Martin Uldal’s First Career Win in Annecy Le Grand Bornand Sprint
Norway’s Martin Uldal was in and out of the lead throughout this afternoon’s Annecy Le Grand Bornand Men’s 10 km Sprint, but in the lead at the finish, claiming his first career victory in 23:13.5. Uldal’s clean-shooting first win came in his 5th career BMW IBU World Cup start, just days after a career-best 5th place in the Hochfilzen Pursuit.
“Expected Johannes and Sebastian to beat me”
Uldal, a bit overwhelmed, called his first win, “Amazing. I don’t really know yet (how I actually feel). I really expected Sebastian and Johannes to beat me on the last lap, I did not feel too good. I didn’t really check my phone because I just escaped and changed my clothes. Then, let’s check the list…and he was behind me. It’s insane!”
Regarding how close he came to being topped by teammate JT Boe, “I just checked 10 minutes after he finished because I was all alone. I checked and…Wow!”
JT, “did my best; not good enough”
Yellow/Red Bib Boe missed a prone shot but rebounded, taking the lead from his teammate with 1800 meters to go, but slipped to second at the finish, 1.4 seconds back. JT with 5 sprint wins at this venue called the missed win, “a very tight fight with Martin and also Samuelsson: one mistake too much today. I was ready for another win here in France but was too short on the finish line…I did my best; not good enough. I can’t undo it.”
As for the 23-year-old Uldal’s win, “It’s impressive. His race today is worth a World Cup victory, so well-deserved. We now have a new challenger in the team, and I guess he got a ticket World Championships as well, a great day for him.
Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson, also with a single penalty, finished third, 10.8 seconds back. Germany’s Philipp Horn matched his career best in fourth place, 28.6 seconds back with one penalty. Uldal and Boe’s teammate Sturla Holm Laegreid, with one penalty finished fifth, 32.3 seconds back. Horn’s teammate Philipp Nawrath shot clean in sixth place, 41.6 seconds back
Rainy Day
The trimester’s last weekend opened with heavy rain a warm 8C, and the wind flags lightly flapping. Uldal set the tempo, quickly cleaning prone for the lead. Laegreid matched, trailing by 6 seconds. Samuelsson topped the early leaders with a steady clean prone, putting him 5 seconds up. JT came to prone faster than anyone but missed a shot, falling 19 seconds behind Uldal.
2024/25 BMW IBU World Cup 3 Annecy Le Grand Bornand Men's 10 km Sprint
Uldal Back on Top
Uldal went to 10-for-10, putting him atop the leaderboard. Samuelsson picked up a penalty, coming off the loop 13 seconds behind Uldal. JT came back with a fast clean standing stage to move into second, 7.6 seconds back.
With a strong last loop, Uldal finished in the top spot. The Yellow/Red Bib, leading at the 8.2 km split, but fell short in the last 1800m meters, finishing second.
Photos: IBU/Christian Manzoni, Nordic Focus
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