The double podium of Anaïs Bescond and Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet obtained on Saturday in the pursuit augured of a good relay for the tricolor clan. They did even better by clinching the first French victory of the season in Ostersund (Sweden) in the women’s relay, on the occasion of the second round of the World Cup, Sunday 5 December. Those who had not won a relay since January 19, 2019 were well ahead of Belarus and Sweden.
In an offensive strategy, the two Anaïs perfectly launched the tricolor relay on the rails of victory despite the freezing cold of Ostersund (- 13 ° C). “We have good skis again today”, greeted Anaïs Bescond at the microphone of La channel L’Equipe. The latter, the first torchbearer in the French camp, left only two balls on the way to pass the baton to Anaïs Chevalier with only 17 seconds behind the leader.
Already crowned with two individual podiums since the start of the season, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet has confirmed that she is the leader of this French team. It was she who put the Blue in the lead with a 10/10 shooting while many competitors cracked (Germany, Norway, Sweden, Italy).
Julia Simon and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet also provided
Even Julia Simon is in tune with her teammates despite her shooting difficulties since the start of the season. With only one miss behind the rifle, she took advantage of the mistakes of Belarusian Elena Kruchinkina to create a real gap.
Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, the last torchbearer, just had to finish the work started by her teammates. With more than a minute ahead of the rest of the pack at the handover, the victory lay in his ability to withstand the pressure. She didn’t crack. With only one target missed on the lying shot, Braisaz-Bouchet then released a masterful 5/5 on the standing shot. She could then display a big smile, the victory was recorded. The first one Marseillaise of the season was going to be able to resound in front of a noisy French public massed in the spans of Ostersund.