December 20, 2015 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – Canada’s Nathan Smith earned his second-best 15km Mass Start finish crossing the line in 12th at the final event at IBU World Cup #3 in Pokljuka, Slovenia on Sunday. Jean Guillaume Beatrix, of France, shot clean to win his first World Cup race with a time of 35:33.7.

Beatrix outsprinted Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen who settled for second with one penalty at 0.3s behind while fellow Norge Ole Einar Bjoerndalen took third with two missed targets at 2.5s back.

Nathan Smith (CAN) © Nordic Focus

“The sprint and pursuit this weekend were really disappointing physically. I had no expectations going into this race, but was pleasantly surprised that I felt so much better on course,” said Smith who suffered three penalties. “Skiing was strong and my shooting kept me within reach of a medal.”

The USA’s Tim Burke finished 22nd with four penalties while teammate Lowell Bailey was right behind him in 23rd with three missed targets. Halfway through the men’s race, Bailey found himself in second place out on the course after going clean in the first two prone stages, but he was unable to keep pace after two misses in standing.

Lowell Bailey (USA) © Nordic Focus

“It was a good start but I just couldn’t hold it together in standing,” said Bailey. “It was definitely frustrating to see that my ski speed was there and all I needed to do was hit standing targets. But, there’s still a long way to go in this season. We’re just getting started.”

Smith, who will turn 30 on Christmas Day, finished just 25 seconds off the podium pace under ideal race conditions. He’s had good success on the Pokljuka course. One year ago he chalked up the best mass start finish of his career there when he was ninth.

“It’s pretty much a fact in biathlon that in order to medal in a mass start you have to shoot clean in the final standing. I had one miss, which left me a penalty loop behind at the end. The mass start is a race of attrition.

“If your skiing is good you can stay in the hunt, but each trip to the range separates the field more and more. If you’re lucky the frontrunners may not be pushing the pace so it’s possible to catch back up with a miss early on. After not feeling well on Thursday and Saturday today was a big boost to my confidence heading into Christmas break.” said Smith.

Kaisa Maekaeraeinen © Nordic Focus

Makarainen Wins Women’s Race

Susan Dunklee finished 22nd in the women’s 12.5km Mass Start, with four penalties, at 2:29.5 behind Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen who won the race in 34:40.2 with just a single penalty early in the competition.

Clean shooting Gabriela Soukalova of Czech Republic finished second at 11.8 seconds back, while Russia’s Olga Podchufarova, also shot clean, landing her first World Cup podium in third place at 27.7 seconds back.

Men’s results here.
Women’s results here.

W podium © Nordic Focus