Frenzel wins tactical race
It doesn't happen very often that an athlete can be sure of the victory after half of the 10 km race although he's still in a group with nine others. Eric Frenzel was a member of the leading group of ten for the whole race, but he could enjoy his victory alone in the final lap. Because the others had to run their penalty laps in the stadium.
Björn Kircheisen
Sieger Frenzel
Jason Lamy Chappuis
Frenzel had a great starting position in the premiere of the penalty race as second, behind the winnter of the jumping, Christoph Bieler from Austria. Like Bieler (137.5 m) and French Maxime Laheurte (137 m), Frenzel jumped in the last distance zone with 137.5 m and so he didn't have to run a penalty lap. Second placed Jason Lamy Chappuis (130.5 m) and Frenzels teammate Bjoern Kircheisen (131 m) had to run the 100 m long extra lap twice.
The spectators might have even thought it would be a triumph for the German athletes. After 3.3 km, the leading group consistet of Fabian Riessle and three of his teammates. That's exactly what head coach Hermann Weinbuch wanted to see. The World Champion of 1985 played a major role in inventing the new format. "This was a totally different race than a normal Gundersen-event. We had a meeting after the jumping and spoke about the tactics", Weinbuch told. It was decided to take the lead with strong racers and secure the victory for Eric Frenzel.
And this tactic worked. "I like the new format. Our tactic of a team race worked", said Eric Frenzel. Also Jason Lamy Chappuis was happy about his return to the world class. "The season didn't start well for me. Now my jumping performances are getting better again. I was focusing on the Norwegians during the race", said the overall World Cup winner. Also third-placed Bjoern Einar Romoeren was satisfied with the new format: "This was an exciting race with many fights for the positions. I didn't have the best conditions on the hill, but I get better week after week."
The competition didn't have a happy end for Bill Demong. The American, who was in the lead during the race, made a mistake with his penalty laps. He would have had to run four, but ran only three. Tino Edelmann defended his lead in the overall ranking as 12th with 240 points, ahead of Norwegian Haavard Klementsen (189 points) and Alessandro Pittin from Italy (180 points).
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