Wire-to-wire Sprint win for JT Boe

Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe, shot clean, putting his proven playbook of start fast and never slow down into play this afternoon for a 23:30.3 wire-to-wire Annecy Le Grand Bornand men’s sprint win. JT’s first win of the season came eight years and three days after his first-ever BMW IBU World Cup win, also in the Sylvie Becaert Stadium. Russia’s clean-shooting Eduard Latypov finished second, 7.2 seconds back. 2021 IBU Cup Total Score winner Filip Fjeld Andersen of Norway also shot clean for his first-ever podium in third place, 18.7 seconds back.

Annecy Le Grand Bornand Men's Sprint

“Really good” win After a frustrating season so far with just a single podium, third in the Oestersund sprint, JT called his win today, “Really good. I am very pleased with my performance. With an early bib number (12), I tried to set a good pace from the start. I was really happy with what I did on the shooting range. The total race went very well.”

“Trust your process”

JT added, regarding he held up during his slow start to the season. “You have to be realistic. You look at the results, seeing results not as good as before. You have to trust in your process that you will get back. That is what i have done and I am back again. Hopefully, it does not take too much time for the next victory but you never know, so I will celebrate this as good as I can.”

Huge crowd “means everything”

The huge crowd of boisterous fans were very important part of the day for the Norwegian. “It means everything. Coming to the stadium, I was ready for the race once I heard the sound. I missed it (the crowd) a lot. With no people, you are a little too tired and not so much adrenalin in your body. When you come here, you feel the energy and you want to give back, because they are here to cheer for us. We fight on the track for them.”

Quentin Fillon Maillet of France with one penalty finished fourth, 21.2 seconds back. Boe’s teammate Sturla Holm Laegreid, shot clean in fifth place, 24. 5 seconds back. Sixth place went to clean-shooting Belarusian Anton Smolski, 26.5 seconds back.

Fastest first loop

The men had just as great a day for their sprint as the women had yesterday: more blue cloudless skies, +3C and light shooting range winds, setting up a big battle for the podium. Latypov was the first of the contenders to clean prone, grabbing a very early lead. After skiing the fastest first loop, JT shot very conservatively, but clean three seconds faster than the Russian. Samuelsson like JT, shot conservatively but ended up with a single penalty, putting him at an immediate disadvantage. His fate was similar to many others like Fillon Maillet and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, where single penalty put them well of the leader’s pace. Only late starter number 59 Andersen and 62 Laegreid with clean stages seemed to have a chance for the podium after very fast clean prone stages.

Clean standing stages; podium battle

Latypov again shot very aggressively in standing, cleaning with ease. However, JT responded with an equally aggressive clean stage, leaving with a 11.7-second lead over Latypov. Smolski had another good shooting day, going 10-for-10, heading out for the 3.3 km loop in third, but was soon almost overtaken by Fillon Maillet, who, after a prone penalty, blew through standing, just 4 seconds slower than Smolski. Andersen after cleaning prone, skied a strong second loop, then was perfect again in standing, taking over third position for the moment until his teammate Laegreid quickly closed his five targets, going into the last loop, just 3 seconds slower than Latypov. The battle for the last podium spot would go to the fastest man in the last loop.

First win for JT

JT slowed a bit on the last loop but was never challenged sealing his first win of the season, 7.2 seconds faster than Latypov.

Andersen prevails; takes first BMW IBU World Cup podium

By the 8.2 km mark, Fillon Maillet was up to third position, but 27 seconds behind the leader JT. Fillon Maillet had a brilliant last loop, faster at each split, crossing the line in third, 14 seconds behind Latypov. The 22-year-old Andersen kept his pace high on the last loop and flew down in

to the stadium to take his first World Cup podium in third place, pushing Fillon Maillet to fourth.

“Unbelievable”

Andersen made it to the podium in just his seventh World Cup start, fulfilling a childhood dream. “I am not sure I am able to talk through this. It is unbelievable, It is a childhood dream to be on the podium and compete with an idol like Johannes Thingnes Boe. It is just really cool. Regarding making the podium, he added, “I know what I am capable of, we had a lot of training in the summer and autumn with the elite team. We matched them in some sessions. Today I felt good, from the first lap it was good and from there, it was just perfect!"

“One of best competitions in my life”

Latypov considered his second-ever podium one of his best days ever. “It was a very good day for me. I managed to shoot well, ski well; everything worked out and I could battle for the podium…I would say it was one of the best competitions in my life. I am very glad that I can show very stable results and hope that I can manage this over the whole season.” Photos: IBU/Manzoni, Thibaut

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