“I’ve been chasing for so long, I don’t even have words,” savored the Frenchman, after his victory in the Nove Mesto sprint, his first individual success.
Finally ! Frenchman Simon Desthieux won his first individual World Cup victory on Saturday in the Nove Mesto sprint in the Czech Republic. Desthieux, 29, was intractable in shooting (10 out of 10) to beat the Swede Sebastian Samuelson by 2 sec 4/10 and the German Arnd Peiffer by 4 sec 4/10, third. The Frenchman thus finally materializes in the World Cup, he who had so far managed to climb seven times on the podium, but without success. His titles to fame, Desthieux has won them above all by teams, as a member of a golden team of France, marked by the Olympic title in mixed relay in Pyeongchang 2018, and the world title with the men in 2020 in Antholz- Anterselva.
This success also marks a rich year 2021 for the native of Belley in the Ain on an individual level. He thus won on February 12 the silver medal in the sprint at the World Championships in Pokljuka (Slovenia). “We can call it the year of patience because between the medal on the Worlds and (…) today …”, he commented on the channel The team as victory took shape. “I’ve been chasing for so long, I don’t even have words. It was a difficult race, I was not very calm, I was wondering about my form and in the end, it’s nice. It is when I am in doubt that I leave great races. I made some very good shots, like during the Worlds, also with a correct level of form, and at the end of it it gives a good biathlon, complete ”, he underlined.
Johannes Thingnes Boe misses his target
The favorite and leader of the World Cup general, the Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Boe missed his target, with three faults that pushed him back to 11th place in the final, 38 seconds behind Desthieux, losing points compared to his rival and compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid (4th). Emilien Jacquelin, author of nightmarish shots during the relay (7 faults) on Friday, took 8th place in the race, just behind another Habs Quentin Fillon-Maillet (7th at 26.9 sec).
Among the women, and despite a shooting foul, it was the Norwegian Tiril Eckhoff who won the sprint ahead of the Ukrainian Yuliia Dzhima and the Italian Lisa Vitozzi. Eckhoff thus consolidates his place at the top of the general classification of the World Cup, especially as his main rival and compatriot, Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, took only seventh place in today’s event, and Sweden’s Hanna Oeberg, she completely cracked (36th). The first Frenchwoman, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet finished in 9th place, about thirty seconds behind Eckhoff. Sunday’s pursuit promises to be spectacular, however, since the first seven of the sprint are held in less than 20 seconds. The ladies’ pursuit is scheduled at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, followed by the men’s pursuit at 4:00 p.m.
