Starting in fourth position, 22 seconds from the lead, after the sprint contested on Friday which determines the order and the starting gaps of the pursuit, the biathlete from Pontarlier disgusted the competition over the 10 km of the first pursuit of the season.
“I had very good skis and very good feelings, I remained +focused+ on what I was doing, not on what the others were doing,” she said to explain the sixth victory of her career on the world circuit.
“It was a perfect race as it rarely happens to me,” admitted the 2024 world relay champion, winner of the first race of the winter in Kontiolahti (Finland).
Thanks to her flawless performance behind the rifle (20/20), Jeanmonnot, 26, relegated her first pursuer, the German Vanessa Voigt, to more than 33 seconds (0 penalties).
Franziska Preuss, winner of the sprint the day before and leader of the general classification of the World Cup, exploded during her third shooting session (two penalties) when she felt the Frenchwoman getting back on her skis.
As a result, Preuss had to settle for 3rd place, at 35 sec 3/10 (3 penalties).
The other big names on the circuit could only see the damage: the Swede Elvira Oeberg crossed the line in 8th position, the Norwegian Karoline Knotten in 10th, while the French Julia Simon, reigning world champion in the specialty but only 17th in the sprint on Friday, got back on track by finishing 6th.
– “First the yellow bib” –
Her compatriot Gilonne Guigonnat, who started in 32nd position, ranked 9th at 1 min 20 sec 1/10 (a penalty) after a good comeback.
In the general classification, Jeanmonnot is, with her 296 points, now on the heels of Preuss (325 pts), but she is not getting carried away.
“The globe (of world No.1), I am absolutely not thinking about it, I am first aiming for the yellow jersey before thinking about the globe,” she insisted.
“There are plenty of contenders for the big globe, we will say that I am one of those who started the season well,” nuanced the Jurassian.
Jeanmonnot, like the entire French team, will experience a first highlight next week, with the French stage of Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie), from December 19 to 22.
“We look forward to these races, in terms of emotion there is nothing more intense, it gives a lot of energy,” she said.
In the meantime, the women's team, which has placed a representative on the podium in four of the five individual races contested so far, has one more relay on its program in Hochfilzen on Sunday.
Before its relay also scheduled for Sunday, the French men's team will try to imitate Jeanmonnot in the pursuit scheduled for Saturday at 2:30 p.m., with Fabien Claude who will start in 3rd position.
