David Zingerle showed a solid competition. © Sportissimus

Martell: Azzurri solid, but not at the top

The IBU Cup in Martell continued on Saturday with two extremely exciting sprint competitions. In the men's category, Norwegian Isak Frey was able to celebrate his first IBU Cup victory, while in the women's category his compatriot Maren Kirkeeide was able to celebrate.

06 January 2024

From: pm

Before the competitions, the organizing committee had already shone, ensuring optimal conditions on the track and in the stadium despite heavy snowfall. The starting signal for the men's sprint was given at the Grogg Biathlon Center at 11 a.m. sharp in light snowfall. After the Norwegian triple triumph in the short individual competition, one could also expect an athlete from the strong Scandinavian team to win in the sprint (10 kilometers).

And indeed: Isak Frey, third on Thursday, not only delivered on the cross-country ski trail, but was one of only six biathletes to remain flawless at the shooting range. This was a decisive factor in the 20-year-old from Lillehammer prevailing with a time of 26.46,9:XNUMX minutes and celebrating his first individual victory in the IBU Cup.

Second place went to Mats Oeverby, who, like on Thursday, had to narrowly admit defeat. With one shooting error, the 23-year-old was 2,6 seconds slower than his teammate. This time the podium was completed by Danilo Riethmüller from Germany, who also missed one of ten targets and lost 4,7 seconds to Frey's best time. The tight time intervals ensure an exciting pursuit competition on Sunday (from 11 a.m.). The Frenchman Oscar Lombardot took fourth place, followed by Vebjoern Soerum - he won on Thursday. However, two errors in the standing position cost him a better placing.

Azzurri compact

The Antholzer was the best “Azzurro”. David Zingerle 15th place (+1.40,1). “I felt better in the competition than I did two days ago. The two missed shots are a shame, but I'm still happy with my performance. “I’m looking forward to running well tomorrow (Sunday, editor’s note), having fun and shooting well,” said Zingerle. The Italian team will also be in the pursuit on Sunday Cedric Christille (39./+2.38,4 minutes) and Daniele Cappellari (43./+2.42,5), while Christoph Pircher narrowly missed qualifying in 64th place.

The biathletes arrived in the early afternoon. Here too there was a Norwegian success in the snow, thanks to Maren Kirkeeide. The 20-year-old made no mistakes at the shooting range and completed the 7,5 kilometers in 24.23,1:6,7 minutes. Second place went to a Belgian biathlete, Maya Cloetens. She also hit all ten targets and lost 16,7 seconds to Kirkeeide. The Swede Stina Nilsson followed in third place, missing out on an even better result due to two “tickets”. She was XNUMX seconds behind Kirkeeide. Nilsson also took third place in the short individual competition.

The women's podium. © Josef Plaickner

There is also plenty of excitement for the women before the final pursuit competition on Sunday from 13.30 p.m. As on Thursday, the best of the Italian national team was the Aostan woman Martina Trabucchi. She finished tenth, 40,6 seconds behind the winner. Linda Zingerle (Antholz) came in 21st and qualified for the pursuit as well Sara Scattolo as 24.

The OK Biathlon Martell showed on Saturday that it is ready for higher tasks – i.e. the 2025 European Championships. After the heavy snowfall during the night, the piste team was on duty from 4.30:25 a.m. to clear the snow masses from the cross-country ski trail, shooting range and stadium. “We had around XNUMX centimeters of fresh snow, but our people did an excellent job. It's nice to see the solidarity in our team. I would like to thank everyone involved – as well as the many other volunteers from all over Vinschgau who are behind biathlon in Martell,” said Georg Altstätter, Mayor of Martell and President of the Organizing Committee.

IBU Cup Martell 2023/24 – Sprint results

Men:
1. Isak Frey NOR 26.46,9:0 minutes/XNUMX shooting errors
2. Mats Oeverby NOR +2,6/1
3. Danilo Riethmüller GER +4,7/1
4. Oscar Lombardot FRA +25,6/1
5. Vebjoern Soerum NOR +34,2/2
6. Fabian Müllauer AUT +41,5/1
7. David Zobel GER +56,5/1
8. Martin Nevland NOR +1.04,7/2
9. Simon Kaiser GER +1.14,9/3
10. Cornel Puchianu ROU +1.29,5/0

Women:
1. Maren Kirkeeide NOR 24.23,1/0
2. Maya Cloeten's BEL +6,7/0
3. Stina Nilsson SWE +13,4/2
4. Kristina Oberthaler AUT +23,0/0
5. Anaelle Bondoux FRA +24,5/3
6. Anna Andexer AUT +24,6/2
7. Noemie Remonnay FRA +30,2/0
8. Emilie Aagheim Kalkenberg NOR +31,2/1
9. Stefanie Scherer GER +35,4/0
10. Martina Trabucchi ITA +40,6/0