Things are looking tough for Italy’s men’s relay team

The French biathletes dealt their rivals a serious blow with a dominant victory in the men's relay in Ruhpolding. The Azzurri, meanwhile, had a day to forget.

17 January 2025

From: never

Nine relays, nine podium places - and to crown this extraordinary result a superior victory in Ruhpolding: The French biathletes once again showed their competitors their limits on Friday afternoon. Emilien Claude, Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Emilien Jacquelin took the crown with an almost flawless performance without a penalty lap and with only six reloads, clearly distancing themselves from Sweden (2nd/0 penalty laps +10 reloads/+38,4 seconds) and Germany (3rd/0+14/+58,8).

This meant that the French landed another severe blow against arch-rival Norway. While Fillon Maillet and Co. celebrated their third victory in a row, the Scandinavians were left with the disappointing fourth place. Nevertheless, the placing was a respectable success considering the miserable performance on the shooting range. Sturla Holm Lägreid, Vebjörn Sörum, Tarjei Bö and Johannes Thingnes Bö had to make three penalty loops (+1.05,9).

Italy experiences a dark day

With nine podium finishes in the nine relay races so far this season, France's relay teams are in breathtaking form and are considered favorites for the gold medal at the World Championships in Lenzerheide (February 12 to 23). The same cannot yet be said of the Italian relay teams.

France's biathletes are in exceptional form. © APA/afp / TOBIAS SCHWARZ

Elia Zeni, Lukas Hofer, Didier Bionaz and Tommaso Giacomel had a terrible day and ended up in a disappointing 18th place. Twelve reloads and two penalty laps were simply too much for the azure blue quartet. At least: While the Azzurri were the slowest team on the shooting range (+1.55,4), they were among the ten fastest teams on the cross-country course (10th/+2.21,7). But the podium is still a long way away.

The race continues in Ruhpolding on Saturday with the women's relay (14.20:12.30 p.m.). On Sunday, the men's mass starts (15.00:XNUMX p.m.) and the women's mass starts (XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.) are scheduled.