Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Friday December 13, 2024 at 5:40 p.m.
After achieving his fourth career individual podium this Friday during the Hochfilzen sprint, Fabien Claude spoke about the difficulties encountered in the standing shot, which could have been costly.
This time, Fabien Claude did not miss the podium. Drowned among the Norwegians in a race dominated by Johannes Thingnes Boe, the native of Epinal took a good third place during the sprint contested this Friday in Hochfilzen. A fourth individual podium in his career which makes him “so happy”, he who had not experienced this feeling for four years. However, he admits to having trembled in the face of the Norwegian armada. “I'm happy that things changed for me today (Friday) because, when I was told that Endre Stroemsheim was back in front at the last intermediate time, I knew that I had a big finish, confided Fabien Claude to microphone the L’Equipe channel. He's also a big finisher, like Vebjoern Soerum. It changes for me in just a second and that's so much the better. » The biathlete from Basse-sur-le-Rupt also admitted that he was “a little fed up with fourth place”. A race which could have changed on the second and final pass facing the targets, in a standing position, during which he seemed hesitant. Candid, Fabien Claude does not hide the fact that “shooting is always hard” but was satisfied with his success, he who achieved a flawless performance during this sprint.
F.Claude: “It’s not a free shot”
“It’s rare that I refuel on a prone shot during a sprint,” he conceded. When I pass it, it's often a nine or ten out of ten. It’s a great goal every time. » Fabien Claude confided that once faced with the targets he tried “simply to aim at the target for once” but the challenge ended up catching up with him. “It’s true that after the third ball, I start to have thoughts,” summarized the Spinalien. I slow down a little on the fourth ball and barely get it up. I see she's passing. I believe the last one is also at the top. » Conceding that “it's not a free shot”, Fabien Claude specifies that “these are not balanced balls” and that he held on to obtain this flawless shot. “They're not great balls but I still held on to put them in and that made the difference,” he concluded. A great impression that will have to be confirmed this Saturday with a sprint for which he will start close to Johannes Thingnes Boe and Sturla Holm Laegreid, which could give him the appetite to seek a second podium in just 24 hours.
