In mid-October, biathlon returns to Munich’s Olympic Park. Last year the event was a big success, with close to 50,000 people on site, and this year the organisers are promising even more programmes and world-class names.
Who is coming to Munich?
The Loop One Festival was held for the first time in 2025 at Munich’s Olympic Park. It was such a success that it was no surprise to see it return this season. Around 100 athletes competed there last year, and in recent weeks one bigger name after another has been announced, including both defending champions, as Vittozzi and Perrot will both take part.
The French team will be split. Claude, Michelon and Simon, among others, have chosen the Munich event, while others, such as Jeanmonnot, Fillon Maillet and Braisaz-Bouchet, will race at the Arçon Summer Tour instead. For Italy, Giacomel will be a notable absentee, as he will not start because of a shoulder injury. The format is the Super Sprint, which differs from what we see at World Cup rounds.
The German team:
Super Sprint
- Every heat starts with 15 participants
- Three laps of 1.8 km each
- One prone and one standing shooting stage, from a distance of 50 m
- No spare rounds: every miss means a 60 m penalty loop
- A maximum of two athletes from the same nation per heat
- The top 3 from each heat qualify directly for the final, plus three more based on overall time
In the final
- Five laps instead of three
- Two prone and two standing shooting stages
- Again, every miss costs a 60 m penalty loop
Off to Kontiolahti: One month to go until the start of the winter season
Because of the format, it is very easy to slip out of the final places. In 2025, too, several athletes who went on to perform well during the season failed to reach the final. Michelon, Kirkeeide and Simon, among others, missed it, and on the men’s side Jacquelin and Fillon Maillet did not make the top 15 either. The former cannot even try this year, as he will skip the entire season to concentrate on cycling.
Programme
17 October
- 11:00 Women’s Super Sprint Qualification
- 12:20 Men’s Super Sprint Qualification
- 15:45 Women’s Super Sprint final
- 16:25 Men’s Super Sprint final
18 October
- 10:15 Women’s Super Sprint, Heat 1
- 10:35 Women’s Super Sprint, Heat 2
- 10:55 Women’s Super Sprint, Heat 3
- 11:15 Women’s Super Sprint, Heat 4
- 12:30 Men’s Super Sprint, Heat 1
- 12:50 Men’s Super Sprint, Heat 2
- 13:10 Men’s Super Sprint, Heat 3
- 13:30 Men’s Super Sprint, Heat 4
- 15:45 Women’s Super Sprint Final
- 16:25 Men’s Super Sprint Final
Compared with last year, the best athletes will compete over two days this time, with qualifiers and finals on both days. There is more to see away from the racing, too: several legends will host meet-and-greet events. Johannes Thingnes Bø, Simon Schempp, Franziska Preuß, Denise Herrmann-Wick and Michael Rösch, among others, will be attending.
Once the event is over, only about a month will separate the athletes from the first World Cup weekend of the season, so we will get a sense of who is in what shape as they enter the final stretch of their preparation.
The Loop One Festival takes place in Munich on 17–18 October, while the season’s first World Cup weekend starts on 26 November in Kontiolahti.
Source: Nordicmag
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