For the moment, the double Olympic champion has a mattress of 144 points ahead of his runner-up Emilien Jacquelin, by subtracting their two worst results as stipulated in the regulations.

Mathematically, his coronation cannot take place on Thursday during the sprint but the mass start on Saturday could well be the scene of his crowning glory.

It is enough for him to increase his advantage over his compatriot to more than 180 points at the end of this race to put an end to an already non-existent suspense and become at 29 the fourth Frenchman to win a large crystal globe after Patrice Bailly. -Salins (1994), Raphaël Poirée (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004) and Martin Fourcade (from 2012 to 2018).

At the rate it has been at for several weeks, this scenario seems plausible.

The hero of the Beijing Olympics did not even experience any psychological or physical backlash after his Olympic adventure.

While several leaders have already given up, starting with the triple holder of the World Cup Johannes Boe, who went on vacation after his raid in China (4 titles), and his brother Tarjei, absent in Kontiolahti last week, Fillon Maillet remained fully mobilized and focused on his goal.

"Confidence and composure"

After a two-week break on his return from Beijing and very short festivities in his Jura village of Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvaux, the Frenchman resumed his march forward by achieving the sprint-pursuit double as soon as the race resumed. the World Cup in Finland.

French biathlete Quentin Fillon Maillet, winner of the Kontiolahti pursuit, March 6, 2022 Vesa Moilanen Lehtikuva / AFP / Archives

He took the opportunity to seize the small pursuit globe, the first of his career, while waiting to taste the big one.

Fillon Maillet's immediate pursuers thus have few illusions.

Emilien Jacquelin tried to tickle him on the pursuit of Kontiolahti but he ended up folding (4th).

"I wanted to push him a little to his limits, but he has the necessary confidence and this composure which allows him to stay within his standards", he explained on the Chaîne l'Equipe.

As for the Swede Sebastian Samuelsson, world No.3, he abdicated a long time ago and indicated that he was now only fighting for 2nd place.

Fillon Maillet therefore has free rein.

It just remains to be seen when he will definitively seal his victory.

© 2022 AFP