The French duo of Eric Perrot and Quentin Fillon Maillet secured the top two spots in the men’s Mass Start BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon Pokljuka 2025. The winner was decided between the two of them, as they had built up a sufficient lead before the final lap, leaving their competitors to fight for the lowest podium position.
Norwegian Sturla Holm Laegreid, the current World Cup leader, finished third. Heading into the World Cup Final in Oslo, he now holds a 104-point lead over his only challenger, compatriot Johannes Thingnes Bø, who missed the race due to illness and returned home early.
The only Slovenian competitor, Jakov Fak, finished in 19th place. The Slovenian hero of Thursday’s race in Pokljuka started Saturday’s biathlon “Formula 1” impressively, maintaining his position in the leading group with a flawless shooting performance in the opening stage.
However, after making a mistake at the second shooting stage, he dropped to 19th place, joining a group of athletes hoping for errors from their rivals. At the front, Swedish biathlete Sebastian Samuelsson, the French trio of Fillon Maillet, Perrot, and Fabien Claude, as well as the World Cup leader Laegreid, had already built a solid lead, with Swiss competitor Nicklas Hartweg also close behind.
The French trio and Samuelsson continued flawlessly, while Fak had to complete another penalty loop, maintaining his 19th place. Fillon Maillet and Perrot extended their lead on the track, allowing themselves a penalty loop on the final shooting stage yet still emerging first for the last lap. Laegreid was 14 seconds, and Claude 27 seconds behind, making the battle for victory a two-man affair. Fak, after a second clean shooting stage, re-entered the track in 17th place.
In the final stretch, the two Frenchmen exchanged the lead, but 23-year-old Perrot had more strength, securing his third World Cup victory. He added this to his individual World Championship title won in Switzerland earlier this year. Laegreid significantly reduced his deficit in third place but faded in the final moments. Fak lost two positions in the last lap.
“It was one of those days where not everything went as I wanted, and I finished in the top 20. Several factors played a role; the course was easier than on Thursday, but I wasn’t fast enough on the track,” Fak commented on his race.
On Sunday, Pokljuka will host the single mixed relay and mixed relay, marking Fak’s official farewell to Slovenian fans in his last home race.
He was already focused on Sunday’s single mixed relay, where he and Lena Repinc have finished sixth three times this season. For his farewell in Pokljuka, Fak is aiming even higher: “The best thing would be to finish as high as possible, but not everything depends on us. We need to stay focused, and then we’ll see how our opponents perform. We will wake up with the belief that we can reach the podium, and that’s what we’ll strive for.”
Regarding the emotions ahead of his final race in Pokljuka, he added: “First, I need to stay focused and do my job. The emotions will come later.” More importantly for him, however, was Anamarija Lampič’s third-place finish: “She showed that perseverance and hard work pay off. The results will surely come. Congratulations to her!”
