Johannes Thingnes Bø (29) had to dig terribly deep, but after a dramatic joint start he secured his ninth World Cup victory of the season.
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Out on the last round in venerable Ruhpolding in Germany had to Johannes Thingnes Bø hunt for leading Vetle Sjåstad Christiansenbut in the wild form the ironing is in, it was another victory.
– Trying to catch up with Vetle was not easy, but I took out the juice and what I had. It worked, says Thingnes Bø to TV 2.
– It tasted very good, and especially in a race like this. Even with three misses today, I walked away with the win. It is because of many wise choices along the way, he continues.
It was Thingnes Bø’s ninth win out of twelve possible in the World Cup this season, and his 61st overall in his career.
– What he is doing now is completely wild. Now he is playing with the competitors, says TV 2 expert Ole Einar Bjørndalen.
Sjåstad Christiansen took second place, while Sturla Holm Lægreid sprinted down Tarjei Bø in the battle for the last podium place.
– Only Vetle keeps up with him (Thingnes Bø), and he goes all out to get behind him. That only says a little about how raw physical form Johannes is now, Bjørndalen describes.
The program said joint start, but it didn’t look like that at the first shooting. Thingnes Bø and Sjåstad Christiansen had gained a gap of just ten seconds, but with a gap each they ended up a little behind in the line going into the second round.
Thingnes Bø used that round to get first into the second shooting, and when both he and Sjåstad Christiansen shot a full house there, the two Norwegians formed a trio in the lead together with French Fabien Claude.
The Frenchman shot away with two misses on the third shot, and when Thingnes Bø and Sjåstad Christiansen had to go out in a new round, it opened up for the pursuers.
Among them Tarjei Bø, who with his third full house went out in a narrow lead ahead of Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson, Thingnes Bø, the Lithuanian joker Vytautas Strolia and Sjåstad Christiansen.
Once again, Thingnes Bø proved superior in the track, and gained a small gap in the last shooting. The drama was complete when the ironing got a miss, at the same time Sjåstad Christiansen lowered the five flashes.
On the last lap it was thus the Geilo man who had a lead of 5.9 seconds down to Thingnes Bø, but it was brought in about halfway through the round.
Then Thingnes Bø broke his compatriot, and took the victory again.
