With only two faults in total on shots, the French biathletes, very efficient on skis, left no chance to their competitors in the women’s 4×6 kilometer relay, in Antholz-Anterselva (Italy), Sunday January 22. Lou Jeanmonnot, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, Chloé Chevalier and Julia Simon achieved an ideal last stint before the world championships in Oberhof (Germany), from February 8 to 19, where they could again be aligned all four. Sweden and Germany complete the podium.
By pushing the Swedes to 45 seconds, the Blues offer victory with style. They were the best in shooting, with only two pickaxes, including one for Lou Jeanmonnot on the standing shot, who then put her teammates into orbit with a supersonic third lap on skis, to hand over to Anaïs Chevalier- Bouchet. The second torchbearer also needed a pickaxe ball, but her competitors did not fill up either, like the two faults by the Italian Dorothea Wierer on the lying shot, and the two faults of the German Sophia Schneider on the shooting standing.
The Frenchwoman therefore gave the relay with a thirty-second lead to her little sister, Chloé Chevalier, confident after her first World Cup podium in the sprint, earlier in the week in Antholz.
YES JULIAAAAAAAA ??? Julia Simon achieves a 10/10 and will go for the relay victory in Antholz! Follow the… https://t.co/iBK6MRlA8g
Clear shooting for Chloé Chevalier and Julia Simon
Unstoppable in shooting, Chloé Chevalier allowed the Bleues to stay in the lead while the Swede Hanna Oeberg came back very quickly on skis to reduce the gap to 12 seconds during the last handover, on which the French got scared in only touching. But well launched, Julia Simon, leader of the World Cup standings, was able to put pressure on her runner-up, Elvira Oeberg, who completely missed the last shot, with three pickaxe balls, while the Frenchman made a no- mistake.
The French won for the second time this season in the relay, after their victory in Hochfilzen in December, with the same team composition. They should therefore be aligned again together at the Worlds, where France will try to win its first world title in the women’s relay.