The 2025/26 Biathlon World Cup is well and truly underway, with three of this season’s nine events already in the books. From surprise winners to highly-anticipated comebacks, here’s how everything looks after the first three stops on the 2025/26 calendar.
by Daniele Spadi
With eight out of 21 competitions scheduled for the 2025/26 Biathlon World Cup now in the past, the names of those who are set to fight for the overall globe are now clear – or at least some of them.
As the first three events of the season showed, biathlon is enjoying a spectacular run of form across male and female competitions, with plenty of surprises and nail-biting finishes that showed how unpredictable this season is shaping up to be.
Though the fight for the crystal globes is in full swing, all eyes are still on Antholtz, as the breathtaking Italian mountains will host the long awaited Olympic races from February 8th to February 21st.
With this goal in mind, athletes have been carefully calculating the most optimal plan to peak just at the right time, which has left some uncertainty regarding who could take it all at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Jeanmonnot leads an exceptionally tight field
Women’s biathlon has enjoyed terrific depth throughout the first three legs of the 2025/26 season. With seven different winners in the first eight races, the season couldn’t be more unpredictable if it tried.
The only woman capable of taking home the winning spoils twice was Lou Jeanmonnot. The 27-year-old has come second in the overall standings in the past two seasons, and is regarded as the prime favourite to take home the crown this year.
Despite missing out on an individual podium in Östersund, Jeanmonnot went back to winning ways in the sprint at Hochfilzen. She was also spectacular in her home event at Annecy, where she took one win and two second places – missing just twice in 10 shooting sessions.
Though the Frenchwoman took the yellow bib in Annecy, three women before her wore it this year. The very first one was veteran Dorothea Wierer: the two-time overall cup winner is competing in her final season, and took a stunning victory in the individual at Östersund. She followed that up with two third-place finishes in Annecy, and now sits in third in the overall standings tied with Anna Magnusson.
The Swedish athlete has been one of the breakout stars of the season so far, taking four straight podiums across Östersund and Hochfilzen – an incredible and rather unexpected run of form that granted her the yellow bib until Jeanmonnot took it from her on French soil. The other surprise has definitely been Suvi Minkkinen: the Finn took her maiden win in the sprint at Östersund, and wore the yellow bib for the first ever time in the following mass start. A further podium finish in the pursuit at Annecy sees her in fifth in the overall standings, while leading the pursuit standings too.
Jeanmonnot’s latest challenger is Maren Kirkeeide. Often regarded as one of the rising stars of biathlon, the 22-year-old took half of her career podiums just in these first three events – taking two top three finishes in Hochfilzen and taking home her first world cup victory in Le Grand-Bornand’s mass start thanks to her ever-impressive standing shooting form.
Rather than focusing on the overall cup, some athletes are prioritizing this season’s headline event: the Olympic Games in Antholz. Local hero Lisa Vittozzi will be one of the long-awaited stars at the Games, after missing out on the entire 2024/25 season to heal a complex back injury. Her comeback this season was impressive, ultimately culminating with an extraordinary win in the pursuit at Hochfilzen. Hanna Öberg was also back to winning ways in the following race, taking the sprint in Annecy.
It’s been a quiet start for some of the marquee names of the sport. Mass start world champion Elvira Öberg is yet to score an individual podium this season, just like biathlon superstar Julia Simon, though the Frenchwoman is coming back from a very difficult summer. Her teammate and archrival Justine Braisaz-Bouchet was finally on the podium in Annecy, taking third in the mass start after a slow start to her campaign.
Last but not least, a few surprise names have impressed throughout the first three legs. Other than the aforementioned Magnusson and Minkkinen, Camille Bened has been France’s best athlete together with Jeanmonnot, as her consistency and reliability has promoted her to sixth in the overall standings. Sonja Leinamo took her maiden podium in Östersund’s individual, missing out on the win by just three tenths, while Lucie Charvátová and Rebecca Passler showed considerable improvements from last year.
Can anyone catch Botn?
After the shock retirement of Johannes Thingnes Bø just one year before the Olympic Games, men’s biathlon was left without a concrete leader heading into the Olympic season.
Though many predicted reigning overall champion Sturla Holm Lægreid to take his place on the throne, it was another Norwegian who took over as the undisputed dominator: Johan-Olav Botn. A strong skiing form paired with exceptional shooting percentages – including a phenomenal 99% accuracy in standing shootings – led the 26-year-old to never leave the top five in the first eight races, taking three wins and a comfortable lead in the overall standings.
Botn is however set to miss out on the Oberhof leg due to illness, which will therefore open things up for his closest rivals led by Éric Perrot and Tommaso Giacomel. The Frenchman skied to victory in the pursuit at Hochfilzen and is yet to miss out on the top 10 this season, showing substantial improvements in his consistency. Giacomel has perhaps impressed the most, however, as is the only other athlete to win more than once this season, taking the sprint at Hochfilzen and dominating Annecy’s mass start. He currently sits third in the overall standings, just 16 points behind Perrot.
France has enjoyed a great start to the season as a team. Other than taking two second place finishes in both relays, Quentin Fillon Maillet went back to winning ways in Östersund, while Émilien Jacquelin took two podiums in Annecy and looked mighty quick in skiing sections.
Norway is still the main powerhouse on the men’s side, with four different athletes capable of finishing on the podium this season. Other than Botn, Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen was able to climb on the top spot of the podium, besting the field in the sprint at Annecy. In that race, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal settled for second – the first of three consecutive podiums on French soil for him. Martin Uldal was also took two podiums in Östersund.
However, the Norwegian team has quite the problem, as Sturla Holm Lægreid was nowhere to be found in the first three stops of the 2025/26 season. The reigning overall champion is shooting a worrisome 82% in standing shootings, as he is yet to step on an individual podium this season. With Lægreid set to miss the Oberhof leg too due to illness, it seems as though his sights are now completely on the Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina.
Despite his and Botn’s absences, Oberhof will host the perfect scenario for others to leave their mark. American rising star Campbell Wright has already racked up four individual top 10 finishes this season, and he is set to fight for his first podium finish of the 2025/26 campaign in Germany. Home hero Justus Strelow has impressed with his usual lightning-quick range times, and just missed out on the podium in the mass start at Le Grand-Bornand. Can he put everything together on home soil to score his maiden podium of the season?
Header image credit: Wikimedia Commons
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