Twists and Turns ! Biathlon World Cup 2 (2015 - 2016) - Men's 12,5 km Pursuit Race

Twists and Turns ! BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup 2 (2015 - 2016) - Men's 12,5 km Pursuit Race 12.12.2015, Hochfilzen Fourcade Wins Men?s Pursuit Tough Battle with Schempp Martin Fourcade of France won the men?s 12.5K pursuit in 31:19.9, with two penalties. Simon Schempp of Germany finished second with one penalty, 8.9 seconds back. Russia?s Anton Shipulin was third with two penalties, 19.1 seconds back. Tarjei Boe of Norway was fourth with two penalties, 31.2 seconds back. Dominik Landertinger of Austria finished fifth with one penalty, 39.8 seconds back. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen was in sixth 57.5 seconds back, with two penalties. Schempp/ Fourcade Battle This competition ended the competition day in Hochfilzen. The audience's eyes were on today's favorites: Schempp and the Yellow/Red Bib Martin Fourcade, trying to challenge yesterday's sprint winner Schempp. Anton Shipulin started fourth, hoping to get to the podium. Schempp, Fourcade, Boe,and Shipulin all cleaned the first prone stage. Boe, however, was slower than Shipulin, opening the door for the Russian star. Schempp and Fourcade both were skiing close to each other after the first prone, with only a .5 second gap between them. In the second prone, Fourcade who had two penalties, putting him in sixth place with Shipulin in the lead. Fourcade, Sixth to First Fourcade recovered after the second shooting and cleaned fast the first standing stage, which brought him back to the podium contesters group. Shipulin had one penalty and was on the fourth position. As leaders were approaching the second prone stage, they had their original positions from the start: Schempp was going first, followed by Fourcade and Boe, Shipulin sitting in forth. Schempp, Fourcade, and Shipulin cleaned the stage, but Fourcade showed unprecedented shooting speed and was faster on the skis. Decisive Last Loop The last loop was decisive. Schempp's attempts to pass Fourcade on the skis created a challenge his win. Fourcade admitted the victory was not easy, "Simon showed me on the last lap that it was necessary to do my best. This week I had to give to races 100%. It was a great fight between us." Schempp did everything in his power to overcome the gap, but Fourcade was faster on skis, "I gave all I had in the beginning of the loop. The gap was the same, but at the last hill Martin was very strong". He added that the race was psychologically hard: "I was not calm every time. It was a psycho race. You have to be calm." First Podium for Shipulin this Season Shipulin's third place in the Pursuit was his first this season. He was relieved after no podium performances in Östersund and fourth place in yesterday's Sprint. "Comparing to the first World Cup in Östersund, I like my condition here. I feel like I am getting stronger. This is my first podium this season, and I am glad to be here."