Nathan Smith (CAN) on his way to 10th in the Oestersund Men's IBU WCup pursuit. © IBU

December 07, 2015 (Oestersund, Sweden) – Canada’s Nathan Smith wrapped up one of the most successful opening weekends ever on the IBU World Cup for Canada’s biathlon squad with a 10th-place finish. The windy weather from a day earlier gave way to clear skies and nearly perfect shooting conditions for the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit and the women’s 10k race.

Starting time behind the leaders based on results of Saturday’s sprint race, the 29-year-old Calgarian looked to hunt down the podium, but was not able to make up any ground on the field and settled in for the final spot in the top-10 at 32:37.5 in the men’s 12.5-kilometre pursuit race.

“I was looking for a top-six today, and I knew a medal was a possibility if everything fell into place,” said Smith.

The tricky Oestersund conditions got the best of Smith once again who missed one shot in each of his two prone rounds of shooting, and final standing.

“I had moved into sixth place, and was fighting for a podium in the last shooting. Unfortunately, I had one miss, which was costly, and I ended up leaving the range with a couple of the fastest skiers. I just didn’t have it in me on the last lap and lost a spot. This is still a great result for myself, and moves me into the top-10 in the overall rankings,” said Smith.

“Last year I learned that on a good day I can be top-10 and on a perfect day on the podium. With some more improvements in testing and racing over the summer, regular top 10s are something I expect, sprinkled with an odd podium when everything goes right.”

IBU World Cup biathlon, pursuit men, Oestersund (SWE) © Nordic Focus

Martin Fourcade, of France, took top spot in the men’s pursuit with a time of 31:22.4 (1+0+1+1). Germany’s Arnd Peiffer was second at 31:57.5 (0+1+0+0), while Quentin Fillon Maillet, of France skied to the bronze with a time of 32:17.6 (0+0+1+1).

Just 24 hours since putting together his career-best 10th-place performance in Saturday’s sprint, Macx Davis of Canmore, Alta., was getting his first start in a pursuit race. Davies grabbed the final spot in the elite group of 30 with a time of 34:11.2 (1+0+1+1). Brendan Green, of Hay River, N.W.T. was the only other Canadian in the men’s field. Green made up 17 spots on the field to finish 38th at 34:43.3 (0+1+1+0).

Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, N.Y.) was the top U.S. finisher among the four American entrants with a 39th-place finish in the men’s race. He moved up six places in the standing from his 45th-place start position, crossing the line with a time of 34:43.8 with three penalties.

“I definitely have a lot of positives to take away from today’s race,” said Burke. “Unfortunately, I just had one bad stage and the field is too competitive to come back from those mistakes. After being sick last week, I just wanted to use these races as training efforts. I felt better and better with each race so I am hopeful that I will be back to my normal ski form for the next stop in Hochfilzen, Austria.”

Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H.), who was the 25th skier off the line, struggled at the range with seven penalties and finished the day in 46th place (35:16.9/+7).

Women

For just the third time in the history of the sport, Canada sent four women to the start line in a pursuit race. Each of those starts have come in the last three years – a true sign of the development of the program.

Rosanna Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., led the way for the Canucks. The 27-year-old held close to her start position despite a difficult day of shooting. Crawford placed 23rd at 33:26.0 (1+2+1+1).

Megan Tandy, of Prince George, B.C., bolted up the leaderboard with a nearly perfect day of shooting. Tandy missed just one shot in her final bout of standing to clock a 25th-place time of 33:28.0. Rookie Julia Ransom, of Kelowna, B.C., rounded out a solid opening week on the World Cup with a time of 34:19.1 (2+0+2+0) for 36th spot. The day after celebrating her 33rd birthday, Zina Kocher was also back on the start line for a pursuit race. The three-time Olympian from Red Deer, Alta., was 51st posting a time of 35:12.6 (1+0+3+3).

Kaisa Makarainen (FIN) wins IBU world cup biathlon, pursuit women, Oestersund (SWE) © Nordic Focus

Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen skied to the gold in the women’s race with a time of 30:45.1 (1+0+1+0). Saturday’s sprint winner, Dorothea Wierer of Italy, dropped one spot into the silver medal position with a time of 30:47.0 (0+0+1+0), while Germany’s Franziska Hildebrand shot clean to win the bronze medal at 30:48.4.

In the women’s race, Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) started in 16th place (+1:05) and Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) was 25th off the line (+1:24) but numerous misses on the range knocked them down to 45th and 53rd place, respectively, at the finish. Egan crossed the line in 34:46.7 with five penalties, while Cook came across in 35:17.9 with six misses in an exciting race won by Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen.

“Today I learned the hard way that the pursuit is all about fighting for your position every second of the way,” Egan said. “I did not have the mental or physical energy to put up that fight and I lost a lot of places. On the range, I was proud of how I recovered from first-shot misses in both standing stages to hit the next four. This was an exciting and exhausting week for me and I am relieved to have a brief rest now until we race again Friday in Hochfilzen, Austria.”

IBU world cup biathlon, pursuit women, Oestersund (SWE) © Nordic Focus

It was arguably one of the best opening weekends ever for the Canadian Biathlon Team on the World Cup. Rosanna Crawford and Nathan Smith kicked things off with a silver medal in the rare individual mixed relay. Crawford had a 13th-place finish in the individual race, and led by Smith’s back-to-back finishes in the top-10 the Canadian men also proved strong. The highlight of the week was 21-year-old Macx Davies shocking the world with a perfect day of shooting to finish 10th in the men’s sprint.

“It is certainly a positive sign the good feelings we’ve been having through the training season have been right,” said Smith. “I think this will be a great season for both myself and the rest of the team. This week has been super motivating for our team and will give us the right momentum for the beginning of the season.”

The biathletes will be back in action again next weekend as the BMW IBU World Cup 2 takes place Dec. 11-13 in Hochfilzen, Austria.

Results

Women
1. Kaisa Makarainen (FIN) 30:45.1
2. Dorothea Wierer (ITA) 30:47.0
3. Franziska Hildebrand (GER) 30:48.4

23. Rosanna Crawford (CAN) 33:26.0
25. Megan Tandy (CAN) 33:28.0
36. Julia Ransom (CAN) 34:19.1
45. Clare Egan (USA) 34:46.7
51. Zina Kocher (CAN) 35:12.6
53. Annelies Cook (USA) 35:17.9

Men
1. Martin Fourcade (FRA) 31:22.4
2. Arnd Peiffer (GER) 31:57.5
3. Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) 32:17.6

10. Nathan Smith (CAN) 32:37.5
30. Macx Davies (CAN) 34:11.2
38. Brendan Green (CAN) 34:43.3
39. Tim Burke (USA) 34:43.8
46. Sean Doherty (USA)

Women here.
Men here.