Disappointment after horror start
Men’s team fails first biathlon relay of the season
From a Swiss perspective, the first World Cup relay race of the season in Kontiolahti (Fi) is one to forget. After a completely unsuccessful start, the Swiss Ski Team only ranked 18th.
Joscha Burkhalter gets a big deficit early on.
The sensational coup by Niklas Hartweg in the individual race on Tuesday was followed by a severe setback for the Swiss men’s team. In the first relay race of the World Cup winter in Kontiolahti (Fi), the Swiss Ski athletes clearly fell short of their own expectations over 4 x 7.5 km.
The Swiss hopes for a top 6 result were dashed very early on. As a starter, Joscha Burkhalter doesn’t get up to speed at all, has a lot of trouble at the shooting range and immediately gets a penalty loop.
In the meantime, Switzerland is in 20th and last place in the classification before Sebastian Stalder, Hartweg and Jeremy Finello are able to avert the initial meltdown. But it’s not enough for more than 18th place.
Victory goes to top favorite Norway. The Olympic champion team around the brothers Johannes Thingnes and Tarjei Bö relegated Germany and France to second and third place respectively. Sweden is only tenth after many mistakes at the shooting range. (mpe)