Sensational. Quentin Fillon Maillet won the Oberhof pursuit, Sunday January 9, at the end of a well-rounded race. Despite a mixed start with two faults in the first lying shot, the Frenchman kept his lucidity and came back to the Russian Alexandr Loginov with a perfect last shot (18 out of 20 in total). Sebastian Samuelsson and Tarjei Boe complete the podium. This is the 9th World Cup victory for the Habs.
Exceptional Quentin Fillon Maillet !!! The Frenchman won the Oberhof pursuit ahead of Sebastian Samuelsson and pocketed his 9th World Cup success! #ChaletClub pic.twitter.com/ivvWfe71sN
– Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) January 9, 2022
Quentin Fillon Maillet thus signs his third victory in a row in pursuit, after those of Grand-Bornand and Hochfilzen, and takes the lead of the general to Emilien Jacquelin, who completely missed his race (17th), cracking at the end (3 faults on the last shot), and finishing with the 38th ski time.
A surprising result for the Frenchman, visibly imprinted on the German track, and used to being among the best on the track. “I did not have the right equipment to play in front of “, explained Émilien Jacquelin. “It’s very frustrating (…) I don’t think it’s a problem with my legs, I’ve never done worse than 6th time in skiing so far so today, to have the 38th time on the skis, it’s not a problem with the legs no … “, he assured, particularly annoyed at the microphone of the channel L’Equipe.
After finishing 9th in the sprint on Friday, for his part, Quentin Fillon Maillet therefore gained momentum and managed the weather conditions, which were difficult on Sunday, between falling snow, lack of visibility and the wind. “I got a bit trapped on the first shot (two faults) because there was less wind, but in the end, the conditions changed a bit and I was able to manage this end of the race well”, reacted the French.
The two other French biathletes engaged in this pursuit also had great races. Fabien Claude finished 7th and Simon Desthieux can be happy with his 19th place, having started in 47th position.