Biathlon World Cup – Oberhof
Women’s 4x6km relay:
The French biathletes triumphantly triumphed in Saturday’s 4×6 km relay as part of the 4th round of the World Cup in Oberhof.
The quartet consisting of Lou Jeanmonnotová, Oceane Michelonová, Justine Braisazová Bouchetová and Julia Simonová won with a lead of 53.7 seconds ahead of the Norwegians, the home Germans finished third (+1:28.4 min).
Slovak representatives Zuzana Remeňová, Anastasia Kuzminová, Mária Remeňová and Júlia Machyniaková figured in the second position in the second relay, but in the end they fell down the order and occupied the final twelfth place (+4:50.5).
In Oberhof, Paulína Bátovská Fialková and Ema Kapustová were missing, so coaches Kazár and Kamenský completely shuffled the Slovak lineup.
Kuzminová is in form, Machyniaková did not keep the pace
The third relay of the season was best started by the French women with Jeanmonnotová, who broke away from the rest of the starting field on the initial climb together with the Swede Anna Magnussonová.
On the layup, Magnusson had huge technical problems with the weapon and fell to the tail of the order, which Jeanmonnot took advantage of to build a 20-second lead over the Germans.
Selina Grotianová, however, headed for the penalty round after a disastrous stand, and the Norwegians jumped to the second place with a clear shooting Marthe Krakstad Johansenová. Jeanmonnotová passed Michelonová with more than eight seconds ahead of the Norwegians, the Italians were third.
The Slovaks were eighth with a deficit of only 34 seconds thanks to Zuzana Remeňová, who recovered twice in the lying position and only once in the standing position. Kuzminová continued her solid performance, set a high running pace and immediately jumped to third place.
She cleared all the targets on the first attempt in the layup and left the shooting range sensationally in second place with only a 17-second loss to the leader Michelonová, followed by Kuzminová and the Norwegians with Ingrid Landmark Tandrevoldová.
Kuzmin managed a standoff with two charges to stay in second place before the Norwegian went to the penalty box and picked up a 54-second deficit.
The most experienced Slovak representative handed over to Mária Remeňová in second place with a loss of half a minute to France, third were the Slovenians who overtook the Norwegians thanks to Anamarija Lampičová.
The leader Braisazová Bouchetová charged once in the layup, as did M. Remeňová, who thus kept a great position. She lost 46 seconds to the leading Frenchwoman, and 18 seconds to the third Polona Klemenčičová.
Braisazová Bouchetova constantly increased her lead and after flawless standing shooting, she already had a lead of a minute and a half. M. Remeňová had to recharge three times in the standing position and fell to fifth place behind the Germans, Norwegians and Slovenians.
She passed Machyniaková with less than two minutes to the leading French women, she lost 18 seconds to the fourth-placed Slovenian, and she had 27 seconds to spare on the sixth-placed American woman.
Simonová kept the lead without any problems, charging twice on a layup, while Franziska Preussová and Marek Kirkeeová shot cleanly and slightly missed the mark. Machyniaková kept Slovakia’s hopes alive in the prone shooting, when she whitewashed all the targets.
Margie Freedová from the USA hesitated and the Slovaks thus moved to fourth position. However, Machyniaková was not good enough for her competitors, the pursuers caught up with her on the track.
The Slovakian finisher hesitated three times in the standing position, falling to ninth place, and finally the Poles, Italians and Czechs also got ahead of her. Simonová managed to win easily, the Norwegians finished second, as Kirkeeide overtook Preussová.
Slovak women outside the top ten for the first time this season
“There was a lot of confusion in the first lap, the racers from behind wanted to be in the front, and the track is not so wide that we could go three abreast. Everything was sorted on the lay. The snow is fresh, it snows constantly and it took a lot of strength. It helped me that I could go with someone in every lap and we pulled,” Zuzana Remeňová told STVR.
Kuzminová led the Slovak relay in the second section: “First of all, we have to thank our service, which prepared the skis very well. I went well, I had a great appetite, which helped me in the stand, where I risked some wounds.
The conditions on the shooting range were difficult, the wind was swirling, even considering that I am very happy with the flawless lay. In relays, I can be beneficial for the Slovak team, and I am very happy about that.”
Mária Remeňová continued in the second position: “It was great, I tried not to notice it. I’m sorry for the standing position, because I lost positions and seconds there. After the third shot, I got out of rhythm, the wind started blowing stronger, I started swaying, I waited and then my legs froze. My lungs froze, so it was difficult for me to run.”
Machyniak’s task in the final section was to shoot well and lose as little as possible, but she was three minutes behind the best on the track: “The layup was good, on the stand I started to feel that I needed to work hard so as not to lose and I already had it in my head. I knew that the babies had a great start. I was in a difficult position that I’m not used to, I felt it and it affected my performance.”
