Sweden’s leadoff leg Linn Gestblom’s speedy disposal of her standing targets put her team on top in the Kontiolahti Women’s 4 X 6 km Relay and from that point, her teammates never surrendered the lead in a runaway 1:09:33.2 victory. Gestblom, Anna Magnusson, Hanna and Elvira Oeberg used four spares in their second World Cup Relay win of the season. The victory was not enough to secure the Relay Score Globe which went to France.

“My ninth podium in a row”

Elvira closed out a very successful week, crossing the finish line first for the second time in addition to her second in yesterday’s Mass Start. “It feels so great. I have quite a streak going on here in Kontiolahti; this is like my ninth podium in a row! It’s super fun to do it together with the girls today.”

Hanna is “so good on the shooting range”

She praised Hanna’s 10 virtually all dead-center shots that extended the lead significantly. “I am really impressed by Hanna’s leg today. When she is on that mood, she is so, so good on the shooting range. It was really impressive. I lost a bit of focus on my last two shots, but otherwise I am happy with my skiing. We had amazing skis today, so happy to be able to step on top again.”

“Maybe it’s something in the water!”

As for why she is so good at this Finnish venue, “I don’t know, maybe it’s something in the water! The track suits me really well. It feels a bit like home as well, even though we are quite far from Oestersund. A lot of things are quite similar. I’m in a good mood here; I just like it here!”

The French squad used six spares in second, 42.6 seconds back. Norway with a penalty and ten spares finished third, 1:06.8 back, moving up from fourth when Maren Kirkeeide cleaned her standing stage ahead of Czechia’s Tereza Vinklarkova.

Czechia, with eight spares, finished fourth, 1:30.6 back. Poland with their best Women’s Relay result in eight years was fifth, 1:54 back with nine spares. Switzerland finished sixth, with eight spares, 1:59 back.

Gestblom Sets the Table

A little less sunshine today and light shooting range winds set the stage for this week’s two final competitions. Camille Bened led the pack out of prone after cleaning along with 8 of the top 9 teams matching. Gestblom cleaned standing and left first, setting the table for the Swedish win, tagging Magnusson ahead of their French rivals.

Hanna Pulls Away

Magnusson used a single spare in her ten shots, tagging third leg Hanna first with Oceane Michelon a step behind. The French team never got closer. Hanna hit all ten shots in the small prone circle, skied powerfully, tagging Elvira 30 seconds before Julia Simon. Elvira used a spare in prone and two in standing, but Simon despite shooting fast never closed the gap, holding second as Elvira skied to victory.

Photos: IBU/Christian Manzoni, Yevenko, Nordic Focus