Just like in the previous winter, the South Tyrolean Valley of Martell hosts the first stage of the Junior Cup 22/23 in perfect winter conditions and with record participation.

Sprints Thursday

Competitions in Martell kicked off on Thursday with Sprints for the Junior Women and for the Junior Men!

On the Women's side, Sara Scattolo repeated her feat of winning the opening competition of the Junior Cup season. Last year, the Italian won the Individual on home soil - this year she held off Maya Cloetens; who had the best ski-time and claimed the first-ever international women's podium for Team Belgium.

Konrad Badacz triumphed on the men's side with just one miss at the range - after winning with the Polish Relay in Martell last year, he scored his first individual victory with Austrian Lukas Haslinger and Italy's Elia Zeni in third place.

Super Sprint Saturday

Saturday in Martell was marked by the Junior Women Super Sprint and the Junior Men Super Sprint.

In the women's race the three first-placed athletes remained without any shooting misses in the final and that with four shooting stages. Johanna Puff from Germany won the race with only three seconds ahead of Maya Cloetens from Belgium. The German could already win the Super Sprint in Martell last year. Sara Scattolo underlines her good shape with the third place.

In the men's race the Italians are happy about a double victory. Elia Zeni wins with nine seconds ahead of his compatriot Nicolo Betemps. The third place on the podium goes to Matija Legovic from Croatia.

Mass Start 60 Sunday

On the last day of the first week of the Junior Cup in Martell two mass start 60 races were on the program.

In sub-zero temperatures the women took to the track. Anna Andexer from Austria coped best with the cold conditions. With two shooting misses she was able to win by fast laps on the track with 38 seconds against Johanna Puff from Germany, who also had to miss twice. Kaja Zorc from Slovenia finished third.

Konrad Badacz from Poland dominated the men's mass start race. With only one missed target he finished 20 seconds ahead of Hans Köllner from Germany. “I am very satisfied with my race because my performance at the shooting range was very good”, said Badacz after the competition. Elia Zeni from Italy finished third and was thus on the podium in every race in Martell.

Pictures: Deubert/IBU