“As often happens, things never go normally with me”: Jacquelin falls in the final of the pursuit in Hochfilzen and finishes second

Jacquelin est tombé lors de la dernière bosse de la course. Capture d'écran – La chaîne L'Equipe

Le Français Emilien Jacquelin s’est classé deuxième de la poursuite de Hochfilzen (Autriche), comptant pour la Coupe du monde de biathlon, remportée par le Norvégien Johannes Boe, samedi 14 décembre.

Jacquelin, neck and neck with Boe for the win, lost all hope 500 meters from the finish when he stumbled and fell on the final climb, leaving Boe to clinch the 87th victory of his career. “As often happens, things never go normally with me”, the Frenchman smiled afterwards to our colleagues at La chaîne L'Equipe.

The Frenchman, who scored 19 out of 20 in shooting and is still one of the fastest on skis, made a great comeback: the day before, he had finished 14th in the sprint that determines the starting order and gaps in the pursuit. This is his second podium of the winter after his victory in the Kontiolahti sprint (Finland).

The relay this Sunday

Norwegian Sturla Laegreid completes the podium, 3''8 behind Boe (one penalty). Boe, who had already won the sprint the day before, consolidated his first place in the general classification, ahead of Laegreid, and is now only eight victories away from the record of his compatriot Ole Einar Bjorndalen, a legend in the discipline who won 95 times during his career.

After Jacquelin's second place, the French men's team already has five podiums (including one victory) in five races. The Hochfilzen stage ends this Sunday, December 15, with a relay.