Dates: December 19, 2024 – December 22nd, 2024
Schedule:
– Thursday December 19: Men’s 10km Sprint
– Friday December 20: Women’s 7.5km Sprint
– Saturday December 21: Men’s 12.5km Pursuit + Women’s 10km Pursuit
– Sunday December 22: Men’s 15km Mass Start + Women’s 12km Mass Start
Course Overview:
– Stadium altitude: 928m
– Maximum altitude on course: 927m
– Lowest altitude on course: 923m
– Stadium capacity: 4000 spectators
– Course capacity: 15000 spectators
When the weather is right there are few more picturesque venues for biathlon. The setting with the course rising away from the stadium along the side of the mountain, peaking mid lap and then coming back down towards the stadium is just gorgeous. The fans clearly love it and it must be an absolutely phenomenal setting. The key is…when the weather is right, which it increasingly hasn’t been. When the weather isn’t right it can turn into quite the tricky test!
Weather:
– Avg Temp for mid December: High 5C and Low -2C
This looks like it is going to be a sloppy, wet, gross weekend in Annecy. The women on Friday might have good weather for the Sprint, but also the most wind. The rest of the weekend, though, we’re looking at rainy and warm conditions. It’s going to be a week to really nail the wax or otherwise it is going to be a slog. Could really separate out the athletes with the strong legs!
News and Notes
Marketa Davidova (CZE) – IBU World Cup Biathlon, sprint women, Kontiolahti (FIN). http://www.biathlonworld.com © Koksarovs/IBU.
1.Injuries and Illness: The women’s World Cup continues to be beset by injuries and illness this season. It’s unbelievable the number of top athletes that so far have already been hit!
– Marketa Davidova – This was the real surprise yesterday. She apparently has had this going on for a little bit. The physio team was able to get her in shape for the Sprint and Pursuit, and she even got 5th in the Sprint! But the back continued to get worse and she will be out for the weekend. Back injuries can be tricky, but hopefully she can be full gas in Oberhof because her return to form has been one of the great stories this season!
– Lisa Vittozzi – Vittozzi continues to sit out as she recovers from her back pain. Hopefully a full strength Vittozzi returns in Oberhof!
– Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold – She continues to sit out from competition due to her heart condition. She released a statement this week reiterating that it is not dangerous. I’m still glad that they are being more cautious with her and making sure all is good before returning to full competition! Trandrevold will instead not return until Oberhof at the earliest.
– Hanna Oeberg – Calling an early end to her first trimester so she can head home and start prep for the 2nd trimester.
– Juni Arnekleiv – Calling an early end to her first trimester so she can head home and start prep for the 2nd trimester.
– Julia Simon – She clearly came into the season not in her best shape, which is when an injury like her calf can happen. She grabbed her back at the end of the Pursuit. She let Minkkinen take the lead on lap 3 of the Pursuit. I think where I’ve landed is she doesn’t have a single injury. She came in without the best form and as a result is getting these little soft tissue tweaks. But the relay opening leg shows she can still get to top level when needed.
Ida Lien, NOR – IBU Cup Biathlon, women pursuit, Idre Fjall (SWE). http://www.biathlonworld.com © Danielsson/IBU.
2. Who Is Up and Who Is Down? (From the IBU Cup):
– 🇳🇴 Norway: Big decision here for the Norwegian men is who gets sat for the Sprint/Pursuit as they lose the extra bib awarded to them from Mats Oeverby’s IBU Cup Overall victory last season. The final decision is that Tarjei Boe will sit the Sprint/Pursuit. However, he’s sitting in 11th in the Overall and is already assured that he will start the Mass Start. Vetle Sjaastand Christiansen really needs to make the most of the Sprint/Prsuit this weekend!
Ida Lien also will be coming to the World Cup this week. She has fully recovered from her back injury which may have been the reason she wasn’t called up last week in favor of Marit Oeygard. Lien performed very well in Idre Fjall with two victories before the 22nd and 20th in Geilo where she hurt her back. The version of Lien from Idre Fjall would be a very welcome sight for a Norwegian women’s team that has struggled so far this season. Also, as noted above Juni Arnekleiv will be taking an early Christmas break. The Norwegian women are only taking 5 to France.
– 🇫🇷 France: The French women similarly had to make the same decision thanks to Oceane Michehlon’s IBU Cup Overall title last year. For the French women it is Gilonne Guigonnat who is the odd woman out and who will go back to the IBU Cup this week. I imagine that there will be high competition for turn over as Paula Botet, Camille Bened, and Chloe Chevalier continue to perform well!
– 🇮🇹 Italy: Interesting decision for the Italian men as they are taking just four to France. Elia Zeni and Patrick Braunhofer stay in Austria for the IBU Cup weekend in Obertilliach.
Meanwhile for the women Lisa Vittozzi remains out and Beatrice Trabucchi returns to the IBU Cup. Also, Rebecca Passler returns to competition this week, also in Obertilliach on the IBU Cup.
Anna Weidel, GER – IBU Cup Biathlon, women pursuit, Idre Fjall (SWE). http://www.biathlonworld.com © Danielsson/IBU.
– 🇩🇪 Germany: Anna Weidel returns to the World Cup! It’s a great story for her as she was off the national training roster this summer and has performed so well she’s fought her way all the way to the World Cup. Although she missed Geilo while sick she finished 2nd, 4th, and 3rd in Idre Fjall while showing off 93.3% shooting! I’m really happy for her return to the World Cup. Marlene Fichtner will go back to the IBU Cup.
Meanwhile, Junior speedster Elias Seidel is going to get the start on the IBU Cup in Obertilliach. He has excellent speed and I cannot wait to see how he performs this week. I’m not expecting anything phenomenal as he is just 20 years old, but he it’s a good measuring stick for him!
Men’s Top 5 Finishers Last 4 Competitions (Only 4 weeks because that already takes us back to 2017)
– Does not include retired or ineligible athletes
| Athlete | Finishes |
| JT Boe 🇳🇴 | 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥈🥉🥉,4,5 |
| Quentin Fillon Maillet 🇫🇷 | 🥇🥈🥈🥉,4,4 |
| Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen 🇳🇴 | 🥈🥉🥉,5,5 |
| Sturla Holm Laegreid 🇳🇴 | 🥇🥈🥈,5 |
| Tarjei Boe 🇳🇴 | 🥈🥉🥉,4 |
| Emilien Jacquelin 🇫🇷 | 🥇🥈 |
| Fabien Claude 🇫🇷 | 4, 4 |
| Martin Ponsiluoma 🇸🇪 | 4 |
| Antonin Guigonnat 🇫🇷 | 4 |
| Timofei Lapshin 🇰🇷 | 5 |
Women’s Top 5 Finishers Last 4 Competitions (Only 4 weeks because that already takes us back to 2017)
– Does not include retired or ineligible athletes
| Athlete | Finishes |
| Elvira Oeberg 🇸🇪 | 🥇🥇🥇🥉,4, |
| Julia Simon 🇫🇷 | 🥈🥈🥈🥉 |
| Lisa Vittozzi 🇮🇹 | 🥈🥉,4,5 |
| Dorothea Wierer 🇮🇹 | 🥈,4,4,5 |
| Justine Braisaz-Bouchet 🇫🇷 | 🥇🥈,5 |
| Lisa Hauser 🇦🇹 | 🥇,4 |
| Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold 🇳🇴 | 🥈,4 |
| Sophie Chauveau 🇫🇷 | 4, 5 |
| Anna Magnusson 🇸🇪 | 🥇 |
| Marketa Davidova 🇨🇿 | 🥈 |
| Hanna Oeberg 🇸🇪 | 🥉 |
| Lena Haecki-Gross 🇨🇭 | 🥉 |
| Jessica Jislova 🇨🇿 | 5 |
Recent Memorable Moments/Performances
Maybe we don’t get to see the World Cup in Annecy every season, but it is already a very memorable locale. I had to make a sure effort not to put every single race on here!
December 2021: The weekend was a celebration of what was turning into a very strong season for the French men. Quentin Fillon Maillet and Emilien Jacquelin both won a race and they went 1-2 in the Mass Start. By winning the Mass Start Jacquelin won himself the Yellow bib at the end of the 1st trimester of the 2021-2022 season. Ultimately QFM would take it back in Germany and then run away with the Overall title late in the season, but for this moment in time it was Jacquelin stealing it away from QFM. The whole weekend was summed up by Tarjei Boe celebrating the two French strong men by waving the French tricolor as the fans roared their approval.
December 2021: That same weekend as noted above, it was the dawn of a new era on the women’s World Cup. Elvira Oeberg, long an enticing talent, broke through in the 52nd race of her career for her first victory. She started from bib 3, 16 seconds back of Sprint winner Marte Olsbu Roeiseland. After Roeiseland had some early misses, Elvira moved to the front by the halfway point of the race. Even with a huge push from Julia Simon, no surprise there, Elvira was able to hang on for the first win of her career.
Not wanting to wait another 52 races for her next win, Elvira came out the next day and once again went head to head with Julia Simon. Once again Elvira came out on top. Both had two misses, but Elvira missed early and hit all 10 of her standing shots to pull away late. Since then Elvira has added seven more wins including the Mass Start this season on Kontiolahti!
December 2022: The races of December 2022 are distinctly memorable to me for what a disaster the course was. It was very warm during the day on Friday, but then a hard freeze came in over night. As a result the course was incredibly icy for the Pursuits on Saturday. Pretty much anybody with Fischer skis couldn’t get any traction. We saw JT Boe slip and fall multiple times throughout the race. At times he looked like Bambi!
Thankfully they got the course back together for the Mass Start on Sunday which saw Johannes Dale-Skjevdal win an emotional race. Remember, in 2021, even as the defending 2020 5th place Overall, he was sent down to the IBU Cup after two weeks. He fought his way back in 2022 to rejoin the World Cup. When he won the Mass Start in Annecy he was so emotional and it was absolutely wonderful to see!
The women’s Sprint this weekend was the memorable recent Annecy race for me. I think I wanted each of the women at the top to win the race. It was ultimately won by Anna Magnusson with Linn Gestblom coming in 2nd. I was going to be ecstatic for either of those women to win the race! However, the woman I think we all remember from that race is actually Sophie Chauveau, who broke through for the first time on the World Cup to finish 4th, just four seconds off the podium. The celebration for her that day was phenomenal!
Thoughts/Predictions:
– Lou Jeanmonnot comes into the weekend 2nd in the Overall. Can you imagine if she is in contention late in the Pursuit and/or the Mass Start? The French fans will be beside themselves. Especially if she has the opportunity to put on the Yellow bib at the end of the day in Sunday?
– If we’re going to see the best of Julia Simon in the first trimester this is our chance. Not only is it in front of her home fans which always spur her on, but it’s just one more week into the season. One more week towards finding her best form. We’ve seen flashes and hopefully now we see the full bloom!
– Emilien Jacquelin is going to ride a wave of French support to a win in the Mass Start. It’s going to be glorious.
– JT Boe is rounding into form well. He obviously loves this course as well. However, I’m actually going to go with Laegreid to get his first victory of the season this week in the Pursuit! Not saying JT Boe won’t also win the Sprint but I think this is Laegreid’s week!