The postponement of the Oslo sprint to Saturday and by extension the cancellation of the last pursuit of the season, initially scheduled for Saturday, makes Julia Simon’s business closer than ever to her first big crystal globe. If the Savoyarde finishes at least 6th in the sprint on Saturday or the mass start on Sunday, she will be crowned.
After the postponement of the sprint on Friday and the cancellation of the pursuit, the last meeting of the specialty this season, initially scheduled for Saturday, Julia Simon already has a trophy in her pocket. The Frenchwoman at the top of the general classification of the World Cup is indeed already certain to turn her back on the season with the little crystal globe of the pursuit in her hand. However, it is the big crystal globe that only interests him. Simon, yellow bib, was already not very far before the start of this final stage, on the snow of Oslo.
She is now very close to it, since the cancellation of the pursuit has played into the Savoyarde’s hands, rid at the same time of one of her two rivals who could still hope to deprive her of the big globe and closer than ever to becoming the first Tricolore crowned since Sandrine Bailly in 2005. Lisa Vitozzi had to achieve a clear round in Norway by winning the last three races of the season to still be able to beat Simon at the post. The pursuit having been canceled, the Italian saw all her hopes fly away and here she is definitely out of the running for the title. Dorothea Wierer, another Transalpine, can however continue to dream. But here again the pursuit world champion, last month in Oberhof, will leave with a clear lead.
Simon needs 37 points only
For the native of Albertville not to pop the champagne this weekend, it would indeed be necessary that she does not finish in the first six of the sprint on Saturday like the mass start on Sunday and that Wierer wins everything at the same time. (180 points remain to be distributed). An unlikely outcome. On the contrary, there is even strong reason to think that the French will obtain the issue on Saturday during the sprint. And if ever she were to miss and miss the flower ceremony on this sprint postponed for one day because of the fog, she would then benefit from a new opportunity, the next day on the mass start. It does not matter in which race Simon will finish in the Top 6. Only one will be enough for the Frenchwoman, who is 144 points ahead of her runner-up and only needs 37 points to win her first big crystal globe. . And if she finishes in the top six on Saturday or Sunday, she will pocket 40 points. The calculation is quickly made, and the crown very close.
