Finland took a handsome fifth place in the Biathlon World Cup men’s relay in Hochfilzen.
Matti Lehtisaari,
STT Sports,
Sakari Lund
10.12. 17:18•Updated 10.12. 18:40
Finland had a good day in the Biathlon World Cup men’s relay in Hochfilzen, Austria. Finland reached fifth place and achieved its best World Cup relay ranking in 20 years.
Finland already finished sixth at the opening of the World Cup season in Kontiolahti and improved its ranking by one more place in Hochfilzen.
Finland competed in Hochfilzen with a team Jaakko Ranta, Tuomas Harjula, Tero Seppälä and Olli Hiidensalo. Finland was exactly two minutes behind Norway, who won the relay, and finished the race without penalty rounds with nine spare cartridges.
After the opening leg, Finland was 14th and after the second leg, 11th. Seppälä moved Finland to fifth, and the ranking remained until the end.
– The message got off to a rough start, but progress was made in each section. Of course, nine spare cartridges leave room for jostling, Urheilu’s expert Laura Schneider evaluate.
“We have moved forward as a team”
Olli Hiidensalo, anchor of the Finnish relay team, was happy about Finland’s good relay results. Hiidensalo reminded that there is still room for improvement in shooting.
– A successful bet from us as a whole, two good relay performances show that we have moved forward as a team, Hiidensalo commented to Urheilu.
– We haven’t shot perfectly. Everyone has improved their performance, a lot adds up to the overall result. In addition, maintenance has been well on the map. Here, it is required that the skis are competitive, Hiidensalo emphasized.
The Norwegian team celebrates the victory Sturla Holm Lägreid, Filip Fjerd Andersen, Johannes Thingnes Bö and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen. Sweden was second in the relay, 20 seconds behind Norway, and Germany third, 28 seconds behind the leader. France, ranked fourth, still managed to overtake Finland.
Hochfilzen, Austria / Men’s relay, 4 x 7.5 km
1. Norway 1.18.02,6 1+7
2. Sweden + 20.0 0+8
3. Germany + 28.6 1+5
4. France + 51.5 0+9
5. Finland + 2.00,7 0+9
6. Austria + 2.28,6 0+4
7. Switzerland + 2.32,2 0+9
8. Czech Republic + 2.38,9 0+15
9. Italy + 2.39,5 0+4
10. Slovenia + 2.45,1 0+11