Franziska Preuss did not win the Ruhpolding mass start this Sunday, but the German public celebrated her second place as if she had; because the German signed a final thunderous loop, and because she took advantage of the late and fatal drop in speed for Lou Jeanmonnot (9th) to further widen her lead at the top of the general classification. The French team can still smile: its young protégé Jeanne Richard gleaned her first career podium, and what a podium, behind the untouchable Elvira Oeberg and the indestructible Franziska Preuss.
Oeberg en furie, Preuss au finish
There are only 2 of them who did not miss a target in Bavaria on Sunday: Elvira Oeberg and Jeanne Richard. The Swede remained in the lead car on skis throughout the race, and kept a high tempo on the shooting range to drop off all her opponents one by one. Seeing her in the lead is not a surprise given the race she led.
Eighth, Lou Jeanmonnot will surely say to herself that she should have accompanied him on the podium, in front or behind it doesn’t matter. The Frenchwoman, who smelled the right move after Preuss’s mistake in the second prone, held the right end and seemed in good shape on the skis. In the leading group until the last shot, she cracked under pressure and made two mistakes which propelled her to the bottom of the top 10, when her direct competitor signed a final impressive loop both with rifle in hand and on the back.
-Richard, only blue light
Back on the spatulas for three quarters of the mass start, Preuss pressed the accelerator in the last portion. And it was Jeanne Richard, as efficient as Wierer, Jeanmonnot and Oeberg on the first 3 shots but a little below on skis, who offered her an exciting mano a mano for second place. With this first podium in the World Cup, it was from her that the light came on the French side this Sunday, since the 41 points returned by Jeanmonnot to Preuss in the general classification were added to the ordeals of Julia Simon (26th, 7 faults) and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (29th, 8 faults).
The young Frenchwoman should steal the blue bib for best youngster from her partner Océane Michelon (8th) after this superb result, which had already slipped under her nose in Grand-Bornand. They were the ones who held the house this afternoon for the last race under the Bavarian sun, where Lou Jeanmonnot, to a lesser extent, Julia Simon and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet failed. Anterselva’s ordeal comes quickly; these three will have the opportunity to relaunch themselves on Thursday.
