Germany Dominates Nove Mesto na Morave Men’s Relay

Philipp Nawrath of Germany anchored Germany to an unchallenged comfortable victory in this afternoon’s men’s 4 X 7.5 km relay at the Nove Mesto na Morave BMW IBU World Cup, finishing in 1:12:28.1, 1:21.7 ahead of second place Russia. Nawrath and teammates Erik Lesser, Benedikt Doll and Arnd Peiffer took control in the first leg and never looked back while shooting very well, using just five spare rounds in their first relay win of the season. Russia in second place had eight spare rounds. Norway after three penalties and nine spare rounds finished third, 1:33.2 back.

Nove Mesto na Moravě Men's 4 X 7.5 km Relay

Relay Globe to Norway

Despite their third place finish, Norway won their fourth consecutive Men’s World Cup Relay Score Globe, finishing with 228 points to 204 for runner-up Sweden.

Slovenia, with eight spares finished in a season best fourth place, 2:13.2 back. France with four penalties and nine spare rounds finished fifth, 2:14.7 back, while Austria with five spares finished sixth, 2:17 back.

Winter Day: Lesser Controls First Leg

The 24 men’s relay teams had winter-like conditions replacing the spring day that the women had for their relay yesterday. The -2C temperature made the tracks harder and faster while the wind on the shooting range was much stronger than any of the recent days. Sturla Holm Laegreid led the first loop and along with Lesser, shot fast and clean in the prone stage with the German leading the pack out for the second loop of the day. Despite the elevated wind, eleven teams went spare-free, with the top eleven all bunched within fourteen seconds. The wind took more control in standing as Lesser needed two spares to clean while his Norwegian rival went 5-for-5 to take over the lead by six seconds; only three teams got away with no spares. The veteran German battled back to his younger rival, eventually overpowering him on the uphill into the stadium to tag Doll four seconds ahead of Johannes Dale, followed by the home team Czech Republic and France at 6 and13 seconds back.

Doll Maintains Top Spot

Dale closed down the gap, sitting on Doll’s shoulder over the next 2.5 km. The German and Norwegian both cleaned prone with Doll faster, again opening up a small gap; Quentin Fillon Maillet needed a spare to get away in third position, but 23.9 seconds back. The speedy Doll doubled the gap on his Norwegian rival by the standing stage; one spare and he was gone. Dale, looking very tired slowed even more into the range, used all his spares and went to the penalty loop, moving Fillon Maillet into second and Austria’s Simon Eder up to third, with Jakov Fak and Dmytro Pidruchnyi just seconds behind. Doll continued to push the pace until tagging Peiffer 10 seconds before Simon Desthieux took over for France, with Ukraine, Slovenia and Austria in a tight pack, but 46 seconds back. Dale, continuing to struggle on the tracks tagged Tarjei Boe in eighth position, 1:01 back.

Peiffer Adds to Lead

Despite a shifting wind, Peiffer cleaned prone with authority and speed. Desthieux needed two spares to close his targets, falling 29 seconds back. Tarjei blew through his stage to move up to third, but still 56 seconds from the front. Peiffer used a spare round to clean standing but still dominated the stage, heading to the exchange with a 29 second gap on Desthieux who also used a single spare. Felix Leitner moved Austria up to third, but 1:25 back, while Norway fell out of contention when Tarjei struggled with the wind and ended up on the penalty loop. Peiffer continued to pad his lead up to the exchange with Nawrath, 36 seconds before Emilien Jacquelin took the tag for France, with Austria next at 1:39 back and Johannes Thingnes Boe leaving in fourth 1:52 back.

Peiffer’s Job

Peiffer said his job was to increase the gap on second place. “That was my job. (Coach) Mark Kirchner was on the tracks today; he told me to push as hard as you can on the last loop and gain some seconds. It is always hard against Simon Desthieux because he always has a good last lap. I knew I had to push really hard to get some seconds for Philipp. Thirty seconds is a good gap; five seconds in a relay is nothing!”

Four Penalties for Jacquelin

Nawrath used a spare round in prone and was gone before Jacquelin was to his mat. The IBU World Pursuit Champion missed shot after shot, clicking several times before going to the penalty loop for four tours, burying France’s podium quest. Johannes took advantage with five perfect shots to move into second but hopelessly 1:41 back with Russia now up to third. Nawrath shot five times, closing all five targets for the victory.

Johannes shot aggressively, ending up with a penalty while Eduard Latypov cleaned in five shots to go out second, with the Norwegian now 17 seconds behind his Russian rival.

Russia Second over Norway

The German anchor was in no hurry on the last loop, skiing conservatively, with no one in sight he pointed at his teammates as he crossed the finish line in victory. Latypov held off a charging Johannes for second place.

Good Relay for Russia

Russia’s leadoff leg, Said Karimulla Khalili thought today was a bit like the IBU World Championships. “It was like Pokljuka and I was ready for it. Today was interesting weather with the situation at the shooting range. It was a good relay and a good chance for us.”

Photos: IBU/Christian Manzoni