Lara Wagner of Austria and Sverre Dahlen Aspenes of Norway won the Mass Start 60 at the IBU Cup in Lake Placid, the last individual competition of the season. Gaetan Paturel won the men’s IBU Cup Total Score title. Amandine Mengin of France and Martin Nevland of Norway won the Mass Start Score titles.

Wagner’s premiere IBU Cup win

Wagner, after scoring her career-first IBU Cup podium in the Individual in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna earlier in the season, celebrated her first IBU Cup win despite missing just one shot, finishing in 32:21.1. Amandine Mengin of France, with 20/20, and leading after the last shooting, finished second, 9.7 seconds behind Wagner. Samuela Comola of Italy, with 19/20, rounded out the podium, 20.7 seconds behind the winner.

Mengin won the Mass Start Score title with 205 points. Paula Botet, who injured the calf that had troubled her in the past, finished 41st today, drained of energy, but was finally officially crowned the winner of the IBU Cup Total Score. Botet had practically secured the win in the first 13 competitions, despite missing two of those due to her World Cup appearance in Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand. Her three-in-a-row wins in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna were the best week of the season.

Aspenes seizes the day with a win

Aspenes, with 17/20, took the lead after the third shooting and won in 40:15.7. His teammate Martin Nevland, with two misses, finished second, 24.6 seconds behind, while Damien Levet of France, with one miss, was third, 35.6 seconds behind Aspenes.

Nevland won the Mass Start Score title with 240 points. Gaetan Paturel of France, sixth today, was crowned the IBU Cup Total Score champion with 955 points. Levet finished second with 897 points, and Antonin Guigonnat, also from France, was third with 743 points.

Photo: Federica Vanzetta / IBU Photo Pool