13 days before the Beijing Olympics (January 4 to 20, 2022), Johannes Boe, the former great rival of Frenchman Martin Fourcade, and the Norwegians are in good shape. The triple holder of the big crystal globe, author of a fabulous 3rd stint and second in the mass-start on Saturday, largely contributed to Norway‘s victory in the relay (4 × 7.5 km) in Antholz, Italy , the final World Cup event before the Olympics.
“A Johannes Boe in his great days, notes Simon Desthieux at the microphone of the L’Équipe channel. When it’s like that, there’s not much you can do. I started close to him but he is incredible like all of Norway in the relay this year. If we want to beat them at the Games, we will have to be perfect, whereas today we still make a few mistakes here and there. »
While Russia (just under 2 minutes from Norway) and Germany complete the podium, the French, already disappointing in Ruhpolding, Germany last week (5th), finish fourth.
“With Emilien and Quentin, we might have been in the game”
Without Émilien Jacquelin, package in Italy this week, and Quentin Fillon-Maillet, the leader of the World Cup left to rest after his poor performance on the Mass-start on Saturday (8th), the Tricolores presented themselves in an unprecedented configuration . Long in the game – leaving the last firing point, Éric Perrot, the last torchbearer, was in 2nd position, they exploded on the last lap.
“We gave Éric (Perrot) the responsibility of finishing the relay, it was a huge pressure. He made a magnificent last shot, there is no point in blaming him, believes Antonin Guigonnat. We chose to put our leaders to rest, with Quentin (Fillon-Maillet) and Émilien (Jacquelin), we might have been in the game with the Norwegians. »
