France won both the Mixed Relay and the Single Mixed Relay at the IBU Cup in Sjusjoen, Norway. Austria finished second in both races.

Galmace-Paulin makes a difference for France

With Jeanne Richard joining her IBU Cup teammates in Sjusjoen in search of competitive form, the already overpowering French women’s team grew even stronger. Unsurprisingly, France (D. Levet, G. Paturel, V. Galmace-Paulin, J. Richard) won the Mixed Relay in 1:07:56.6, using only spare rounds. Austria (F. Muehlbacher, M. Oberhauser, L. Osl, L. Rothschopf) finished second, 14.7 seconds behind, with Germany (S. Rees, S. Kaiser, H. Kebinger, M. Braun) third, 34.3 seconds back.

Mengin out skis Zdouc for another French win

With Austria in the lead after Exchange 3, it came down to Dunja Zdouc, Amandine Mengin and Sara Andersson to decide the winner of a tightly contested Single Mixed Relay. Mengin opted for a fast shooting cadence on the final leg, a move that proved decisive. France (T. Guiraud-Poillot, A. Mengin), using four spare rounds, won in 41:07.5. Austria (L. Haslinger, D. Zdouc), with seven reloads, finished second, 20.9 seconds back. Sweden (O. Andersson, S. Andersson), with 2+13, completed the podium, 48.7 seconds behind the winners.

Photo: M. Nordnes / IBU Photo Pool