World champion in the individual event, French biathlete Julia Simon, won the short individual race in Pokljuka. Meanwhile, the battle for the overall World Cup title remains thrilling. Germany’s Franziska Preuss, with a third-place finish, once again extended her lead over French Lou Jeanmonnot, who finished seventh.
Due to adverse weather conditions in Pokljuka, the organisers, in agreement with the International Biathlon Union, shortened the course from 15 km to 12.5 km by moving the race to a 2.5 km loop. The decisive moments of the shortened individual race unfolded in the second half.
After three shooting stages, Sweden’s Hanna Öberg and the French duo of Oceane Michelon and Julia Simon were in the best position, while Preuss was lurking behind. In the end, Simon and Preuss shot flawlessly, allowing the French to claim first place and her 15th career victory, while Preuss secured third position. Öberg missed one shot but remained fast enough on the skis to take second place.
Jeanmonnot once again displayed remarkable speed. Last week in Nove Mesto, after a strong series of performances, she narrowed the gap in the overall standings to just 36 points behind Preuss. However, after missing two targets today, the gap increased again to 60 points.
With her 11th podium of the season, Preuss gave herself the best birthday present for her 31st anniversary, which she celebrated on Tuesday in Pokljuka. She has worn the yellow bib of the overall leader since December 13 last year, and the German camp is hoping for their first overall World Cup winner since Laura Dahlmeier in 2017.
“The fight for the overall victory is, of course, a huge challenge, and it will likely remain so until the final race in Oslo. Today, I was able to breathe a little easier again. The most important thing was a clean shooting performance because the skiing was tough—I used up all my energy, and the final stretch to the finish line was truly a battle,” Preuss said after the race.
“I can only keep performing well. We are fighting for every single point,” Jeanmonnot added, looking ahead to the intense final showdown of the season.
Slovenians Leave Good Results on the Shooting Range
Slovenian athletes performed well but left potential better results on the shooting range. Polona Klemenčič was in contention for a top-20 finish for most of the race, but two shooting errors in the final stage pushed her down to 31st place, earning her 10 World Cup points.
“I may have missed one shot too many, especially the first prone shot—I should have taken another breath and prepared better. In the end, I started running out of energy and missed twice. But overall, it was a good race. My skis were excellent, so I can be satisfied,” said Klemenčič after the competition.
She also acknowledged the tremendous effort made by the Pokljuka organisers in preparing the course under challenging conditions. “A big thank you to the organisers and everyone who made this race possible, as well as to the fans. I’m really happy that so many of them showed up despite the forecast. It’s much easier to compete when you’re cheered on by home supporters,” she added.
Anamarija Lampič was unable to compensate for her seven missed shots on the skiing course. She gained ten positions in the final lap but still finished 48th—far from her expectations. Lena Repinc, with five missed shots, and Živa Klemenčič, with six, finished in 68th and 75th place, respectively.
“I’m glad that, given the circumstances, we even managed to hold this race. Everyone who completed the course should be happy. But what really surprised me was the number of fans—there were so many of them, and every bit of support means a lot to us. The race was tough, but in this atmosphere, at home in Pokljuka, it was amazing,” said Lampič, first directing her thoughts to the supporters.
“The service team did an outstanding job. I shot really well in prone, just as I do in training, but in standing, I just can’t seem to hit my target. The more I try, the more I wait, and sometimes it turns out even worse than it could be. That’s just how it is, but no missed target and no comment will bring me down. I have to keep pushing forward—I know where there is room for improvement,” she added.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s mass start race, Lampič noted that it would be easier to recover from a missed shot in the penalty loop than dealing with today’s 45-second time penalty.
At 15:15, the men’s short individual race over 15 km will take place.
