Nothing more should prevent the double Olympic champion from being crowned at the end of the season as his domination seems overwhelming.

The French delivered a new demonstration in Finland by returning a clean copy, in line with his performances at the Games.

Without the triple holder of the World Cup Johannes Boe, already on vacation after his Olympic harvest in China (4 titles), and his brother Tarjei, world No.3, the task of QFM was certainly facilitated.

But the Jurassic did not demobilize, remaining focused on his objective.

Impeccable in shooting (10/10) and still as effective on skis, he flew over the debates to finish 18.3 seconds ahead of Norwegian Filip Andersen.

French biathlete Quentin Fillon Maillet, on the shooting range during the sprint event in Kontiolahti (Finland), March 5, 2022 Vesa Moilanen Lehtikuva / AFP

The impact on the general classification is not negligible since Fillon Maillet now has a 157 point lead over his runner-up Emilien Jacquelin, 6th Saturday, before the last two stages of the World Cup in Otepaa in Estonia (March 10 to 13 ) and in Oslo (March 17 to 20).

If we subtract the two worst results of the biathletes, as required by the regulations, the advantage of Fillon Maillet is 127 lengths over his compatriot.

"In good shape"

The outcome of the season is therefore in no doubt and the 29-year-old biathlete, who signed his 6th success of the winter, should become, barring cataclysm, the fourth Frenchman to seize the big crystal globe after Patrice Bailly. -Salins (1994), Raphaël Poirée (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004) and Martin Fourcade (from 2012 to 2018).

"I'm super satisfied," said Fillon Maillet.

"The goal is to score as many points as possible in the general classification and to continue to perform well. I'm not here just to ensure but to continue to perform. There was concern at the end of the Games because of fatigue. I had a lot of demands. So once I got home, I tried to rest as much as possible to recover as much as possible and get some juice for the rest. I didn't know how it was going happen. It was not particularly easy to manage but I am in good shape. I continue to remain in a very good dynamic".

French biathlete Quentin Fillon Maillet, winner of the sprint in Kontiolahti (Finland), March 5, 2022 Vesa Moilanen Lehtikuva / AFP

Fillon Maillet also said he did not want to "go into the calculations" and indicated that he did not look at the differences in the general classification of the World Cup.

"I remain focused on the manner, on the management of my shot and the race, and on my technique", he assured.

However, he will have another opportunity to knock out the competition on Sunday in the pursuit, an exercise in which he holds the Olympic title and in which he has been undefeated for five races.

© 2022 AFP