Lou Jeanmonnot won the Hochfilzen Women’s 10 km Pursuit. The Frenchwoman took advantage of the mistakes of her closest rivals, maintaining a perfect shooting record. She took the lead after the third shooting stage and held onto it until the finish line, securing victory with a margin of over 30 seconds ahead of Vanessa Voigt. Franziska Preuss, the sprint winner, finished in third place, which allowed her to retain the yellow bib.

Initially, it seemed Franziska Preuss would secure her second win of the weekend. The German athlete completed both prone shootings without any mistakes but missed twice on her third visit to the shooting range. Lou Jeanmonnot, who had finished fourth in the sprint, took the lead. The Frenchwoman shot flawlessly and held a 30-second lead over the German before her final shooting attempt. The last round of shooting didn’t alter the standings, and Jeanmonnot celebrated her sixth World Cup victory at the finish line. Three of her victories came in pursuit races.

Successful Day for the German Team

Although Preuss could not maintain her sprint advantage, it was still a successful day for the German team. The World Cup leader held off Ella Halvarsson in the battle for third place. As if that wasn't enough, Vanessa Voigt, who advanced from 13th at the start of the race, finished second. The 27-year-old matched her career-best result with flawless shooting, securing her fourth podium finish. The last time two German women appeared on the World Cup podium was on December 3, 2023, in Östersund, when Preuss and Voigt also finished in the top 3 of the pursuit.

Notable Advances and Disappointments

In addition to Jeanmonnot, Voigt, Preuss, and Halvarsson, the flower ceremony was attended by Marketa Davidova (5th) and Julia Simon (6th). Other notable advances into the top 10 included Suvi Minkkinen (14th to 7th), Elvira Öberg (25th to 8th), and Gilonne Guigonnat (32nd to 9th). The most significant improvement of the day came from Moldova's Alina Stremous, who moved from 48th in the sprint to 18th in the pursuit.

Today’s race also saw some disappointments. The sprint’s second and third-place finishers, Sophie Chauveau and Karoline Knotten, could not maintain their positions at the top. The Norwegian stayed in contention for a long time, but two missed shots in the final round dropped her to 10th place. Chauveau finished 11th with four penalties. Despite posting the best course time, Anamarija Lampić dropped from 8th to 38th place after missing ten times.

Preuss Leads the World Cup Standings

Franziska Preuss will head to Le Grand-Bornand as the World Cup leader. The German has managed to maintain a 29-point lead over Lou Jeanmonnot. Elvira Öberg, who was leading the overall standings after the Kontiolahti competition, is in third place, 42 points behind the current leader.