Benedikt Doll once wanted to hear the German anthem at what was probably his last World Cup. But that will probably also be difficult in the final mass starts of the Biathlon World Championships in Nove Mesto on Sunday (2.15 p.m. and 4.30 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport). “It won’t be the case that we’ll have the overskis here again,” said sports director Felix Bitterling after fourth place in the men’s relay. Nevertheless, the team can “definitely hope for a surprise. We won’t give up on them until the two competitions are over.”
Doll would still have had a chance of winning a medal if he had shot flawlessly and lacked his “world-famous balls”. But even then it would have been tight, because once again the Germans’ major material problem became more than clear during the title fights in the Czech Republic. The men, no runners on skis, took an incredible 2:30.4 minutes to the fastest Norwegians. For the women and their surprising bronze coup it was 1:48.2 minutes – but unlike the men, they took advantage of the competition’s mistakes.
Only for the two individual medals for Doll (bronze) and Janina Hettich-Walz (silver), where the temperatures were a little colder, did the equipment fit on the feet. Nothing worked for the Germans in the warm and wet conditions. Even smaller nations like Estonia and Finland, which actually fell behind even further after the fluorowax ban, “have found something. Now that’s just the way it is,” said Doll, who no longer enjoys “walking around on this greasy snow.” . For World Cup debutant Selina Grotian, who also qualified for the mass start thanks to her strong fourth place in the individual, it felt as if her skis were stuck to the snow.
The Germans are not going into the final races with great self-confidence, but no one is giving up hope for more precious metals (3 so far). This requires strong shooting performance and one or two more mistakes from the competition. Nevertheless: “There are doubts. But I like to look forward and try to put that aside,” said Doll.
