Rank 3! The men's relay team shines in Oberhof

5th place at the start in Kontiolahti, 8th place in Hochfilzen: The men's relay team had by no means disappointed so far this season. But in Oberhof the Azzurri (Thomas Bormolini, Lukas Hofer, Tommaso Giacomel, Dominik Windisch) now made a real statement with third place. The two South Tyroleans, Hofer and Windisch, demonstrated once again that they are a real bench in the relay.

Starting runner Bormolini showed a confident performance. The 29-year-old Lombarde only had to reload once and was able to keep up with the competition in terms of running. So Bormolini handed over to Lukas Hofer in second place - at the same time as leader Erik Lesser (Germany). The Montaler showed once again why Italy's men's relay team cannot be imagined without him. Hofer cleared all 10 targets at the shooting range (without a spare) and led Italy to the top with a very strong performance on the cross-country ski trail. He clearly left Benedikt Doll (Germany) and Quentin Fillon Maillet (France) behind him. Giacomel (right) and final runner Windisch showed strong nerves. © APA/afp / TOBIAS SCHWARZ

The young Tommaso Giacomel started the race as the leader with a lead of 17 seconds over Germany (with Arnd Peiffer). Quite a lot of pressure for the 20-year-old from Trentino. But Giacomel (formerly a sports student in Mals) did well at the shooting range and only had to reload twice. Because he couldn't quite keep up with Peiffer and the Frenchman Fabien Claude on the cross-country ski trail, Italy fell back to third place. The gap to Germany, who was in the lead, was 3 seconds at the last change. France wins – Horn as a tragic hero Then it got strange: Germany's final runner Philipp Horn had to go into the penalty loop three times after the prone shooting and so the error-free Windisch temporarily moved up to second place. By now Italy was on course for the podium, even if Norway (with the onrushing Johannes Thingnes Bø) was exerting a lot of pressure behind them.

At the front, Emilien Jacquelin (he needed a spare in the last shooting) saved the victory for France after Bø almost came close again in the final lap. Meanwhile, Windisch had to use two spares in the final standing stage, had to let Bø go, but managed to secure third place confidently. The Azzurri were then extremely happy about their podium finish.

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Rank 3! The men's relay team shines in Oberhof

Italy's men's relay caused a big surprise at the World Cup in Oberhof. The Azzurri ended up in third place on Friday.

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