JT Boe Wire-to-Wire in Canmore Pursuit, wins Total Score

Starting with a 1-minute plus lead, JT Boe never relinquished the top spot in this afternoon’s Canmore Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit, going wire-to-wire in 34:38, despite three missed targets along the way. The victory gave the Yellow/Red Bib his first sprint/pursuit double of the season. JT added some drama along the way to his tenth win of the season, missing twice in prone that brought his pursuers within 20 seconds. He recovered his big lead with a clean first standing, missed one in the last stage, easing off in the last loop with victory and the World Cup Total Score title in hand.

“Toughest race of the season”

The victory assured JT’s fifth World Cup Total Score title as well as his third World Cup Pursuit Score, but it was a hard-fought battle. “It was the toughest race of the season. It was so warm and the snow was so wet; the skis were stuck. I was fighting alone in front, It was a mental game, thinking about ‘what if.’ On the shooting range, that is not a good thing, but I fought through it. Now the Yellow is secured.” Pausing with a sigh of relief, “It is so heavy to fight for it. No one knows unless you have done it. It’s quite a tough one.”

“Tarjei, thank you. It has been a great fight.”

On winning the big Crystal Globe over his brother Tarjei, he added, “This World Cup fight is the only one we’ve ever had in our career. It’s been a blast. It has been on my mind all year. I think this is the first thing I’ve won over him in mind games. So this one I put really high in my career…Tarjei, thank you. It has been a great fight with you!"

Samuelsson Sprints to Second Place

The battle for second and third came down to a last 100-meter sprint between Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson and France’s Eric Perrot. The Swede edged his rival for second place, 11.2 seconds back and Perrot at 11.6 seconds back; both with one penalty. Samuelsson’s podium today was his first individual top 3 since he finished second in the Hochfilzen Sprint in early December.

Perrot’s teammate Emilien Jacquelin, with four penalties, finished fourth for the second consecutive day, 33.5 seconds back. JT’s older brother Tarjei, with two penalties, finished fifth, 37.9 seconds back. Tommaso Giacomel of Italy, with four penalties finished sixth, 1:09.3 back.

Soft Snow; Missed Prone Shots

Sunshine and a very warm 14C softened the snow for the mid-afternoon competition. JT missed shots in both prone stages, dwindling his margin to 18 seconds over Jacquelin and Samuelsson.

Samuelsson and Perrot

The Norwegian star cleaned the first standing but missed a shot in the last standing, still securing victory. Perrot and Samuelsson cleaned the last standing, battling in the last 2.5 km until the Swede outsprinted his Perrot for second.