Denise Herrmann is more in focus than ever at the Biathlon World Cup. After Dahlmeier’s resignation, the pressure on them is immense. t-online.de columnist Uschi Disl doesn’t like that at all.
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Dear readers of t-online.de,
From Thursday, one of the highlights of the winter sports season is coming up in Antholz, Italy: the Biathlon World Cup, Unfortunately I will not be there this year, because I have very good memories of the picturesque village in South Tyrol. I made my World Cup breakthrough here in 1995. After one gold and three silver medals, I was even crowned “Queen of Antholz”. At over 1,600 meters Antholz is the highest World Cup station – and thanks to enthusiastic spectators and beautiful mountain panoramas it is also one of the most popular.
Laura Dahlmeier will not be there. After her resignation, she will be absent from a season highlight for the first time in seven years. Before the season, there was great skepticism about how the German team coped with the farewell of the model athlete. The answer is: reasonably good so far. After problems at the beginning of the season, Denise Herrmann especially had problems at the home World Cups in Oberhof and Ruhpolding and most recently with hers Individual victory in Pokljuka Exclamation mark. To be honest, her coup in Pokljuka came as a bit of a surprise to me. And for them, too.
Uschi Disl became an institution in the Biathlon World Cup between 1990 and 2006. With two gold, four silver and three bronze medals, she is one of the most successful German winter olympics. Today she lives with her family in Mora, Sweden, runs the ski wax manufacturer HWK there and is an ambassador for Viessmann.
The expectations before the World Cup are now higher than ever. After Denise won gold, silver and bronze at the 2019 title fights in Östersund, some observers expect real miracles from her. There is even the question: Can she – like Laura 2017 once – win five gold medals? My answer: No, with the best will in the world. At that time, Laura set a historical record that will probably last for a long time. Nevertheless Denise has all chances at this World Cup and can certainly get some podium places. But we shouldn’t put too much pressure on it. You should enjoy the World Cup, have fun – and then the medals come by themselves.
It is difficult for her to make specific forecasts. It was different with Laura or Magdalena Neuner, because they were extremely stable at the shooting range. Denise is far from that. She also misses three shots. However, this is not surprising when you consider that Laura and Magdalena have both been doing biathlon for over 15 years. Denise has only been there for four years and of course this is particularly noticeable when shooting. Nevertheless, she is an absolute shooting talent – even if it is sometimes shown differently in the reporting. After all, getting results like this after four years is simply impressive.
Eckhoff is right in the flow this year
In addition to Denise, I mainly rely on Franziska Preuß, who was recently thrown back by health problems. We talked longer in Ruhpolding. Then she said that she wasn’t feeling well and it wasn’t really going yet. I advised her: be relaxed, it will be fine. Then she did that, shot well and caused a stir with top results. If Franziska stays healthy now, I trust her to win a medal in the individual races at the World Cup. She’s got it.
However, the competition with Tiril Eckhoff, Hanna Öberg or Dorothea Wierer is very strong. Tiril in particular completely surprised me. And not just because she leads the World Cup. She has always been great on the cross-country trail, but now it is also on the shooting range. This year it’s really in the flow.
In 13 races: Martin Fourcade (r.) Has won five World Cup victories in the individual disciplines this season, Johannes Thingnes Bö has six successes. (Source: imago images)
Bö becomes the superstar of the World Cup
The men are all about the duel between Johannes Thingnes Bö and Martin Fourcade. With two exceptions, they have won all World Cup races. Martin is clearly ahead in the overall standings. However, this is because Johannes paused several races because of the birth of his son. Martin clearly dominated during this time, but immediately after Bö’s return, the dominance was quickly over. It looks like Martin has developed a gust complex. Somehow it’s stuck in his head that he hasn’t had a chance to beat his big competitor for weeks.
That’s why I guess that Bö will be the superstar of the World Cup. Unfortunately. Because, of course, I would also treat the Germans to it – in addition to Denise, including Benedikt Doll. He can keep up with Bö and Fourcade. If Benedikt also hits it, he can even beat both. He already showed that in his sprint victory in Le Grand Bornand. The problem: Benedikt is not a safe bank at the shooting range. Nevertheless, he is an absolute medal candidate.
Lesser was always a bank in the season
Just like Arnd Peiffer. Arnd always piles deep at the beginning of the season and holds back. In Ruhpolding I talked to his parents and they also say: “This is typical Arnd.” Before Christmas there is always a problem and suddenly the new year starts and it really starts. In the previous year, Arnd showed in detail where this can lead with WM Gold. That is exactly why I trust him very, very much at this World Cup.
Incidentally, this also applies to Johannes Kühn, who has established himself as number three in the German team. With him the balance between running and shooting is right. Thanks to its shape, you have to have the German men on the slip in the relay. France and Norway are likely to be hard to beat there. However, the German quartet comes behind it – possibly even with Erik Lesser. The veteran has weakened recently and will not start in the individual races, but I still think it is right that national coach Mark Kirchner nominated him.
Erik was always a bank in the season. So it wouldn’t surprise me if he was there this time too. And compared to his rivals Philipp Horn and Philipp Nawrath, who have never run a World Cup relay, he has plenty of experience in major events.
To a great world championship with exciting races,
Your Uschi Disl
In the t-online.de winter sports column, greats from biathlon, alpine skiing, bobsleigh, tobogganing or ski jumping alternately write about their sports.
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