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Oberhof (dpa) - Denise Herrmann found her way back to her old form on the trail, but her shooting weakness prevented another top result at the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof.
«You shouldn't want to do magic in a competition.
That's what I want right now - and it often goes wrong, "said the ex-world champion after 15th place in the sprint.
With three penalties, the Saxon had no chance in Tiril Eckhoff's sixth win of the season, over a minute behind.
The Norwegian won ahead of the equally faultless Dorothea Wierer from Italy and Lisa Theresa Hauser from Austria.
The best German was the strong Franziska Preuß (1 mistake) in sixth.
«I'm really happy with today.
Now I see that I carry on like this.
That was the step in the right direction, »said Bavarian Preuss, who was almost 21 seconds short of third.
Herrmann could be less happy.
Even the second-best run time, just 2.8 seconds behind Eckhoff, only partially comforted the 32-year-old about her mistakes.
“It felt really good to run,” said Herrmann and immediately added: “I had so many thoughts while standing.
I can't manage to focus on the bare essentials. "
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She made two mistakes in standing, one in prone shooting.
"That is very, very unsatisfactory," said the former cross-country skier.
In addition, she also got tangled with her watch when setting up the rifle and lost valuable seconds after problems with the magazine.
How does she want to get out of this crisis?
"You have to create a sense of achievement so that you can regain self-confidence," she said.
Less than a month before the start of the World Cup in Pokljuka / Slovenia (February 10th to 21st), Germany's number one, which has to give up the attack on victory in the overall World Cup early, is not nervous yet.
At least her shape fits again, "but not the shooting yet," said Herrmann.
"I'm trying to use an existing system, which I just don't quite manage when I'm under stress."
Two races in the Thuringian Forest and the World Cup dress rehearsal in Antholz next week still remain to improve.
The German women meanwhile continue to wait for the relieving first podium of the new year.
While Preuss might have taken it without a penalty lap on Rennsteig, other results also gave a little hope.
One day after Arnd Peiffer finished third in the men's sprint, Janina Hettich (0 mistakes) was the second best German in 13th place.
Just behind, Maren Hammerschmidt made it to 17th place without a shooting error. Vanessa Hinz (1) in 30th and Anna Weidel (3) in 80th landed further down.
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The next chance on the podium is for the ski hunters on Friday (2.30 p.m. / ARD and Eurosport) in the men's relay.
Erik Lesser, Benedikt Doll, Arnd Peiffer and Philipp Horn compete for the German Ski Association and have to defend themselves against the Norwegian high-flyers.
The women's quartet is challenged on Saturday, at the end of the World Cup in Thuringia, the mass starts are on the program on Sunday.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210114-99-27695 / 3
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