Antholz week begins with a surprise – Wierer in the top 10

Tiril Eckhoff is an absolute sprint specialist; she was crowned world champion in this discipline in Oslo in 2016. In the current season, however, she has not yet achieved a single top 20 placement - until today, until the opening race in Antholz. In wonderful winter weather, the 1,62 cm tall powerhouse from Scandinavia put on a really big show in the packed South Tyrol Arena and left all the favorites behind. Zero errors in prone shooting, zero errors in the standing position and an unbridled performance on the cross-country ski trail propelled Eckhoff to the top of the field. Her first victory in the Antholz Biathlon Center, her fifth in the World Cup, was therefore sealed.

Eckhoff relegated the resurgent Laura Dahlmeier to second place with a lead of 12 seconds. The exceptional German athlete made no mistakes, as did the Czech Veronika Vitkova, who in turn pushed the experienced Darya Domracheva off the podium.

Dorothea Wierer best Azzurra

For a long time it seemed as if Dorothea Wierer could also compete for a podium finish. After the first shooting session, she entered the trail as the leader and held her top position until the second stop. But then she missed the penultimate shot and had to go into the penalty loop. In the end she finished seventh, 40 seconds behind. The Puster local hero, who was able to defend her third place in the overall World Cup, was also pleased with her seventh top ten placement this winter.

Wierer's teammate Nicole Gontier also put in a convincing performance, finishing in 19th place despite two missed shots. The same applies to Federica Sanfilippo from Ridnaun Valley. She finished 25th after two penalties, ahead of the disappointing overall World Cup leader Kaisa Mäkäräinen. In contrast, Alexia Runggaldier from Val Gardena, who made her comeback after a week-long break from competition, remained flawless at the shooting range, but was four positions behind Sanfilippo in the ranking. The fifth Azzurra in the group, Lisa Vittozzi from Belluno, took 40th place.

The World Cup in Antholz continues on Wednesday at 14.15:XNUMX p.m. with the men's sprint.

The votes for the race

Tiril Eckhoff (NOR), winner: “Today was a very difficult competition for me because I needed a good result because of the Olympics. The key to success was certainly shooting. I made no mistakes and now hope to be able to confirm my form over the weekend.”

Laura Dahlmeier (GER), second place: “I am very happy with the podium finish, Eckhoff shot well and deserved to win. I feel very comfortable in Antholz, everything is always perfect here, it is one of my favorite races.”

Veronika Vitkova (CZE), third place: “It's an overwhelming feeling to be on the podium in Antholz for the first time. I like the height and the scenery, it’s spectacular here.”

Dorothea Wierer (ITA/Rasen), 7th place: “I was in a good mood, had a really great rhythm, and then unfortunately I missed a shot. I moved a little and that was too much. It's a shame, but overall it was a strong performance. I’m not in top shape yet, but I can feel it, but overall I feel better than in the last competitions.”

Results Biathlon World Cup Antholz (ITA):

Sprint 7,5km, women 1. Tiril Eckhoff (NOR) 21:05.3 minutes (0 errors) 2. Laura Dahlmeier (GER) +12,0 (0) 3. Veronika Vitkova (CZE) +20,6 (0) 4. Darya Domracheva (BLR) +23,0 (1) 5. Anais Bescond (FRA) +26,6 (0) 6. Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht (RUS) +39,4 (0) 7. Dorothea Wierer (ITA/turf) +40,0 (1) 8. Selina Gasparin (SUI) +52,6 (0) 9. Franziska Hildebrand (GER) +42,2 (0) 10. Denise Herrmann (GER) +56,2 (2) ... 19. Nicole Gontier (ITA) +1:15.8 (2) 25. Federica Sanfilippo (ITA/Ridaun) +1:31.3 (2) 29. Alexia Runggaldier (ITA/St.Christina) + 1:34.2 (0) 40. Lisa Vittozzi (ITA) +1:53.9 (3)

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Antholz week begins with a surprise – Wierer in the top 10

The Biathlon World Cup stage in the South Tyrol Arena began on Thursday with a surprise: Tiril Eckhoff, who had hardly any experts on the list before the race, relegated Laura Dahlmeier to second place in the sprint. With Dorothea Wierer, a South Tyrolean also made it into the top ten.

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