Sophie Chauveau of France — “finally happy behind her rifle,” as she put it — and Sverre Dahlen Aspenes of Norway won the Sprint events at the IBU Cup in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

Chauveau had a flawless day on the shooting range, securing her first IBU Cup win of the season in 21:24.8. The last time she shot 10/10 was in a World Cup sprint in Hochfilzen last winter, but such is the depth of the French women’s team that she now finds herself searching for a small window of opportunity in the IBU Cup. Her teammate Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, with one miss in the standing, finished second, 22 seconds behind. It marked a fourth consecutive podium for the 20-year-old. Michela Carrara of Italy, still searching for elusive shooting form in the IBU Cup, had one miss and completed the podium, 21.1 seconds behind the winner.

Returning to the IBU Cup team for the first time this winter, Aspenes used his superb ski speed to neutralise one miss on the shooting range and win in 25:14.2. His teammate Vetle Paulsen, shooting 10/10, finished 8.7 seconds behind Aspenes to collect his first-ever IBU Cup podium. The same applied to 19-year-old Swede Philip Lindkvist-Floetten, who delivered a spotless 10/10 performance on the shooting range and rounded out the podium, 17.2 seconds behind the winner.

Photo: Harald Deubert: IBU Pool