Guigonnat and Frey take Pursuits in Martell

Gillone Guigonnat of France and Isak Frey of Norway are the Pursuit winners on a snowy day in Martell.

Guigonnat won for the second time in the IBU Cup. For Frey it was a career-first Sprint - Pursuit double.

A perfect day for Guigonnat

After spending Trimester 1 in the French World Cup squad, Guigonnat returned to the IBU Cup in Martell-Val Martello and had a perfect day on the shooting range in the Pursuit, winning in 36:09.0. Anna Andexer of Austria, last season's Junior Cup Total Score winner, with 17/20, finished second, 34 seconds behind Guigonnat. Seventeenth after the Sprint, Johanna Puff of Germany, with two misses, rounded the podium in third place, 55.4 seconds behind the winner.

The Winner's Words - Gillone Guigonnat

I am very pleased with my performance and the win. I got C-19 in the middle of December and had to take time off. The shape is coming back and I am looking forward to next week.

Watch Women's Pursuit Highlights here

Lea Rothschopf of Austria, with 18/20, finished fourth, 1:18.6 behind the winner. Ida Lien of Norway missed four shots and finished fifth, one second behind Rothschopf. Maya Cloetens of Belgium, with 18/20, completed the Flower ceremony, 1:20.1 behind Guigonnat.

Jenny Enodd has 18 points advantage on Julia Tannheimer atop the Total Score standings.

Sprint-Pursuit double for Frey

Earlier in the day, Isak Frey of Norway, doubling down on his Sprint win, triumphed in the Men’s Pursuit in Martell-Val Martello. Frey also finished third in the Short Individual, for three podiums in Martell-Val Martello.

Frey kept his focused sharp on all four shooting stages and won in 36:07.5. Vebjoern Soerum of Norway, attacking from the fifth position after the Sprint, missed one shot in the last standing stage and finished second, 16.5 seconds behind Frey. Danilo Riethmueller of Germany, with 17/20, finished in third place, 32.9 behind the winner.

The Winner's Words - Isak Frey

It was almost a perfect race for me. I worked with Mats for the first half of the race. When Mats missed, Vebjoern closed the gap, and we came together to the last shooting stage. When I saw that he missed, I took an additional breath and executed my shooting. I scored two wins and a podium, the best week of my career so far.

Watch Men's Pursuit Highlights here

Mats Oeverby, with 16/20, finished fourth, 1:23.9 behind his teammate Frey. Germany's David Zobel, with 18/20, finished in fifth place, 1:36.5 behind Frey. Lukas Fratzscher, shooting 19/20, brought Germany a third Flower ceremony finish, finishing sixth, 1:42.2 behind the winner.

Johan Olav Botn remains the Total Score leader before the IBU Cup continues in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna next week.