Sensation in the fog: Azzurri climb onto the podium!

On January 5, 2012, an Italian men's relay team beamed from the winner's podium for the last time. Dominik Windisch and Lukas Hofer were already there back then. Almost exactly six years later, the two South Tyroleans - this time together with Thomas Bormolini and Thierry Chenal - almost repeated the surprise coup. They took second place. The venue then and now: The Rennsteig Arena in Oberhof.

The biathlon center in the Thuringian Forest has always been feared by athletes because of its difficult weather conditions. Why became clear once again on Sunday: in wind and thick fog, the ski hunters had to push themselves to the limit of their performance. Since the borderline conditions constantly fluctuated, the jury repeatedly considered an early termination.

World-class performance from Windisch

The biathletes from Italy had the best perspective for a long time: Thomas Bormolini had to go into the penalty loop once, but he handed over to Lukas Hofer in a promising position. The experienced Montaler then started a furious comeback, which Dominik Windisch finally continued. The Oberrasner offered an incredible, flawless performance at the shooting range and was the first to hand over to final runner Thierry Chenal with a lead of more than a minute. The inexperienced athlete from the Aosta Valley had more difficulties than his teammates before and finally had to let Sweden pass in the last shooting. However, Chenal secured second place and helped the Azzurri to a surprising podium finish.

The Swedish victory was similarly unexpected. In the end, Fredrik Lindstöm crossed the finish line with a lead of just over a minute. Third place went to Norway and their strong runner Tarjei Bø.

Result of the men's World Cup relay in Oberhof (GER):

1. Sweden 1:19.44,1 hours (1 penalty loop + 9 spares) Ponsiluoma, Nelin, Samuelsson, Lindström 2. Italy +1:10,8 minutes (2+11) Bormolini, Hofer, Windisch, Chenal 3. Norway +2:04,6 minutes Christiansen, L'Abee-Lund, Birkeland, Bø 4. Russia +2:32.1 (3+16) 5. France +2:41,3 (6+16) 6. Germany +3:40,0 7. Switzerland +4:13,8 (5+21) 8. Bulgaria +6:03,1 (5+15)

SN/Alexander Foppa

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Sensation in the fog: Azzurri climb onto the podium!

The Italian biathlon relay team, with the two South Tyroleans Lukas Hofer and Dominik Windisch, caused a big surprise at the end of the World Cup stage in Oberhof. At the end of a turbulent race that was on the verge of being canceled several times, she took second place behind Sweden.

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