Hohfilcene (Austria), Dec. 11, LETA. Latvia’s leading biathlete Andrejs Rastorgujevs made three mistakes in the first round of the ten-kilometer sprint distance in Austria in the third stage of the World Cup (PK) on Friday, as a result of which he took the 36th place, while the Norwegian Juhannes Dale won the first victory.
The winner of the competition was the Norwegian Dale, who had his first victory in the World Cup stages. He was unmistakable in both shooting ranges and measured ten kilometers in 23 minutes and 32.5 seconds. He was 17.1 seconds ahead of Frenchman Kenten Fillon Mayor, but another Frenchman, Fabian Claude, lost 29 seconds.
Immediately behind the podium was the Norwegian Juhann Tinggenes Bay, followed by Sebastian Samuelson from Sweden, and the sixth position was finished by Emilien Jacqueline from France.
Rastorgujev ranked 36th. The leading Latvian biathlete made three mistakes in the first shooting while lying down, as a result of which he made three penalty laps and lost to the leader for almost a minute and 27 seconds. In the second shooting range, Rastorgujev arrived in the 74th position, made no mistakes and left it in the 47th place, the leader losing a little more than a minute and a half.
By the ninth kilometer, Rastorguyev was able to climb to 37th place, but reached the finish, being in a higher position. Rastorgujev was the 15th fastest step in the distance.
Meanwhile, Edgars Mise, who took the first race this season, made no mistakes in any of the shooting ranges and finished in the record-high 72nd position. He lost two minutes and 46.4 seconds to the Norwegian.
Meanwhile, Roberts Slotiņš made a mistake three times in the first line of fire, but in the second he did not close two more goals and with a deficit of three minutes and 50 seconds he was ranked 95th among 107 biathletes who started.
The broom had the 71st fastest step in the distance, but Mass reached 100th place in this indicator.
Significantly, one of the leaders of the German national team, Arnd Peifer, did not start at this stage.
On Saturday there will be a 4×6 kilometer relay race for women and a 12.5 kilometer relay for men, and on Sunday – a ten kilometer relay race for women and a 4×7.5 kilometer relay race for men.
JT Bei is Norwegian with 151 points, leading 124 points for Dale, and Samuelson is third with 117 points. Rastorgujev has scored 23 points and is 39th
In the overall ranking of all disciplines, JT Bei is the leader with 253 points, followed by Samuelson with 215 points, while Sturl Holm Legreid from Norway and Frenchman Maye earned 177 points. Rastorgujev 52 points and 33rd position.
It has already been reported that Latvian biathlete Baiba Bendika took the 20th place in the sprint competition of the third stage of the World Cup (PK) in Hohfilzen on Friday, Sanita Buliņa took the 64th place, but the Belarusian athlete Dinara Alimbekova won her first victory in the PK competition.
Last year, Rastorgujev won the highest result in the sprint on the Czech track Nove Mesto, where he took the 22nd place. In the first stage of the World Cup this season, right in Kontiolahti, he ranked 23rd in the ten-kilometer sprint with two errors lying in the shooting range, but in the second stage he was ranked 42nd with the same “poodles”.
In 2018, the Aluksne resident Kontiolahti won silver in the sprint, which is still only one of the two podium honors in his career, reaching the other in the distance with a joint start.
Broom has achieved all his best results in the World Cup in sprint, ranking 71st in the 2015/2016 season in Khanty-Mansiysk. In the first stage he did not participate in the sprint, but in the second with two errors in the line of fire he took the 79th place.
Meanwhile, Misem’s first race this season was PK. He has sprinted three times in the last two seasons in the PK stages, finishing 83rd to 96th.
Last season, the Small Crystal Globe was won in the sprint discipline by Frenchman Martin Furkad, who said goodbye to biathlon. Norwegian Juhann Tinggnes Bä triumphed in the overall ranking of all disciplines.
The Latvian national team participated in an unusual composition in the first two stages.
It has already been reported that biathlete Baiba Bendika and the head coach of the national team Ilmārs Bricis, who did not participate in the first two stages of the World Cup, had positive tests at the Covid-19 training camp in Sweden.
Roberts Slotiņš, Annija Keita Sabule and Andrejs Rastorgujevs were the first to come to Kontiolahti. The athletes in Sweden – Aleksandrs Patrijuks, Sanita Buliņa and Edgars Mise – went home as a precaution, but in Finland juniors Rūdis Balodis, Renārs Birkentāls, Kirils Matjuhins and Ieva Pūce joined the team in the first stage of the World Cup. Intars Berkulis was the head coach of Kontiolahti in the first two stages.
Two World Cup stages will take place in Hohfilzen in December. Athletes will start the new year with two stages in Oberhof, but a stage in Antholc is planned. Pokļuka will host the world championship in February, followed by two stages in Nove Mesto, and the end of the season is scheduled for the second half of March in Oslo.
–
