January 13, 2007 (Ruhpolding, GER) – It was a day for legends, as Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen secured his 70th career victory at the Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany.

Suiting up for Canada, Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, of Val-Bélair, Que., posted the best result of his young career, taking 40th spot, just over two minutes behind the leading time set by Bjoerndalen. Le Guellec, who made his Olympic debut in Torino, says it’s all about how you approach each race day.

“I set some objectives before the race and concentrated only on those objectives,” said Le Guellec. “I was focused on staying relaxed, efficient and calm throughout the race. I met my objectives and I am very pleased with the result today.”

It was a difficult day for his veteran teammates, David Leoni, of Camrose, Alta., and Robin Clegg, of Ottawa, who settled for 66th and 90th, respectively.

Continuing their golden weekend, after winning Thursday’s relay, the Norwegian squad swept the podium. Bjoerndalen, shot clean and crossed the line with a time of 23 minutes 34.9 seconds. Teammate Halvard Hanevold finished his race +37.2 seconds off the pace set by Bjoerndalen. Emil Hegle Svendsen skied a lightning fast final lap, overcoming an eighth-place ranking after the second shooting session, to take the bronze, just +41.7 seconds behind his legendary Norwegian teammate.

Zina Kocher will be the lone Canadian to suit up for the mass start Sunday, as only the top-30 point holders are eligible to race.

Results
1. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (NOR) 23:34.9
2. Halvard Hanevold (NOR) +37.2
3. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) +41.7
4. Raphael Poiree (FRA) +42.9
5. Nikolay Krugolov (RUS) +46.9
40. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec (CAN) +2:12.4
66. David Leoni (CAN) +3:00.7
90. Robin Clegg (CAN) +4:03.1