January 12, 2011 (Ruhpolding, Germany) – American Lowell Bailey started off round #6 of the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding with a strong 16th place effort in Wednesday’s 20km Individual race – he finished just two minutes out of a podium spot. The top spot on the podium went to the Norwegians again with Emile Hegle Svedsen hitting 19 of 20 shots to win the race in a time of 50:39.4.

Bailey, who made 18 of his 20 shots on the day, had his best result since his 15th place finish at the 2008/09 World Cup in Oestersund, Sweden.

“That was really an amazing performance, Lowell’s shooting was solid and he was really strong on the tracks,“ said High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler in US Biathlon report. “A result like that will motivate the whole men’s team.”

Tim Burke posted the next best result for the United States, missing three shots en route to a 42nd place finish. Leif Nordgren also missed three shots, finishing 64th with a time of 56:10.1, and Jeremy Teela rounded out the team with a 75th place effort.

Eisenbichler said after the race that Burke’s “…tibia hurt on the track so he couldn’t go full speed,” hoping the problem will “solve [itself] as soon as possible.”

Canada’s Brendan Green continued his strong World Cup showings this year, missing just one shot on his way to a 25th place finish. Jean Philippe Le Guellec also missed just one shot on the day, finishing 49th with a time of 55:08.0. Marc-Andre Bedard finished in a time of 58:23.5, missing five shots placing 76th, and Scott Perras, Canada’s final finisher, hit 13 of his 20 shots for an 84th-place finish.

France’s Martin Fourcade took second with one miss, finishing 7.4 seconds behind Svedsen, and Dominik Landertinger of Austria took the last podium spot with a one miss performance that put him 23.7 out of first.

The conditions at Ruhpolding’s new Chiemgau Arena were nothing short of perfect at race time. With clear skies and no wind, every biathlete in the top 45 shot clean in the first stage.

“It is an amazing stadium. I think it is for sure one of the best. Most important for the athletes the tracks are good and wide,” Svedsen said, in an IBU race report,  “they have built something amazing and I am really looking forward to the World Championships here next year. I think it is going to be something very special.”

Full Results HERE.

Results (brief)
1. Emile Hegle Svedsen, NOR (0+0+0+1) 50:39.4
2. Martin Fourcade, FRA (0+0+0+1) 50:46.8
3. Dominik Landertinger, AUT (0+0+0+1) 51:03.1
4. Simon Fourcade, FRA (0+0+0+0) 51:06.6
5. Tarjei Boe, NOR (1+0+0+1) 51:14.9

16. Lowell Bailey, USA (0+1+0+1) 53:09.1
25. Brenden Green, CAN (1+0+0+0) 53:39.1
42. Tim Burke, USA (0+2+0+1) 54:48.1
49. Jean Philippe Le Guellec, CAN (0+0+1+0) 55:08.0
64. Leif Nordgren, USA (0+0+0+3) 56:10.1
75. Jeremy Teela, USA (1+1+2+1) 58:20.3
76. Marc-Andre Bedard, CAN (1+1+1+2) 58:23.5
84. Scott Perras, CAN (0+3+1+3) 1:00:35.7