A botched Antholz day for Dorothea Wierer

Dorothea Wierer clearly missed her hoped-for podium place in the pursuit at the World Cup in Antholz. The two-time overall World Cup winner had to complete seven penalty laps. The victory went to a superior Lou Jeanmonnot.

25 January 2025

From the South Tyrol Arena in Antholz

From:
Christoph Niederkofler

The disappointment was evident in her facial expression. In the last standing position, the otherwise reliable shooter Dorothea Wierer missed four targets, and in total the local hero incurred seven penalty laps in the women's pursuit on Saturday. After her strong fourth place in the sprint, she failed to make it onto the podium, and the five-time world champion was relegated to 33rd place (+3.37,2 minutes).

Others, however, shone at the top: The Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot scored the Antholz double (29.44,0/1 penalty lap) in wonderful conditions in the South Tyrol Arena and won ahead of her compatriot Julia Simon (+24,1/0). The German Franziska Preuß (+53,6/1) prevented a French triple victory by finishing third ahead of Jeanne Richard (+58,1/0).

Passler makes a big leap forward

While Wierer was the last of the Azzurre in Antholz, Martina Trabucchi became the best Italian biathlete in the field. Thanks to a flawless performance on the shooting range, she moved up to 19th place (+2.53,0). Samuela Comola (+3.20,4/1) and Michela Carrara (+3.26,4/4) followed a little further behind.

Rebecca Passler showed her best side. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

Meanwhile, South Tyrolean Rebecca Passler made a huge leap forward. The 23-year-old made two mistakes in the first prone position, but she kept her head above water and finished between her teammates Hannah Auchentaller (31st/+3.31,7) and Wierer, moving up from 51st to 32nd (+3.35,3).

Jeanmonnot puts pressure on Preuß

With her sixth win of the season, Jeanmonnot managed to close the gap to the German leader Preuß (879 points) in the overall World Cup. Nevertheless, the 26-year-old is still 92 points behind. In third place in the rankings is the Swede Elvira Öberg (571). In the fight for the small crystal globe, however, Jeanmonnot (293) further extended her lead over Preuß (241).

Lou Jeanmonnot (l.) and Franziska Preu0 (r.) after the pursuit. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

The men's relay continues in Antholz on Saturday afternoon. Ruhpolding hero and sprint podium finisher Tommaso Giacomel will start alongside Lukas Hofer, Elia Zeni and Daniele Cappellari at 14.45:12.05 p.m. The women will be back in action on Sunday, with the relay starting at 14.45:XNUMX p.m., followed by the men's pursuit (XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.).