Antholz 15 km Individual to Justine Braisaz-Bouchet

France’s Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, with a single penalty on the day, fought a seesaw battle with her teammate Julia Simon for much of the Antholz women’s 15 km individual before taking the lead after the last standing stage and cruising to a 42:20.6 victory. The win marked her first time atop the podium since taking the December 2019 Oestersund 15 km individual. Simon with two penalties finished second, 51.1 seconds back. Sweden’s Mona Brorsson, with two penalties finished in a career-best third place, 1:37.2 back.

BMW IBU World Cup Antholz Women's 15 km Individual

Patient on the range

The winner had an all-around good day, strong on the tracks and an excellent day on the range in windy conditions, which she attributed simply to patience.. “It is really good to be back on the podium two weeks before the Olympic Games in the individual here in Antholz. It is pretty tough because of the altitude, but I was really patient on the (shooting) mat with the windy conditions and the emotion on the last shooting especially. I am really happy with the race today.” As for the rest of her day, she added that her plan was, “eating and sleeping; that is the program for tonight!”

“My way to shoot”

Braisaz-Bouchet admitted that she recently refound her shooting touch that was critical today. “The plan from the start of the season was to perform (well) in each of the races. I was disappointed with myself and my shooting after Oberhof. It was really tough in my mind. In Ruhpolding I started to take the right way to shoot and my way to shoot.”

Clare Egan of the USA, also with two penalties had the second-best day of her career in fourth place, 1:55.9 back. Local favorite Dorothea Wierer, with three penalties, finished fifth, 1:58.8 back, while Marketa Davidova of Czech Republic, with three penalties, finished sixth, 2:34.6 back. Davidova’s sixth place secured the seasonal Women’s Individual Score Crystal Globe.

Sunshine; Simon in the lead

The 97 women in the 15 km had just another normal day in Antholz: sunny, +4 and that pesky wind coming up the valley, complicating shooting as it did in the men’s 20 km yesterday when only the winner Anton Babikov shot clean. The afternoon opened with the first five starters all shooting clean in the first prone stage, led by Julia Simon and Katherina Innerhofer. Wierer came to the range a bit slower than the top two, but shot typically fast, leaving 2.4 seconds off the lead. IBU 15 km individual World Champion Davidova also cleaned but was 11.5 seconds back. Braisaz-Bouchet was as on target as her teammate, also cleaning but 8 seconds faster.

Wierer moves up

However, Simon again was on target in the first standing stage, going to 10-for-10. Wierer picked up the pace a bit on the tracks, then closed all five of her standing targets to move 3 seconds ahead of Simon. Braisaz-Bouchet matched Wierer, leaving the stadium with a 3-second lead over the Italian. Davidova remained perfect and in the podium hunt with five more solid shots, but 23 seconds back.

French Duo

Simon’s first penalty of the day came in the second prone stage, but she remained in the lead after Wierer missed twice, falling 56 seconds back. Davidova, skiing well, had a single penalty in her second prone but moved up to second behind Simon. Egan after a penalty in the first standing, cleaned to move into the top five. Braisaz-Bouchet like many of her rivals had a penalty but moved solidly into second position, a mere 1.8 seconds behind her teammate Simon. After two penalty-free stages, Brorsson missed her last shot but jumped into third position, 23 seconds behind the French duo.

Braisaz leapfrogs into the lead

Simon missed one more time in the last standing stage and Wierer did the same, going out 1-2 but with 58 seconds separating them. However, Egan also with one additional penalty got into the top group, four second in front of the Wierer. Shooting in the shadow, Davidova’s two penalties dropped her from podium contention. Braisaz-Bouchet cleaned her last standing stage to leapfrog Simon and headed out on the last 3 km loop with a one-minute lead. Number 34 Brorsson missed a shot like many of her rivals but jumped into third position behind the two French teammates after the last standing stage.

Brorsson’s first podium

With Simon already at the finish, her leading teammate Braisaz-Bouchet slowed a bit on the last loop but finished strong, crossing the line with a fist pump, signifying her second podium of the season and her first win since taking the Oestersund 15 km individual in 2019. Brorsson had a very stable last loop, gaining single second in the last 3 km on her rivals, to grab the first podium of her career in third place behind the French duo.

Brorsson: “to have this race up here was amazing”

Brorsson was over the moon with her day and particularly her shooting. “I am so, so happy with this race. I was not expecting this. Normally I have been struggling a lot with this high altitude. So, to have this race up here was amazing. Of course, really happy to manage my shooting because especially my standing shooting has been a bit of a struggle this year. Just to manage it really well was very important.”

Shooting Crucial for Simon

Simon’s shooting was key to her first-ever podium in an individual competition. “I am quite happy because my shooting was quit good. I feel in shape on my skis so it was a good race for me.” As for her success so far this season, it is all about the shooting. “I think it is my shooting. I need to shoot clean to fight with the strong girls. I need to continue to work on my shooting to be more regular on the shooting range. I am not so bad on skis, but I need to shoot clean before thinking of the skis.”

Photos: IBU/Thibaut

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