I’m once again trying a new format for Previews and Recaps. I will post them all here so you can scroll through the full season whenever you want.
2025-2026 Biathlon Season
November 29 – December 7 in Östersund
December 12 – December 14 in Hochfilzen
December 18 – December 21 in Annecy-le Grand Bornand
January 8 – January 11 in Oberhof
January 14 – January 18 in Ruhpolding
January 22 – January 25 in Nove Mesto Na Morave
February 8 – February 22 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Antholz
March 5 – March 5 in Kontiolahti
March 12– March 15 in Otepaa
March 19 – March 22 in Oslo Holmenkollen
Otepää
It’s time for only our second ever World Cup trip to Otepää! We don’t have a lot of history with this venue, but reactions to it’s first appearance on the World Cup four seasons ago (how has it already been that long?!? Look at those uniforms!!) were almost universally positive. Now as they prepare to host the upcoming World Championships we get to revisit Otepää for the second to last weekend of the 2025-2026 season!
Dates: March 12, 2026 – March 15, 2026
Schedule:
Thursday March 12th: Men’s 10km Sprint
Friday March 13th: Women’s 7.5km Sprint
Saturday March 14th: Men’s 12.5km Pursuit + Women’s 10km Pursuit
Sunday March 15th: Single Mixed Relay (M+W) + Mixed Relay (M+W)
Continue reading Otepää 2025-2026 Preview
Kontiolahti
It’s the start of the 3rd trimester and we are treated to the charmingly intimate venue in Kontiolahti. I always love returning to Kontiolahti. One of the few venues capable of night races giving us races under the lights. The relatively tiny stadium (that’s being generous) gives us a completely different atmosphere. And genuinely some of the sweetest fans. Also, the unique “wall” climb that, especially coming after the Olympics, could really expose who has the form and who doesn’t.
Dates: March 5, 2026 – March 8, 2026
Schedule:
Thursday March 5th: Women’s 15km Individual
Friday March 6th: Men’s 20km Individual
Saturday March 7: Women’s 12.5km Mass Start + Men’s 4×7.5km Relay
Sunday March 8: Women’s 4x6km Relay + Men’s 15km Mass Start
Continue Reading Kontiolahti 2025-2026 Preview
2026 Winter Olympic Games in Antholz
Maren KIRKEEIDE (NOR), Lou JEANMONNOT (FRA), Justine BRAISAZ-BOUCHET (FRA), Camille BENED (FRA), Amy BASERGA (SUI), Franziska PREUSS (GER) – IBU World Cup Biathlon, mass start women, Annecy – Le Grand Bornand (FRA). http://www.biathlonworld.com © Mobuchon/IBU.
How is it possible that we are already approaching the 2026 Olympic Games? While each season has it’s patterns with the normal rise and fall of the tension of each trimester, the overall calendar of the biathlon world operates on a four year window built towards a crescendo at each Olympics. The every four year event is the most prestigious moment. While biathlon remains the most popular winter sport in Europe, it is the one time a year that the sport really breaks through around the world. And even in Europe the excitement and tension mounts to see who can attain one of the most rare prizes in the sport, Olympic hardware. Well here we are in the final countdown to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games that will be, for our purposes, competed in the friendly and gorgeous venue at Antholz!
Dates: February 7 – February 22, 2026
Schedule:
– Sunday February 8th: Mixed Relay (M+W)
– Tuesday February 10th: Men’s 20km Individual
– Wednesday February 11th: Women’s 15km Individual
– Friday February 13th: Men’s 10km Sprint
– Saturday February 14th: Women’s 7.5km Sprint
– Sunday February 15th: Men’s 12.5km Pursuit + Women’s 10km Pursuit
– Tuesday February 17th: Men’s 4×7.5km Relay
– Wednesday February 18th: Women’s 4x6km Relay
– Friday February 20th: Men’s 15km Mass Start
– Saturday February 21st: Women’s 12.5km Mass Start
Continue Reading 2026 Olympic Games Preview
Nove Mesto
Emilien Jacquelin (FRA), Eric Perrot (FRA), Lukas Hofer (ITA) – IBU World Cup Biathlon, short individual men, Nove Mesto na Morave (CZE). http://www.biathlonworld.com © Svoboda/IBU.
Women’s Athlete of the Week: Lou Jeanmonnot & Julia Simon
If you’re going by the points earned for the week then undoubtedly the top woman of the week was Lou Jeanmonnot. She finished a very strong 2nd in the Short Individual and a solid 4th in the Mass Start. She looked a little tired at the end but she still pushed her Overall lead out to over 200 points making her a near lock to take home her first Overall Globe.
If you’re going by who made the biggest impression this week it’s Julia Simon. This has undoubtedly been the rockiest season of Julia Simon’s career, and the last few seasons haven’t been completely smooth. She started out the year with a suspension after the finally admitted guilt in the credit card theft case. Since then she’s struggled to build momentum as she’s had recurrent illnesses. Now, though, she’s officially back and in a way that everybody has to take notice.
Continue Reading 2025-2026 Nove Mesto Recap
Julia Simon (FRA) – IBU World Cup Biathlon, relay women, Nove Mesto na Morave (CZE). http://www.biathlonworld.com © Stancik/IBU.
We arrive at one of my favorite venues on the World Cup circuit. It’s an absolutely massive affair every time we go to Nove Mesto. The stands are gigantic. The fans are phenomenal all the way around the course. The course is lighted so beautifully so often we get at least a couple of races right at sundown giving us some gorgeous vistas. I love Nove Mesto and I just wish it wasn’t right before the Olympics this season so we got to see a full field!
Dates: January 22, 2026 – January 25, 2026
Schedule
– Thursday January 22nd: Men’s 15km Short Individual
– Friday January 23rd: Women’s 12.5km Short Individual
– Saturday January 24th: Single Mixed Relay (W+M) + Mixed Relay (W+M)
– Sunday January 25th: Men’s 15km Mass Start+ Women’s 12.5km Mass Start
Continue Reading 2025-2026 Nove Mesto Preview
Ruhpolding
Lou Jeanmonnot (FRA) – IBU World Cup Biathlon, pursuit women, Ruhpolding (GER). http://www.biathlonworld.com © Deubert/IBU.
Women’s Athlete of the Week: Lou Jeanmonnot – During the week in Oberhof Lou Jeanmonnot was good but not near to the super high standard that she’s set for herself as she finished 7th and 10th. While that was happening though Suvi was able to cut the Overall lead down to just 50 points.
That’s not the case anymore now though. Lou Jeanmonnot came to Ruhpolding and looked like Queen Lou Jeanmonnot. It was beautiful performance as she finished 2nd in the Sprint. But she looked even better in the Pursuit. She was in control from the moment she left the starting gate. She was absolutely perfect on the range until the 17th shot of the race. By that point though she had progressively built a large enough lead to withstand the miss.
Continue Reading 2025-2026 Ruhpolding Recap
With one week of racing under our belts in trimester #2 we head to Ruhpolding for another week. It’s a bit of a relic of the Cold War that Germany continues to host two events every year as Oberhof (East Germany) and Ruhpolding (West Germany) were the respective stops of the Central European nation pre unification. But the result is that now, after what will go down as one of the most thrilling weekends of this biathlon season the field makes their shortest travel of the season, traveling from the unpredictability of Oberhof to the warm embraces of Ruhpolding.
Dates: January 14, 2026 – January 18, 2026
Schedule:
– Wednesday January 14: Women’s 4x6km Relay
– Thursday January 15: Men’s 4×7.5km Relay
– Friday January 16: Women’s 7.5km Sprint
– Saturday January 17: Men’s 10km Sprint
– Sunday January 18: Women’s 10km Pursuit + Men’s 12.5km Pursuit
Continue reading 2025-2026 Ruhpolding Preview
Oberhof
Men’s Athlete of the Week: Tommaso Giacomel – This will be a weekend I remember for the rest of my sports watching life. Sivert Bakken’s passing was one of the most shocking and painful moments that we have experienced a biathlon family. His journey was one that was so inspiring as we’ve shared before. While it was painful for us, it was infinitely more so for Bakken’s family and friends who were as close as family like Tommaso Giacomel.
Throughout Bakken’s struggles to overcome heart inflammation, Tommaso Giacomel was one friend who never left his side. It would have been easy to understand if he had. GIacomel was rising through the ranks of of the World Cup while Sivert Bakken was stuck on the sidelines. But Giacomel stayed close with his friend. There is a particular Instagram post from right when Bakken was starting to train again of Giacomel out for a ski with him and really boosting him and reminding everybody that Bakken was going to be back. Nobody seemed happier for Bakken’s successes last season with the IBU Cup wins and the European Championship Sprint Gold.
Continue reading 2025-2026 Oberhof Recap
It goes without saying that the loss of Sivert Guttorm Bakken is a devastation that goes beyond the small scope of this little blog. I can’t even begin to imagine how it is affecting the men and women who make up the Norwegian team, including athletes, coaches, and all of the support staff. I have to believe that this will be a highly emotional week for them as will the entire remainder of the season. His funeral has not been set yet but when it is several athletes have already stated their intention to attend. I just want to say I don’t judge a single athlete who, if the funeral date lines up with a World Cup week, chooses to go to the funeral or race. Whatever choice they make is the correct one for them. I have no idea what I would do in a similar situation. As I’ve stated on social media I continue to think about all of Bakken’s family and friends and colleagues and I hope that they are able to find some peace in these times.
Dates: January 8, 2026 – January 11, 2026
Schedule:
– Thursday January 8: Men’s 10km Sprint
– Friday January 9: Women’s 7.5km Sprint
– Saturday January 10: Men’s 12.5km Pursuit + Women’s 4x6km Relay
– Sunday January 11: Men’s 4×7.5km Relay + Women’s 10km Pursuit
Continue reading 2025-2026 Oberhof Preview
Annecy le Grand Bornand
Women’s Athletes of the Week: Lou Jeanmonnot – This entire week just felt like Lou Jeanmonnot’s week. The lead in to the week was so much about how she has raced at le Grand Bornand without really much success to speak of. She was coming off of a win in Hochfilzen but really hadn’t been as good as we all expected her to be…yet. Lou wasted no time in Annecy coming within 3.3 seconds and a tremendous Hanna Öberg performance of her second win of the season. She made up for that with a spectacular race that we’ll discus in more detail later to get her first career Annecy win. She finished off the week finishing second to the spectacular Maren Kirkeeide in the Mass Start. After taking on Yellow after the Pursuit she confirmed it and will take a 68 point lead to the second trimester. The only question now is will anybody be able to take it from her the rest of the season or will she turn Lou’s week into Lou’s season?
Continue reading 2025-2026 Annecy le Grand Bornand Recap
Dates: December 18th – December 21st, 2025
Schedule:
– Thursday December 18: Women’s 7.5km Sprint
– Friday December 19: Men’s 10km Sprint
– Saturday December 20: Women’s 10km Pursuit + Men’s 12.5km Pursuit
– Sunday December 21: Women’s 12.5km Mass Start + Men’s 15km Mass Start
Continue Reading 2025-2026 Annecy le Grand Bornand Preview
Hochfilzen
Women’s Athlete of the Week: Anna Magnusson – Anna Magnusson took over the yellow bib from Suvi Minkkinen following Suvi’s less than spectacular Sprint, but more importantly Anna Magnusson’s podium finish, her third of the season. You always wonder how an athlete will respond to racing in yellow. Magnusson had the relay day to think about it too. Apparently it didn’t bother her one bit. She went 0-0-1-0 in the Pursuit showing absolutely no nerves when shooting for the potential win in the final shoot. I think that’s what most impressive to me about her this season. She just “looks” ready for the moment. She took 2nd place in the Pursuit losing only the spectacular rising Phoenix Lisa Vittozzi. In the end she expanded her Overall lead and she will wear it for at least one more day in le Grand Bornand!
Continue reading 2025-2026 Hochfilzen Recap
Dates: December 12th – December 14th, 2025
Schedule:
– Friday December 12: Men’s 10km Sprint + Women’s 7.5km Sprint
– Saturday December 13: Men’s 12.5km Pursuit + Women’s 4x6km Relay
– Sunday December 14: Men’s 4×7.5km Relay + Women’s 10km Pursuit
Continue Reading 2025-2026 Hochfilzen Preview
Östersund
Women’s Athlete of the Week: Suvi Minkkinen – In my memory this will be the weekend of Suvi Minkkinen. Hard to believe that after Dorothea Wierer had her emotional return to the winner’s circle in the Individual. But the way Suvi Minkkinen ran away with the Sprint, her emotional reaction on winning and then learning she was going to be wearing yellow, it was absolutely perfect. This woman has always been one of the best shooters. Before last season she took it upon herself to go train in the Alps on her own dime to find the elusive ski speed. She found it last year and now is even faster. In the Sprint she had the 3rd best ski time which was a career best ski performance. She came one shot away from the back to back win in the Pursuit and just faded late. It’s hard to feel too bad for her though because she still walks away with a 1st and a 2nd, her first career win, and the yellow bib to wear in Hochfilzen! At least for now she has to be included in the conversation for the Overall!
Continue Reading Östersund Recap
Dates: November 29th – December 7th, 2025
Schedule:
– Saturday November 29: Women’s 4x6km Relay + Men’s 4×7.5km Relay
– Sunday November 30: Single Mixed (M+W) Relay + Mixed Relay (M+W)
– Tuesday December 2: Women’s 15km Individual
– Wednesday December 3: Men’s 20km Individual
– Friday December 5: Women’s 7.5km Sprint
– Saturday December 6: Men’s 10km Sprint
– Sunday December 7: Women’s 10km Pursuit + Men’s 12.5km Pursuit
Continue Reading 2025-2026 Östersund Preview
Prior Seasons:
2025-2026 Season Weekend Previews and Recaps
2024-2025 Season Weekend Previews and Recaps
2022-2023 Season Weekend Recaps
2021-2022 Season Weekend Recaps
2020-2021 Season Weekend Recaps