The Olympic Season Begins in Biathlon – Questions and Power Relations at the Start of the World Cup

The Olympic season in biathlon begins on Saturday. In the men’s field, the retirement of the Bø brothers marks the start of a new era, both for the Norwegian team and for the entire international field. On the women’s side, all the main contenders from last season are present again, joined by Lisa Vittozzi, who has shown excellent form in the pre-season.

There is a saying in biathlon that if the year is an odd one, then Östersund will host the season opener – and this has held true all the way back to 2003, the last time an odd-numbered year did not begin at the Swedish venue. It is also becoming something of a tradition that the season starts with a double weekend: both the opening weekend and the first week of December will be spent in Sweden. Later in the season, Hochfilzen and Annecy are on the calendar before the traditional German duo of Oberhof and Ruhpolding in January. The final World Cup races before the Olympic Games will take place in Nové Město. After the Antholz Olympics, the season concludes with events in Kontiolahti, Otepää and Oslo.

Men

At the end of last season, a changing of the guard took place in the men’s competition, as Sturla Holm Lægreid won the overall World Cup ahead of Johannes Thingnes Bø. Lægreid has only been competing in the World Cup since 2019, but he made an immediate impact upon his arrival. He took part in a few races at the end of the 2019–2020 season, where his performances were solid but not extraordinary. This changed at the start of the 2020–2021 campaign, when he won the very first race of the season and went on to claim seven victories overall, finishing second in the total standings.

In the following two seasons he again finished second overall, before a somewhat “weaker” fourth place in the 2023–2024 season. Based on this trajectory, it could be said that Lægreid’s overall victory had been maturing for some time, and one might be tempted to declare him the top favourite for the coming season. However, the situation is far from simple.

One of his main challengers could be France’s Éric Perrot, who finished third overall last season after showing significant improvement. In the Swedish team, hopes are centred on Sebastian Samuelsson, although in his case overall consistency has tended to fluctuate more than what is usually required to win the big crystal globe. In an Olympic season, the Italians will be looking to Tommaso Giacomel, who recorded five World Cup podiums last season and also won an individual silver medal at the World Championships.

Pre-season races were held between 14 and 16 November in Norway and Sweden, with most of the leading athletes taking part. In Norway, the sprint race was won by Johan-Olav Botn, who has started only seven World Cup races in his career, none in the previous season, though he does have a sprint podium from March 2024. According to the Norwegian team, he has made the squad for the World Cup, making him an athlete worth keeping an eye on. In the same sprint, Perrot finished third, but won Sunday’s mass start. Émilien Jacquelin also showed solid form, finishing 11th in the sprint and second in the mass start. Lægreid did not start strongly, recording a 17th and a 7th place.

Races were also held in Idre, Sweden, with sprint competitions on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, Samuelsson was the winner ahead of Horn, while on Sunday the German Fratzscher won ahead of Zobel and Kühn, resulting in an all-German podium. Samuelsson struggled on Sunday, missing four targets and finishing eighth. While no far-reaching conclusions should be drawn from these two days, the current picture suggests the German team may be in good shape. At the same time, most athletes are clearly aiming to peak for the Olympic Games, which adds further uncertainty to the battle for the overall World Cup.

In this context, it is worth recalling that the last time there was an Olympic season, Johannes Thingnes Bø finished only 13th overall, missing several races, yet went on to win four Olympic gold medals at the Winter Games. Taking all circumstances into account, Éric Perrot currently appears to be the leading contender for the overall title, as Lægreid is likely to focus primarily on the Olympics following his previous overall victory. The question remains whether the improving Germans, Samuelsson, or perhaps another emerging Norwegian can challenge him. Answers will come quickly, as the men’s World Cup starts on Saturday with a relay, while individual competitions begin on December 3 with a 20 km individual race.

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Women

Last season saw a tight battle for the overall title in the women’s competition, which was eventually won by Germany’s Franziska Preuß ahead of France’s Lou Jeanmonnot. Both Preuß and Jeanmonnot delivered consistently strong performances throughout the season, leaving no real chance for the more uneven Elvira Öberg or Julia Simon to enter the title fight. Simon will start the new season at a disadvantage, having been convicted in a long-running bank card theft case and sentenced to a suspended prison term and a fine, with the French federation also imposing a one-month ban. As a result, she will not be competing in Sweden.

The previous season also produced some notable breakthroughs. One of them was Michelon, who finished five points ahead of Richard in the U23 standings. Another was Suvi Minkkinen, whose late breakthrough came at the age of 30. Before last season, her best World Championship result had been a single eighth place, with no other top-20 finishes, and she had never finished inside the top 40 at the Olympics. It remains an open question whether she can achieve what Finnish legend Kaisa Mäkäräinen never managed: despite her incredible career, Mäkäräinen astonishingly never won an Olympic medal.

A major return is also expected from Lisa Vittozzi, who was forced to miss the entire previous season due to illness but showed outstanding form during the summer, both at the Norwegian Blink Festival and at the Munich Loop One event.

At the test races two weeks ago, the Norwegian sprint in Geilo was won by Kirkeeide, who produced a remarkable skiing performance despite missing two shots. Dorothea Wierer also showed encouraging form, finishing sixth despite three misses and heading into what is likely her final Olympic appearance in February. In Idre, the sprint races were dominated by the Öberg sisters, with Hanna winning ahead of Elvira, while Vittozzi finished fourth. On Sunday, Elvira Öberg dominated, finishing more than a minute ahead of second-placed Hettich-Walz, with Hanna Öberg just two seconds behind her, closely followed by Vittozzi. Anna Magnusson also deserves mention, having finished a solid fifth on both days. On Sunday in Norway, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold returned to form by winning the mass start ahead of Femsteinevik and Wierer. Kirkeeide struggled on that day, missing seven targets and finishing only 20th.

As the season approaches, it is clear that the two Italians, Vittozzi and Wierer, are in excellent shape and will need to be watched closely from the very start. The Öberg sisters dominated the Idre weekend and therefore approach the season opener with far more positive signs than last year. However, there are still several athletes whose form remains uncertain, including Michelon, Richard, Preuß and Minkkinen, who will only truly show their hand once racing begins in Östersund.

The women also open their season with a relay on Saturday, while their first 15 km individual race will take place on Tuesday with a 15:30 start.