December 15, 2013 (Annecy-Le Grand Bornand, France) – Canada’s Nathan Smith put together the race of his life today as he charged up eight spots to finish a career-best eighth (2 penalties) in the men’s  IBU World Cup 12.5km pursuit in Annecy-Le Grand Bornand, France.

Nathan Smith (CAN) on his way to a career-best 8th © Nordic Focus

Meanwhile Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe was turning heads as well as he made it a two-for-two weekend dominating the race with a final time of 31:43.7 (1 penalty). Germany’s Erik Lesser shot clean but ended up 37.5 seconds behind Boe in second while Russia’s Anton Shipulin (1 penalty) was able to overtake Sweden’s Carl Johan Bergman with about half a km to go to grab third place at 39.1 seconds behind the winner.

Johannes Thingnes Boe wins again © Nordic Focus

“I’m very happy with it. Since last year it has been a bit of an uphill battle for me, but going into the winter season, I knew I was doing well enough to get a chance on the World Cup,” said Smith post race. “I was uncertain if I could lay down enough top-30’s in such a short time span to get to the Olympics but I’m happy to have finalized my qualification for the Games.

Chris Lindsay, high-performance director, Biathon Canada was impressed with Smith’s performance commenting, “Nathan has showed tremendous focus this training season. He was not happy with the results from last season and he channeled that emotion into performance. He is meticulous, constantly challenging himself, and resolute in his desire to play the game at the highest level possible.”

Lowell Bailey © Nordic Focus

The great weather meant great shooting for the USA’s Lowell Bailey as he also turned heads delivering a stellar day on the range with perfect shooting as he moved up from 35th to finish 15th, while teammate Tim Burke was just behind in 16th with two penalties, moving up from 28th.

“Thanks to the coaches, staff, and Rossignol for all the hard work this week,” said Bailey. “It’s nice to head into Christmas on a high note!”

“This was a great race to have before we take a break for the Holidays,” said Burke. “I felt strong on the skis today and the shooting came together, so I am happy with my performance. This was definitely the best that I have felt on the ski course all season. I think this is a great sign that I am headed in the right direction as we near Sochi!”

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, of Shannon, Que., finished 33rd despite shooting clean to post a time of 34:02.7, while Regina’s Scott Perras missed five shots on the range and was 48th (35:12.9).

Final podium (l-r) Lesser 2nd, Boe 1st, Shipulin 3rd. © Nordic Focus

“It was a great performance today, and right in time before Christmas and a good reminder that everything is where it should be right now,” said Bernd Eisenbichler, US Biathlon High Performance director.

“Lowell had a perfect performance today, the day every biathlete dreams of when fast skiing and clean shooting come together on the same day,” said Max Cobb, US Biathlon CEO. “He showed that all his hard work has moved him forward. I think it’s the perfect way to wrap up the first World Cup period.

Full results here.