Annecy Le Grand Bornand Sprint win for Olsbu Roeiseland

Norway’s Marte Olsbu Roeiseland shot clean and skied the last loop with her typical fast tempo to win the Annecy Le Grand Bornand women’s 7.5 km sprint this afternoon in 20:22. Today’s victory was the Yellow Bib’s third win of the season but her first in a sprint. Local hero Anais Bescond of France also shot clean in second place, 15.4 seconds back. Sweden’s Elvira Oeberg, with two prone penalties, came back with a clean standing stage and a furious last loop to finish third, 16.1 seconds back.

Annecy Le Grand Bornand Women's 7.5 km Sprint

Biathlon Perfection

Olsbu Roeiseland smiled ear-to-ear at the finish line, describing her day in the French Alps. “I am so happy about my race today. It was almost a perfect biathlon race. My shooting was really good…I was really focused and I hit ten targets… I am so happy to be on top today…I think my biathlon race was pretty good.” She explained her success this season. “Last year was a bit tough for me but I learned so much. This year I decided to just enjoy every race, just do my best and not think about the results. Today I was not thinking about anything: racing Yellow or thinking I could win; just enjoying the people out there. It was so fun to race. That was my focus.” “I enjoy every second racing here” Regarding the stadium and tracks filled with loud boisterous fans, the Norwegian star added, “It is unbelievable; so many people here and I think it will be even more on the weekend. I cannot hear what you are saying because they are so loud. I enjoyed every second racing here!”

Fourth place went to Austrian Lisa Theresa Hauser, also shooting clean, 24.5 seconds back. Russia’s Kristina Reztsova, with one penalty finished fifth, 26.7 seconds back, with Belarusian Dzinara Alimbekava, also with one penalty, in sixth place, 34.7 seconds back.

Perfect day with big crowds

Beautiful clear blue skies with a moderate +3C temperature and a light breeze on the shooting range combined for a perfect first competition day. Huge crowds packed the tribunes, with even more along the tracks, in some places tightly packed two or three deep. Eckhoff kicked off her day at the site of her first BMW IBU World Cup win with a confident clean prone stage, but a standing penalty kept her from the podium. Hauser and Bescond followed with perfect stages, just a couple of seconds slower. The home team continued with good prone shooting as Chevalier-Bouchet cleaned very quickly to move into the prone lead, with Alimbekava doing the same, 2 seconds back. Olsbu Roeiseland starting with number 32 was perfect on the range, leaving just 5.9 seconds slower than the French leader, with late starter Dorothea Wierer cleaning later for the second-fastest prone stage time.

Olsbu Roeiseland flies through standing stage

Tiril Eckhoff missed a standing shot but Hauser and then Bescond again cleaned with authority, with the French veteran leaving in the top spot to the delight of the French fans packing the stadium. Elvira after two missed prone shots, closed her standing targets quickly to leave just 19 seconds behind Bescond. Olsbu Roeiseland picked up the pace on the second loop, coming to her standing stage just .8 seconds behind Alimbekava. However, the Norwegian flew through her standing stage with each shot faster than the last, giving her a 14-second gap on the field.

Elvira skis to third

Hauser skied very powerfully on the last loop, but just behind her, Bescond was on fire, sprinting home and into first position, 3.7 seconds faster than the Austrian. However, the powerful Elvira again proved to be the spoiler, flying around the last 2.5 km, she moved ahead of Hauser.

Followed the plan

The 22-year-old rising star remained confident in her ability after a less-than-great start today. “It was not perfect shooting for me today. Two mistakes I am not really satisfied with, but I am super happy with my skiing. I think I planned the race in a very good way. I managed to follow the plan, to not go too fast in the beginning to do a good standing shooting and do a good final lap…I know I do not have to do a perfect race to manage a good result. To know that gives me a lot of confidence and a bit of a calm…”

Yellow Bib extends lead; takes first sprint of season

The Yellow Bib was not to be denied on the last loop, taking the lead just after leaving the stadium; with 500 meters to go, she had a 17.5 second lead over Bescond stretching it to 15.4 seconds at the finish line for her first sprint title of the 2021/22 season.

Bescond anxious about crowd

Bescond, despite a light cold had her second podium of the season after not having an individual podium in over two years. The huge home crowd spurred her on but was also a worry. “Yesterday I was a little anxious about the crowd. I know the people can be really loud. Sometimes that can disturb you a little bit…but I am the kind of person that takes it in good spirit and positive energy. Even during the warm-up when I had a so-so feeling because of the cold, I really appreciated all of the people and that was really positive for me…I was really happy after my last bullet and just tried very hard and finish as fast as possible.”

Photos: IBU/ Manzoni, Thibaut

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