The Norwegian Martin Uldal won the first race of his career in the Grand-Bornand sprint. With a flawless performance behind the rifle, he is one second ahead of his compatriot Johannes Boe (9/10) and ten seconds ahead of the Swede Sebastian Samuelson (9/10). The French must be content with three places in the top 10 for Eric Perrot (10/10), 7th at 41 seconds from the winner, Emilien Jacquelin (8/10), 8th at 44 seconds, and Quentin Fillon Maillet, at 49 seconds ( 9/10).
The pouring rain did not discourage the 20,000 spectators in the stands and around the Grand-Bornand track. Watered but happy, like the first Frenchman Eric Perrot, smiling despite a 7th place with a flawless shot. “I managed to put together what I wanted. It’s a good challenge to achieve so I’m happy with that. I’m happy with the fight I had on the track and on the shots but there’s something missing a bit of skiing to get the front places It’s part of the biathlon but there remains the satisfaction of the great challenge that I took on.
Same relief to have passed this sprint that he feared for Emilien Jacquelin. “The most complicated sprint of the year! There is a ball on each shot that escapes me, but frankly I take this sprint here in Grand-Bornand, I am placed for the chase, physically everything is there. After the rain arrived at the end of the race so that had a bit of a impact on the last lap. Of course it’s not the best race but it’s far from disappointing.
“Magical moments” with the public
French people who seemed to be behind on skis. As evidenced by the 8th time only for Emilien Jacquelin, 31 seconds behind Johannes Boe. “In the last two sprints, I was roughly at the level of Samuelson and Johannes Boe,” analyzes Jacquelin on the spot. “There we see that I’m wasting time and overall it’s the same thing for all French people. We’re a little step behind our standards. It’s always tricky to talk about that because we’re waiting to be cold. to analyze. But even the head of the technicians Greg (Deschamps) is in the arrival area and we are debriefing on it. Overall we can’t say that we had bad skis but we didn’t do it. of “coup” and I think that the Germans, the Norwegians and the Swedes were sliding a little better But it’s a fact and we are a team. It’s not an exact science, especially in conditions like these. It’s a shame. because we’re at home but it’s part of biathlon group life.”
Eric Perrot still praised the atmosphere of the spectators despite the downpours of water which fell on the public during a large part of the morning and the race. “Enjoying it is a big word because it’s physically hard on the track. But during the warm-up and in the starting gate I experienced magical moments and I like to greet the public because they are unforgettable moments.”
The first three French people of the day will be placed for the pursuit on Saturday with a start at 41 seconds for Eric Perrot, at 44 seconds for Emilien Jacquelin and at 49 seconds for Quentin Fillon-Maillet. “It promises a great pursuit,” assures the double world champion of the event Emilien Jacquelin. “Last week I started a little further than that, and with a podium finish of less than 30 seconds, I know everything is doable.”
The other Tricolores are a little further away. Fabien Claude, who finishes 25th (8/10) this Thursday, will start 1’23 behind, Antonin Guigonnat 27th (8/10) with 1’25 and Emilien Claude 37th (7/10) with 1’36.
Julien Richard in Grand-Bornand
