Norway’s Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, as he did last week in Oestersund, anchored his team to a dominant win in this afternoon’s Hochfilzen Men’s 4 X 7.5 km Relay. Third leg Sturla Holm Laegreid took the lead from France, pulling to a 53-second margin over their rivals while Christiansen sealed the 1:11:54.8 win with 10-for-10 shooting. Christiansen, Laegreid and teammates Johannes Dale-Skjevdal and Johan-Olav Botn only used three spares to claim their second relay win of the new season.

“I decided hit before time; it worked out”

After the Boe brethren's retirements, Norway’s depth continues to make them virtually unstoppable in relays, as Christiansen attested, but also admitted he used some strategy to guarantee the win. “Imagine how it could be with the Boe brothers. We could have two really, really good teams. Still, we know even if we are the strongest team on paper, everything can happen in a relay. I’ve showed that both on the positive and negative side, so you need to keep that focus. It’s not easy to be before the best and fastest shooter Eric. So, I decided to hit before time and took a couple of extra breaths before the two last shots. It worked out today again.”

“Sturla…We have to thank him for the victory”

Christiansen credited Laegreid with setting up the victory. “I told Sturla, ‘me against Eric, I need that extra minute.’ Sturla did an amazing job today, He knew Quentin (Fillon Maillet) was a bit tired after the pursuit yesterday; his legs were not so good. I think Sturla took advantage of that and we have to thank him for the victory today.”

France with eight spares finished second, 43.1 seconds back. Sweden, mired in 20th place after the first leg, battled their way back on the backs of third leg Martin Ponsiluoma and anchor Sebastian Samuelsson to finish third, with nine spares, 1:05,7 back.

The USA, with seven spares finished fourth, 1:14.5 back, one of their best relays ever, second only to their sole podium at Ruhpolding in 1988. Germany, with a penalty and eleven spares finished fifth, 1:20 back, while Italy with a penalty and eight spares finished sixth, 2:57.4 back.

Norway and France

Today matched the last two days: sunshine, big crowds, and windless. After the typical first leg shakeout, Dale-Skjevdal tagged Botn a second in front of Emilien Jacquelin, with Sweden lagging behind in 16th.

Jacquelin and Botn battled in the second leg, eventually tagging Fillon Maillet and Laegreid side-by-side. Italy, Germany and the USA trailed, 1:08 back. Laegreid skiing quickly cleaned prone, 20 seconds up on Fillon Maillet. Laegreid’s standing spare was a bump in the road as the lead increased to 53 seconds as he tagged Christiansen. Perrot followed, with Germany, USA, Czechia and Sweden battling for third.

Samuelsson Jumps to Third

Christiansen and Perrot both cleaned prone easily, but Perrot remained 43 seconds back. Sebastian Samuelsson used a spare in prone, moving to 4th. Christiansen cooly cleaned standing, ensuring the victory. Samuelsson cleaned standing in five shots, leaping past Germany and USA.

Photos: IBU/Walter, Nordic Focus