Lægreid wins World Cup as Bø falters; Jeanmonnot dethrones Preuss
Sturla Holm Lægreid denied Johannes Thingnes Bø a fairytale end of his career when he beat him for victory in a pursuit race in front of a Norwegian home crowd on Saturday to clinch the men's overall biathlon World Cup title with one race to spare.
The women's World Cup will meanwhile be decided in Sunday's finale where French skier Lou Jeanmonnot has the momentum after taking the lead from German Franziska Preuss by winning the women's pursuit at Oslo's Holmenkollen.
Lægreid and Bø entered the final shooting portion together but Bø then missed the final target for a race total of three and had to ski a penalty loop while Lægreid completed a clean shooting competition.
Lægreid never looked back and clinched victory with a Norwegian flag in his hand, 15.5 seconds from Bø. Frenchman Quentin Fillon Maillet beat Italy's Tommaso Giacomel in a sprint for third place.
Lægreid moved 104 points clear of Bø, with only Sunday's mass start left, to clinch the overall title and the pursuit discipline title as well. A victory is worth 90 points.
"Johannes is in his best shape and impossible to beat. But today I did it. I did an incredible thing and secured the globe, so I really wrote down history after Johannes," the elated Lægreid said.
'I knew the whole race if I beat him, I would win the Total Score. I knew that going into the last shooting together, it was now or never! When I skied out on the last loop alone, I really could not believe it. It is a dream come true really."
The consistent Lægreid won three season races and had 12 podiums in all as he won the overall title for the first time after three previous runner-up finishes.
A smiling Bø took a bow before Lægreid when he crossed the line. He had kept the title race alive by beating him for victory in Friday's sprint but now misses out on a record-equalling sixth title.
"He delivers what is the perfection of biathlon. 20 hits is so difficult to achieve and he does it time after time. He's become so hard to beat and now he's the very best," Bø said in praise of Lægreid.
Bø will end his career highlighted by 23 world titles and five Olympic gold medals after Sunday's race.
On thw women's side, Jeanmonnot overturned a 35-point deficit on fifth-place finisher Preuss into a five-point lead with an eighth season victory, 22.2 seconds from Sweden's Elvira Öberg with one penalty loop. Lena Häcki-Gross of Switzerland was third.
Preuss, who beat Jeanmonnot by two-tenth for victory in the sprint on Friday, missed three targets, suffered a broken pole in a duel with Häcki-Gross and failed to beat her and Norway's Ida Lien in a fight for third on the final lap.
"maybe it was nerves," Preuss admitted to German broadcasters ARD in reference to her uncharacteristic three penalties which saw her lose the World Cup lead she had held since mid-December.
"The last lap was very tough. I did my very best. I fought for every position but it wasn't possible. It hurts. I have to digest this first," Preuss said.
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