At the biathlon World Cup season finale weekend in Oslo, Hanna Öberg delivered an outstanding performance, securing two victories in the women’s events, while the Norwegians dominated the men’s side, although Sturla Holm Lægreid’s long podium streak came to an end. Most of the discipline standings were easily decided, but the races still brought exciting battles and several surprises.
Women
Sprint: Öberg and Vittozzi Shine, Jeanmonnot Secures the Overall Title
The final sprint race took place without any real stakes regarding the discipline standings, as Jeanmonnot’s victory was already certain, and the overall competition was only a mathematical question. Due to the changed starting system, the favorites started very early, with the overall leader Jeanmonnot taking off with bib number 3.
In the first lap, Elvira Öberg and France’s Chauveau set the pace; the Swede shot clean, whereas the French missed. On the shooting range, Julia Simon was extremely fast, taking the lead after the first shooting bout, closely followed by Hanna and Elvira Öberg. In the second lap, the time gap among the top six actually decreased rather than grew.
Simon and Jeanmonnot were the first to complete the standing shooting, where it became clear that neither French would win that day, as both missed targets. The third French in the top 6, Michelon, also missed, unlike the two Öbergs and Vittozzi, establishing the top 3 after the second shoot. In the final lap, Hanna Öberg’s lead decreased only slightly, allowing her to win the race. Behind her, Vittozzi crossed the line in 2nd place, as Elvira Öberg could not keep up with her pace. Simon was the best French athlete, finishing 4th, while Jeanmonnot’s overall victory became a certainty after the race. Tandrevold delivered a great performance to finish 5th. The rest of the Norwegian team did not fare well; their second-best was Erdal in 33rd place, while Skar and Knotten didn’t even make the top 60.
Pursuit: A Great Battle Between Öberg and Simon
In the pursuit, Hanna Öberg aimed for her fourth victory of the season, which would also mark the most successful season of her career. Meanwhile, Jeanmonnot and Minkkinen fought for the small crystal globe, starting from 6th and 11th place, respectively.
In the first shooting, Hanna Öberg immediately missed two targets, losing her lead. Among the frontrunners, Vittozzi also missed two, while Elvira Öberg missed one. This tightened the field, bringing the top 15 athletes within a minute of each other. Hanna Öberg closed the gap in the third lap and then shot clean alongside Simon. Elvira Öberg also shot well, and Tandrevold made no mistakes either.
We didn’t see many misses in the third shooting bout either. The leading duo shot clean, as did Elvira Öberg. Tandrevold, however, missed two targets, dropping back to 5th place. Jeanmonnot, who cleared the third shoot, moved up to 4th but remained quite far from reaching the top 3. In the penultimate lap, Hanna Öberg and Julia Simon extended their lead, but both missed one target in the final shoot. Among the chasers, both Elvira Öberg and Jeanmonnot shot clean, securing their 3rd and 4th place finishes.
There was a massive battle for first place; at times it seemed Hanna Öberg could break away, but Julia Simon always closed the gap. Entering the finishing straight, Simon moved to the inside lane, but Hanna Öberg ahead of her continuously mirrored the move, leaving no room to pass. Thus, Hanna won the race. Simon was visibly unhappy crossing the finish line, but in her post-race interview, she admitted she would have done the exact same thing.
Jeanmonnot won the discipline standings after Minkkinen finished only 23rd. The biggest climb belonged to Norway’s Johansen, who moved up from 47th to 17th place. Aside from the Öberg sisters, the Swedes did not have a good day. The second biggest drop in the field belonged to Anna Magnusson, who fell from 7th to 39th, while Heijdenberg dropped from 8th to 45th.
Mass Start: Vittozzi’s Magnificent Sprint Finish
On Sunday afternoon, the female athletes prepared for the final race of a long season. The final race still held some stakes, as the discipline standings were not fully decided, although Julia Simon was the heavy favorite with a 45-point lead. As we’ve come to expect, the pressure didn’t get to Simon; she was extremely fast on the range in the first shoot, sharing the lead with Hanna Öberg. The rest of the chasers followed with a 6-7 second gap.
Simon and Hanna Öberg remained flawless in the second shoot, while the chasing pack kept shrinking. The leaders didn’t push a hard pace in the third lap, allowing Elvira Öberg to catch up completely, while the rest of the chasers closed to within 10 seconds. The first standing shoot scattered the field. Afterward, only the two Öberg sisters remained in the lead, with Hettich-Walz and Voborníková trailing by more than 10 seconds.
In the penultimate lap, the German and Czech athletes couldn’t close the gap, but behind them, Simon and Tandrevold made up several seconds. In the final shoot, Hanna Öberg missed one target, while Elvira missed two. Hanna Öberg stayed in the lead, as almost everyone in the chasing pack missed—except for Vittozzi, who surged from 7th to 2nd place, less than 9 seconds behind. Voborníková was skiing in 3rd place, pursued by Tandrevold and Elvira Öberg.
During the final lap, Vittozzi caught up to the visibly exhausted Hanna Öberg and dropped her in the last 200 meters, winning the race. Voborníková ultimately crossed the line in 3rd, fending off her pursuers. Simon finished 6th, securing her victory in the mass start discipline standings. Competing in the final race of her career, Fialkova finished 7th, while Hauser crossed the line in 19th.
WC final standings:
- Lou Jeanmonnot 1135 point
- Hanna Öberg 958 point
- Lisa Vittozzi 935 point
Men
Sprint: Lægreid’s Brilliant Victory
For the men, we also witnessed unusual moments, as the biggest favorites started right at the very beginning of the sprint race. The wind wasn’t strong, making it predictable that perfect shooting would be required for the win. The first shooting confirmed this. The front of the pack consisted almost entirely of clean shooters, with the exception of Lægreid, who was still within half a minute of the leader, Jacquelin. Ponsiluoma was within a second behind the Frenchman, and Perrot in 3rd place wasn’t far behind either.
In the second lap, Ponsiluoma and Lægreid pushed a very hard pace; the Swede took the lead, while the Norwegian’s deficit did not decrease. The second shoot, however, reshuffled the field. Surprisingly, many athletes missed. Jacquelin was in the lead; initially, Lægreid sat in 2nd, but the later-arriving Perrot overtook him, albeit by mere tenths of a second. In the final lap, the Norwegian turned the race around to take the lead, and the later-starting Perrot couldn’t surpass either him or his compatriot, establishing the final top three. Behind them, Ponsiluoma finished 4th despite missing two targets.
Interestingly, only Germany’s Nawrath shot clean among the top 10. The final lap was interesting for multiple reasons, as the Norwegian’s victory also secured him the sprint crystal globe. Lægreid and Samuelsson finished with the exact same number of points, so the tiebreaker came down to the number of victories, where the Norwegian had the upper hand. Furthermore, considering only individual races, this was the Norwegian’s 4th consecutive victory, but including relays, he was on a 6-race winning streak.
Recently, many athletes announced their retirement. Among those retiring, Simon Eder finished the race in 64th place, while Jakov Fak finished 89th, confirming this as the final race of their careers.
Pursuit: Centimeters Decided the Closest Race of the Season
The race was held in variable weather conditions, with the wind fluctuating between stronger and lighter gusts. In the first lap, a leading trio formed: Lægreid, Perrot, and Jacquelin arrived together for the first shoot. None of them missed, but Jacquelin was slightly slower on the range, resulting in a deficit of about 6 seconds. The majority of the chasers also shot clean, but Samuelsson and Christiansen did not, meaning only the top 6 remained within a minute of the lead.
Jacquelin caught up by the second shoot but missed a target there, leaving Perrot and Lægreid together at the front. Among the rest of the chasers, only Botn was within a minute after two shooting bouts. In the third shoot, the top three aimed perfectly, but Botn missed behind them, meaning even Ponsiluoma in 4th place had a deficit of over a minute.
Neither Perrot nor Lægreid missed in the final shoot, setting the stage for an intriguing final lap. Several athletes missed behind them, allowing the duo to lead the race with a massive advantage. The final lap brought one of the fiercest battles of the season. The race wasn’t decided even in the final meters; looking at the photo finish, a maximum of 1-2 centimeters separated the two athletes, with the Norwegian emerging victorious. Behind them, Jacquelin smoothly skied into 3rd place.
Perrot and Lægreid’s performance was outstanding not only because of their clean shooting but also because their speed—both on the range and on the track—was among the very best. This race also decided the fate of the small crystal globe, which was won by Perrot. Horn lost the most ground, dropping from 12th down to 41st, while Fabien Claude made the biggest leap, climbing from 35th all the way to 11th.
Mass Start: Botn’s Victory, Lægreid’s Streak Broken
The men completed the very last race of the season in Oslo. From a discipline standings perspective, the race had no stakes, as Perrot’s victory was already secured before the start. A lot of athletes missed in the first shooting bout; nearly half the field had to visit the penalty loop. Three athletes managed to break away at the front, and they weren’t caught until the season’s final prone shoot.
Among Perrot, Jacquelin, and Ponsiluoma, only Perrot shot clean, allowing the Frenchman to lead the race alone. Behind him skied Lægreid, Jacquelin, and Botn, with a deficit of about 10 seconds. This gap remained virtually unchanged down to the second as they reached the third shoot. Here, Perrot was fast but inaccurate, losing the lead because Botn shot clean among the chasers. Nawrath moved up to 3rd place, sitting roughly 5 seconds back.
In the final shoot, only Perrot missed out of the top 3, leaving the Norwegian and the German to battle for the win. The race was decided before the finishing straight; Nawrath couldn’t keep up with Botn’s pace, allowing the Norwegian to bookend the season, having won both the first and the very last race. Behind them, Perrot crossed the line in 3rd place.
Lægreid’s massive streak finally ended; counting only individual races, the Norwegian had stood on the podium 10 consecutive times. Before the Oslo race, the last time Lægreid missed the podium in an individual event was the pursuit in Ruhpolding back in January.
WC final standings:
- Eric Perrot 1263 point
- Sturla Holm Lægreid 984 point
- Johan-Olav Botn 968 point
Summary: Öberg’s Weekend, Norwegian Dominance, and Farewells in Oslo
The standout performer of the weekend was Hanna Öberg, who secured two wins and a second-place finish. The positive surprise of the weekend was Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, who delivered a very consistent performance, achieving three top-10 finishes. The negative surprise of the weekend was Minkkinen, whose form dropped significantly toward the end of the season, causing her to slip back in the overall standings and ultimately fail to secure the small crystal globe. In the sprint, she lost more than a minute despite her perfect shooting. The performance of Slovenian Lena Repinc from the weekend should be highlighted, as she achieved three top 20 finishes, which is among the best of her career.
Positive Surprise: Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold
Negative Surprise: Suvi Minkkinen
Athlete of the Weekend: Hanna Öberg
The long season has come to an end; unfortunately, we won’t be seeing several athletes again, while many others are expected to compete in national championships in the coming period. The full season review will be coming next week—if you don’t want to miss it, make sure to subscribe!
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