From her first shot lying down, with three faults committed - as many missed targets in a single shot as since the start of the season in this position - the Frenchwoman lost contact with the race leader.
With two more faults lying down, plus two standing up, she finally ranked 18th in the last individual race before the World Championships (February 8-19 in Oberhof), 1 min 54 sec behind Herrmann-Wick.
The German biathlete, 18/20 behind the rifle, won with 11 seconds ahead of the Italian Lisa Vittozzi, author of a clear round, and 17 sec 2/10th over the Swedish Elvira Oeberg, two faults on the shooting range.
Despite this poor performance on Saturday, Simon retains the yellow bib of leader of the general classification but his lead over Oeberg, his rival N.1, bottoms from 113 to 76 points (811 points against 735).
The best Frenchwoman of the day is Lou Jeanmonnot, eighth just over a minute behind Herrmann-Wick, with a 17/20 in shooting.
Second in the sprint on Thursday, her very first podium in the World Cup, and started three seconds from the lead on Saturday, Chloé Chevalier, four faults committed in shooting, finished 15th in the pursuit, more than a minute and a half behind .
The men's pursuit is scheduled for the afternoon (3:00 p.m.), before two stints on Sunday.
© 2023 AFP