Biathlon: Braisaz wins the Oslo Mass Start and the Specialty Cup, Wierer twelfth

A spectacular last lap assigns the World Cup of the starting line that goes to the French because Linn Persson on the line steals the fourth place from her teammate Elvira Oeberg. Wierer, one step away from the crystal ball, everything is played to the last target.

Sunday 20 March 2022 5 minutes reading time

Last race of the season. the Mass Start in Oslo Holmenkollen is giving away the specialty World Cup with Dorothea Wierer who, at the start, must defend three points ahead of Elvira Oeberg, 21 over Justine Braisaz and 24 over Anais Chevalier even if, for math, they are competing at least seven biathletes in a season where Mars Roeiseland has already posted the general Cup and those of Sprint and Pursuit and Marketa Davidova the Individual specialty cup. The pace in the first lap is not too fast but for a couple of contacts Dorothea Wierer is in the belly of the group; the fastest and most error-free at the first shooting range are Julia Simon and Roeiseland who take a few seconds on Hauser, Wierer, Elvira Oeberg and the other biathlete who do not attend the penalty lap where Hanna Oeberg, anais Chevalier, Tiril Eckhoff find themselves, Denise Herrmann, Braisaz and Vittozzi. Mars Roeiseland stretches in the second lap while Wierer and Simon are unable to keep pace with the two Swedes, Hauser and Preuss while the German Voigt climbs up. In the second session, Hauser, Persson and Elvira Oeberg make no mistake, 5/5 also for Wierer at 5 seconds., Hildebrand at 12, Chloe Chevalier at 14, Hettich at 15. Roeiseland after the error is at 26 seconds while Eckhoff, Herrmann and Braisaz are at 46 seconds. Vittozzi (7/10 on land) is twenty-fifth at 1.16.3. Dorothea struggles to keep up with the rhythm of the leading trio dictated by Persson and the gap widens up to 16 seconds at the entrance of the first standing polygon; Hauser is not wrong, while Persson and Elvira Oeberg's error arrives- Wierer is not wrong who finds himself in second position at 16.6 from the Austrian, Roeiseland is four seconds behind, the two Swedes at 8 seconds in a group with Hettich, Preuss, Hildebrand and Tandrevold. The decisive act arrives at the last polygon after the Swedes, Preuss, Tandrevold, Braisaz and Herrmann take back Wierer in the fourth lap; almost all of them are wrong, Wierer on the last target, except Braisaz who finds himself in the lead with 5 seconds over Hauser, 8 over Hettich, 19 over Roeiseland, Wierer, Preuss and Elvira Oeberg. Three athletes play for the World Cup in the last lap: Braisaz (1-1-0-0) flies to victory in the race, the fifth in her career, which also earned her the specialty cup as Elvira Oeberg (0- 0-1-1) is only fifth at 13.7; fourth place would have been enough for the Swede but she is preceded by Preuss (0-1-0-1) at 7.8, Roeiseland (0-1-0-1) at 8.6 and burned on the line by teammate Persson (0-0 -1-1) who delivers the crystal ball to the French. Wierer gets up (0-0-0-1) who closes in twelfth position at 56.5 while Lisa Vittozzi (1-2-2-0) is twenty-third at 2.25.8.

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