Three days after dominating the sprint, Fillon-Maillet (29) continued his momentum, confirming his new status as circuit boss and positioning himself as the main contender for winning the big crystal globe.

There are certainly nine events still to be contested between now and the end of the season, but the Jura player has already made the hole since he now has a good lead (97 points) over his runner-up, the Swede Sebastian Samuelsson.

A comfortable mattress that can allow him to consider the suite with serenity.

Despite two rifle faults (18/20), Fillon-Maillet was almost never worried on the Ruhpolding track.

He was in a fight until halfway with the German Benedikt Doll but he managed to crack him during the first pass in standing shooting before flying away alone to victory, his 5th this season and the 11th of his career.

Frenchman Quentin Fillon-Maillet, on the shooting range, during the pursuit of Ruhpolding, counting for the Biathlon World Cup, January 16, 2022 CHRISTOF STACHE AFP

"My head works better"

Last year, the Frenchman failed to free himself and assume his role as French N.1 after the retirement of Martin Fourcade, experiencing a very frustrating exercise.

He finally changed dimension, discovering a warrior mind.

"I imagined this season fighting for the general but to have so much lead, it's incredible," he said.

"I enjoy the races, I manage to master situations and stress is not my enemy at all at the moment, it's really great. I don't have a revolutionary progression in my ski times , it's my head that works better. Today, I started with a little lead and I had a big desire to win".

The joy of Frenchman Quentin Fillon-Maillet, winner of the Ruhpolding pursuit, counting for the Biathlon World Cup, January 16, 2022 Christof STACHE AFP

While waiting to become perhaps the first Frenchman to lift the big crystal globe since Martin Fourcade in 2018, Fillon-Maillet does not however forget the Beijing Olympics (February 4-20), the major event of the season. during which all counters will be reset.

"Having a yellow World Cup leader's bib does not guarantee me a medal at any time at the Games, so we will have to do the job on site and I intend to do it," he said.

"There will be extra pressure and I will try to handle it with confidence by being good at race management with good skiing and good shooting."

© 2022 AFP