Madshus biathlete Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) crushed his competitors in the first individual World Cup race of the season.
Svendsen shot clean in the 20km race, the only one to do so among more than 100 racers, and won by 1 minute and 17 seconds to collect his 37th World Cup victory.
Svendsen was unbeatable at the range, and had the sixth fastest time on the course. Now he is aiming to top that at the sprint race on Saturday, explaining that he generally needs a couple of races to get the skiing all dialed in.
“I have a lot more to offer. I don’t really nail the timing for the skating, and I don’t quite find the flow on the uphill. So there are still a lot to work on,” Svendsen says to Norwegian TV station NRK.
But at the range Svendsen is fully on track.
“I have developed some good routines at the range, which work very well for me,” he says.
The men’s World Cup sprint is the next event for Svendsen, scheduled for Saturday December 6 at 11:30 CET in Östersund (SWE).