Biting her nails until Franziska Preuss crossed the finish line just 0.1 seconds behind her, Lisa Vittozzi won in the Individual in Oestersund in 44:03.9. It was the closest-ever finish in the World cup in the Individual.

Vittozzi missed one shot, but her faster skiing prevailed over clean shooting Germans Preuss and Vanessa Voigt, 10.1 seconds behind the Italian, in the third place.

It was a second win - and sixth podium - in the Individual for Vittozzi and her fourth win in the BMW IBU World Cup. Preuss and Voigt scored a career-first podium in the Individual.

The winner’s words - Lisa Vittozzi

Germany and Norway performed well without their retired superstars

With Denise Herrmann-Wick retired, German women performed with excellence in the opening individual competition of the season as the only team with three athletes in the Top 6. Franziska Preuss, Vanessa Voigt, and Sophia Schneider had an accurate day on the shooting range as they jointly missed just one shot of 60. Karoline Offigstad Knotten (fourth) was the only Norwegian in the Top 6, but Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (seventh), Marthe Krakstad Johanssen (eighth), and a World cup-debutante Marit Ishol Skogan (10th) made Norway the only team with four athletes in the Top 10.

Vittozzi offset one miss with fast skiing

Vittozzi took a measured approach in a race where the wind played no significant role. She cleaned her first prone and standing stages with great ease. She was the fastest after the first standing shooting, but a miss in the second prone pushed her to seventh place before the deciding standing shooting. Returning after almost a complete season of absence, Franziska Preuss, with a bib 57, left the last shooting with a clean sheet and 11.8 seconds of advantage in her pocket. In what was a nail-biting final lap, Preuss gradually lost her advantage and pushed herself over the finish line just 0.1 seconds behind Vittozzi, who clocked a good minute faster skiing time the the German. Voigt moved from 12th place after the first shooting stage to sixth, fourth, and final third, getting a deciding edge for a second podium in her career.

Karoline Offigstad Knotten, in her career-best performance in the Individual, finished fourth, with one miss, 46.5 behind Vittozzi. Sophia Schneider missed one shot and ended fifth, 1:01 behind the victorious Italian. A clean-shooting Lisa Theresa Hauser completed the podium, 1:07.7 behind the winner.

Photo: IBU, Per Danielsson