Kristyna Otcovska of Czechia and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen won the Mass Start 60 at the end of first week at the IBU Cup in Otepaa. Otcovska’s perfect shooting made the difference, allowing her to maintain control throughout the race and collect her first-ever IBU Cup win. French women and Norwegian men placed four athletes in the top five.

Flawless Otcovska

Otcovska of Czechia delivered a flawless performance in the women’s Mass Start 60, shooting clean and securing victory with a time of 36:02.6. Despite three penalties, Paula Botet of France managed to claim second place, finishing 15.5 seconds behind. Another French athlete, Camille Bened, took third place, 22.0 seconds back, with two missed shots. After collecting the Pursuit Cup Score title yesterday, Bened claimed the Mass Start Cup Score title as well.

THE WINNER’S WORDS - KRISTYNA OTCOVSKA

Sprint and Pursuit winner Gillone Guigonnat had to settle for fourth place, finishing 31.1 seconds behind, after missing two targets. Returning to the IBU Cup after representing France at the IBU YJ World Championships in Oestersund, Sweden, Voldiya Galmace Paulin placed fifth, 47.7 seconds behind, with four penalties. Austria’s Laura Wagner rounded out the top six, crossing the line just 48.1 seconds behind, with two shooting errors. showcasing their depth in the competition.

Christiansen wins a prestigious internal battle

In a close -fought internal battle Christiansen claimed victory with a clean shooting, crossing the finish line in 41:53.3. He held off the fastest skier of the day Johan Olav Botn, who finished 10.2 seconds behind despite missing two targets. Isak Frey secured third place, 24.0 seconds back, with just one penalty but unable to match the pace of the leaders. him to control the race from start to finish.

Johannes Dale-Skjevdal placed fourth at +44.7, also with two missed shots, showing strong skiing but losing time on the range. Fifth place went to Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who struggled with three penalties and finished 1:17.0 behind the winner. The top six was completed by French athlete Théo Guiraud Poillot, who had just one miss but lost significant time on the tracks, finishing 2:10.2 behind Christiansen.

Photo: Hendrik Osula