BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup 2016 (stage 6) - Men's 12,5km Pursuit race
23.01.2016, Antholz
A Win for Anton in Antholz Pursuit
Last Standing Stage Decisive
Russia's Anton Shipulin won for the first time this season, taking the men's pursuit with two penalties in 31:51.9. He took the lead from Simon Schempp for the first time after the final standing stage; Schempp finished second with single penalty, 10.3 seconds back, while Johannes Thingnes Boe finished third, with one penalty, 14.1 seconds back.
After a last loop battle, Martin Fourcade in Yellow finished fourth, shooting clean, but 17.5 seconds back. Fifth went to Germany's Arnd Peiffer with one penalty, 43.7 seconds back. Sixth went to Austria's Simon Eder, with two penalties, 35.8 seconds back.
Clean in Prone; Fourcade Moving Up
Light snow continued to fall as the men started, but otherwise the wind remained the same as for the women. Schempp, Eder, Shipulin and Tarjei all shot clean in the first prone and left close together, over ten seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Eder got into his rapid-fire mode in the second prone, cleaning quickly to grab an 8 second lead over Schempp who was also clean, while Shipulin had a penalty and fell to 23 seconds off the pace. Fourcade who started in 14th cleaned both prone stages and was climbing nearer to the top 6, 59 seconds off the lead.
Shipulin Moves
As they headed to the first standing, Shipulin closed the gap and the three were again together on the shooting range. Schempp cleaned as did Shipulin, while Eder had a penalty and fell back to third with Tarjei and Johannes in fourth and fifth, with Fourcade now up to sixth with three clean stages.
Shipulin Builds Lead
The top two skied virtually side-by-side heading to the final standing stage. Both had a single penalty, but Shipulin shot faster and got away with the lead. Johannes shot fast and was in third, while Fourcade cleaned again and was just a half second behind the young Norwegian. Fourcade shadowed him around the last loop, while Shipulin continued to build his lead. Johannes held the lead coming into the stadium and held off Fourcade for the last podium spot.
Got the Chance
Shipulin said, "I am satisfied with the competition, my rivals gave me the chance to win by making the same mistake that I did...thanks to servicemen for the good skis today... In Antholz, I am usually in good form; I am satisfied with the result even though I could have shot better...I really love races like this and mass start then you can use tactics."
Could Have Won
Schempp said he could have won. "It was not easy on the range, with the wind today. But if I hit the last shot, I could have won."
Streak
Johannes admitted it was a tough fight with Martin. "Martin is a strong athlete; I knew it was going to be a tough fight for 3rd and 4th, but I think I was a bit stronger today."
This was his first podium place other than first, with a laugh he added, "I was thinking about slowing down so I would not break my streak!"