in Ridnaun

The IBU Cup in the Biathlon Center Ridnaun continued on Friday with two extremely exciting mass starts 60. And a German biathlete, Johanna Puff and Danilo Riethmüller, were able to celebrate the day's victory. There was no top ten result for Italy this time.

12 January 2024

From: pm

Johanna Puff came, saw and won: The 21-year-old from Bayrischzell celebrated her second individual victory in the IBU Cup in the mass start 60 in Ridnaun. The decisive factor for her triumph on Friday morning - she came second with a 52,1 second lead over her teammate Selina Grotian - was a flawless performance on the shooting range. As one of only two female ski hunters, Puff made no mistakes. Even in the last test at the shooting range, the German, who also appeared in the World Cup for the first time this year in Lenzerheide, showed no nerves and left the stadium with a lead of more than a minute.

Grotian, like third-place finisher Ida Lien (Norway), scored four “tickets”. The Scandinavian lost 56,3 seconds to the day's winner. Johanna Skottheim from Sweden, the Ukrainian Anna Kryvonos and Lea Rothschopf (Austria) followed in fourth to sixth place. Overall leader Jenny Enodd finished ninth and defended her top position. Remarkable: The Swede Stina Nilsson made it to tenth place despite seven shooting errors. As the best “Azzurra”, Sara Scattolo ended up in 18th place – three positions ahead of her teammate Martina Trabucchi. Trentino's Fabiana Carpella also made it into the points for the first time - in only her second IBU Cup competition. Linda Zingerle from Antholz finished the competition in 47th place.

Riethmüller with a gala performance at the shooting range

In the men's category, based on the performances shown so far this season, a Norwegian victory could be expected. But things turned out differently and in the end a ski hunter from Germany celebrated. Danilo Riethmüller not only showed a class performance on the narrow cross-country skiing bars as usual, but also remained flawless at the shooting range. The 24-year-old completed the 15 kilometers on the cross-country ski trail, including four shooting exercises, in a total time of 37.07,5:10,2 minutes. Second place went to the Norwegian Martin Nevland, who lost 14,6 seconds to Riethmüller with two “tickets”. The podium was completed by Frenchman Antonin Guigonnat, who missed one target and was XNUMX seconds behind Riethmüller.

Martin Nevland, Danilo Reithmüller and Antonin Guigonnat. © Sportissimus

For the first time this season in the IBU Cup, Johan-Olav Botn, the outstanding overall leader, failed to make it onto the podium. The 24-year-old finished sixth with five errors. Daniele Cappellari came 23rd as the best Italian biathlete. David Zingerle from Antholz (32nd) and Christoph Pircher from Terlano (35th) also made it into the points. Nicola Romanin (43rd) and Nicolò Betemps (48th) were outside the points.

This year's Ridnaun Biathlon Week - which is also the dress rehearsal for the European Championships in Brezno-Osrblie (Slovakia) starting in a week - ends on Saturday. The mixed relay begins at 10.30:13.30 a.m. and the single mixed relay begins at XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.

The voices:

Johanna Puff (GER/winner): I knew that shooting would be crucial today. That's why I tried to stay focused with every shot. During training we often simulated shooting during a mass start and it paid off.

Sara Scattolo (ITA/18th): At the shooting range, things didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. My performance on skis was quite ok. I like the competition format, it's varied and a lot can happen until the end.

Sara Scattolo was the best Italian. © Sportissimus

Danilo Riethmüller (GER/winner): The competition today was extremely difficult. We had a lot of stress running, especially on the first three loops. The key to success was error-free shooting and, of course, as quickly as possible. I use earplugs and try to block out everything around me. This worked wonderfully for me.

Daniele Cappellari (ITA/23rd): Today was very tiring. I tried to keep up with the leading group. They kept tightening on the slopes, which affected the shooting. But I'm back in the top 30, so it's okay.

The results

Women:
1. Johanna Puff GER 34.00,8/0
2. Selina Grotian GER +52,1/4
3. Ida Lien NOR +56,3/4
4. Johanna Skottheim SWE +1.09,5/2
5. Anna Kryvonos UKR +1.15,3/2
6. Lea Rothschopf AUT +1.16,5/2
7. Gilonne Guigonnat FRA +1.26,8/3
8. Karoline Erdal NOR +1.34,2/3
9. Jenny Enodd NOR +1.36,9/1
10. Stina Nilsson SWE +1.45,1/7

Men:
1. Danilo Riethmüller GER 37.07,5/0
2. Martin Nevland NOR +10,2/2
3. Antonin Guigonnat FRA +14,6/1
4. Mats Oeverby NOR +20,1/2
5. David Zobel GER +21,9/2
6. Johan-Olav Botn NOR +26,9/5
7. Simon Kaiser GER +31,3/1
8. Isak Frey NOR +44,0/2
9. Martin Uldal NOR +56,8/3
10. Fabian Müllauer AUT +1.11,8/3