Biathlon-Relay pressure relieved as lead-off woes turn to gold for France

ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 19 : The relays at the Milano Cortina Games have once again proved some hardy old truths about team races in biathlon - you cannot win one on the first leg, but you can certainly lose it, and in the end the medals go to whoever keeps their cool. 

Both the men's and women's relays saw France get off to disastrous starts before storming back to win gold, sparing the blushes of the two lead-off racers who dug their team into holes that the others had to bust a gut to pull them out of. 

“I was really disappointed after my race, because one penalty loop in the relay is so bad," French biathlete Camille Bened said after a poor shooting performance gave teammate Lou Jeanmonnot a veritable mountain to climb in the second leg.

With all of the teams starting together, things can quickly get messy for the openers. 

"It's always like that. The first stretch is always pretty tight, depending on whether someone is very willing to drag the rest along on the first lap and spread the field out, but it's usually tight to the first prone (lying on one's stomach) shoot, that's when the race really starts," Swedish silver medallist Linn Gestblom told Reuters.

"My goal today was to go in and not race cheap on the first lap, and not get into any messy situations, bumping people, skis clashing and poles getting broken, things like that."

The top teams in the women's race all had to endure a tumultuous first leg, yo-yoing in the standings before the French ultimately took over and won thanks to a tremendous third leg from Oceane Michelon.

Twenty-four hours previously, it was her compatriot Emilien Jacquelin that came to the rescue in the men's race.

"Even if, from the start, it is not so great, you have to stay humble, but give