Starting in ninth position, more than 1 min 20 sec behind Boe, and about thirty seconds from the podium, QFM took advantage of a 19 out of 20 in shooting to make a place for themselves during the tenth individual race of the winter: he finished second 1 min 04 sec 9/10th behind the irresistible Norwegian, who went it alone despite two faults.

Tarjei Boe (1 fault), Johannes' older brother, completes the podium after a mano a mano loss with the Frenchman on the last lap.

"It feels really good, smiles Fillon Maillet at the microphone of the L'Equipe channel. Finally a podium, finally real sensations on the skis, and an almost perfect shot. We had to fight until the end, but it It's a race the way I like them. It was great, a treat. It's reassuring."

Five-time Olympic medalist in Beijing last February and holder of the big crystal globe of the World Cup, Fillon Maillet had so far not done better than a fourth place since the start of the season.

Already 7 wins for Boe

Has his winter started for good, a month from the Worlds in Oberhof, Germany (February 8-19)?

Leaving without really realizing it exhausted from the previous season, that of his two Olympic titles, Fillon Maillet explains "now trying to rest as much as possible, to recover as much as possible, to remove the most demands and to be intelligent in training" to get rid of fatigue paid for later.

"It paid off today (Saturday), I hope it will pay off in the next few days but it's not guaranteed," he knows.

“I hope the great Quentin is back, he breathes in videoconference, but I will have to continue to be smart. I hope that the form will continue to rise to do great things at the World Championships. "

Johannes Boe, he is definitely hovering over the season.

After ten individual races, he is already celebrating his seventh victory and his ninth podium of the winter (not counting two successes in the relay).

Enough to consolidate his place at the top of the general classification, with 779 points.

Especially since his closest pursuer, his compatriot Sturla Laegreid (675 points), finished at the foot of the podium on Saturday after two missed targets in shooting.

Discreetly, QFM is repositioning itself in third place, with 377 points.

Deprived of pursuit after being ejected from the first sixty of the sprint on Friday, Emilien Jacquelin slipped to eighth (319 points).

Oeberg approaches Simon

Yellow bib on the women's side, Julia Simon has chained a fourth consecutive podium at midday.

But the threat embodied by the Swede Elvira Oeberg, author of the sprint-pursuit double in Slovenia, is becoming clearer.

Two victories in two races, thirty targets hit out of thirty shots: Oeberg could not have started 2023 better. the shooting range, and 22 sec 4/10e on Simon, two missed targets, one lying and one standing.

"I suffered from the first round, it was played in the head at the last shot, says the Frenchwoman at the microphone of the L'Equipe channel. Last year, when I was in the hard I was far , there it's still a podium, I'm not going to complain, it's going in the right direction."

In the general classification, after ten of the 21 individual races scheduled, Simon keeps the yellow bib she has been wearing since the second stage in Hochfilzen (Austria), with 606 points.

But Oeberg (575 points), presented as a favorite for the big crystal globe before winter, is down to 31 points.

"We expected her maybe a little more in front (at the start of the season). There, she is at her level, it announces great battles, I have not said my last word", promises Simon.

Two mixed relays are scheduled for Sunday before joining Ruhpolding, in Bavaria.

© 2023 AFP