Everything was the same as last year in Antholz: Schempp also got the chase

Although Schempp started the race as the leader, he had to mobilize all his reserves of strength to hold his own in an exciting final sprint and secure his second victory within 48 hours. After a mistake in the first shooting, the German had to cede the lead to Evgeniy Garanichev. He remained in command until the third shooting, when he missed once. Schempp, Ole Einar Björndalen and the Austrian Simon Eder took advantage of the mistake to catch up with the Russian.

The quartet came together for the final shooting. Now the tension in the South Tyrol Arena was literally palpable. All four athletes pulled the trigger almost every second without a single shot missing the target. A thrilling head-to-head race developed on the last lap, which only came to an end on the home straight to thunderous applause from the spectators: Schempp had a very narrow lead at the finish. As in the 2009 Antholz Pursuit, Eder took second place, while Garanichev completed the podium in third. Björndalen had to make do with an ungrateful fourth place.

For Schempp, this is the third World Cup victory in a row, after his success in the mass start race in Ruhpolding and his triumph in the pursuit on Thursday. The German is now in second place in the overall standings behind Martin Fourcade, who made an impressive comeback today and went from 25th to fifth place.

Lukas Hofer best “Azzurro”

The Italian team's biathletes played a supporting role in the pursuit race. The best local hero was Lukas Hofer, who improved by four positions and ended the race in 30th place. Meanwhile, Christian De Lorenzi gained eleven places. In 33rd place, he was three places ahead of speedster Dominik Windisch.

Results World Cup Antholz (Saturday, January 24, 2015)

Pursuit race men, 12,5 km

1. Simon Schempp (GER) 31:27,9 minutes (2 misses) 2. Simon Eder (AUT) +0,1 (1) 3. Evgeniy Garanichev (RUS) +1,1 (1) 4. Ole Einar Björndalen (NOR) +1,9 (0) 5. Martin Fourcade (FRA) +31,9 (0) 6. Erik Lesser (GER) +45,6 (0) 7. Jakov Fak (SLO) +51,4 (3) 8. Simon Fourcade (FRA) +56,6 (1) 9. Dmytro Pidruchnyi (UKR) +59,0 (2) 10. Arnd Peiffer (GER) +1:00,0 (1)

30. Lukas Hofer (ITA/Montal) +2:49,3 (5) 33. Christian De Lorenzi (ITA) +2:55,7 (1) 36. Dominik Windisch (ITA/turf) +3:12,0 (5)

The votes for the race:

Simon Schempp, winner: “The level in biathlon is very high, so it's no wonder that four athletes are in the lead in the pursuit after the last shooting. My starting position was good because I was able to hang on to the three other colleagues in fourth place. So I had enough strength for the finish sprint. I always feel comfortable in Antholz because there are so many German fans here who cheer me and the others on. The atmosphere is great. The fact that I was able to win both individual competitions like last year is of course fantastic.”

Simon Eder, 2nd place: “I am very happy about the podium. I made an attack at the Huber Alm. 50 meters from the finish I felt that I was a little tired. I ran out of strength and that was probably crucial. My shooting today was very fast, but I always try to shoot fast. Things weren’t going so well at the beginning of the season, but things are getting better and better now.”

Evgenij Garanichev, 3rd place: “Third place makes me very happy. Of course I thought about winning until the end. I would like to give my service people a huge compliment, they did a top job, like they have done the entire season.”

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Everything was the same as last year in Antholz: Schempp also got the chase

Simon Schempp is becoming the big protagonist at this year's World Cup event in Antholz. The 26-year-old from Ruhpolding completed his double pack and, like last year, secured the pursuit race after the sprint.

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