At the premiere of the IBU Junior Cup in Goms, Switzerland, the junior mixed relay, single mixed relay, sprint and mass start 60 were on the program. The French and the Italian team were able to impress.

Golden relay day for France

There was plenty to celebrate for the French team at the start of the IBU Junior Cup in Goms. In the mixed relay Lou-Anne Dupont Ballet Baz, Violette Bony, Ian Martinet and Guillaume Poirot crossed the finish line with a lead of 1:47.5 minutes. Seven reloads and the fastest running time paved the way to victory. The Italian team finished in second place ahead of Slovenia in third place.

The French also celebrated in the single mixed relay. Amandine Mengin and Leo Carlier were also the fastest on track. Leo Carlier was particularly impressive in the final shooting, clearing all the targets in 22 seconds. The Austrian team with Lena Pinter and Thomas Marchl achieved their first podium finish of the Junior Cup season. Third place went to Poland with Barbara Skrobiszewska and Fabian Suchodolski, who needed 15 reloads.

Wind makes sprint shooting challenging

The sprint competitions demanded a lot from the athletes, as a cold wind was blowing in the stadium in Goms, which made shooting a challenge. Matija Legovic secured his first victory of the season in the men's sprint. With one missed target in the prone position and a time in the top eight, the Croatian relegated Fabian Suchodolski from Poland to second place. The Pole also had to run a penalty loop, as did Leo Carlier from France, who took third place. For the Italian Alex Perissutti, sixth place was his best result of his career to date.

Anaelle Bondoux from France was unbeatable in the women's sprint. With just one missed target, she finished over two minutes ahead of Fabiana Carpella from Italy. It was an important victory for Anaelle Bondoux, as it was a long road back to strength for her after her pre-season training crash. Third place went to Tamara Molentova from Slovakia, who celebrated the best personal result of her career, along with Manca Caserman from Slovakia in 4th place and Alina Khmil from Ukraine in 6th place.

Victory for Italy and France

The Italians showed the best team performance of the season in the men's mass start 60 with three athletes in the top six. Felix Ratschiller was able to claim the first victory of his career, only having to go into the penalty loop once and finishing six seconds faster than Guillaume Poirot from France, who missed two targets. Ratschiller's teammate Michele Carollo came third with three misses. Davide Cola completed the dream day for Italy in fifth place.

Anaelle Bondoux from France took her second victory in the mass start 60. She won with a lead of 4 seconds ahead of her teammate Amandine Mengin. Bondoux had four penalty loops, Mengin missed two targets. Astrid Plosch from Italy finished in third place. The French dominance in the women's event was evident in the following places: Lola Bugeaud and Violette Bony came 4th and 5th.

The juniors continue in January with the IBU Junior Cup in Jakuszyce (Poland) and Altenberg (Germany).

Photos: IBU I Authanayou