With five individual competitions remaining—two Sprints, two Pursuits and one Mass Start—the battle for the Total Score win enters a decisive phase. Lou Jeanmonnot and Eric Perrot hold substantial leads over the field and, unless something dramatic happens, look set to add their names to those of biathlon’s greats. The Discipline Score battles, however, are much tighter.

Total Score: Jeanmonnot in mini crisis, Perrot on-fire, both secure in the lead

Perrot used the break between the end of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and the beginning of BMW IBU World Cup Trimester 3 in Kontiolahti wisely. His results in Finland—where he won the Individual and finished second in the Mass Start—added 165 points to his Total Score tally, which stands at 999 before the Otepaa week.

With Tommaso Giacomel out for the rest of the season—though luckily already back in very modest training after a minor heart operation—Sebastian Samuelsson in third place trails the Frenchman by 276 points. Even if Samuelsson were to win all five remaining competitions, Perrot would still need just 175 points until the end of the season to secure the Total Score title.

Perrot has already won the Individual and Mass Start Score titles in Kontiolahti.

Lou Jeanmonnot had the worst week of her season in Kontiolahti, finishing 35th in the Individual and 16th in the Mass Start. She has 879 points at the top of the Total Score standings, ahead of Suvi Minkkinen with 703 in second place, Anna Magnusson with 695 in third, Elvira Oeberg with 671 in fourth and Hanna Oeberg with 649 in fifth.

If Minkkinen were to win all five remaining competitions of the season, Jeanmonnot would need 275 points to clinch the title she wants so badly. Neither a continuation of Jeanmonnot’s poor Kontiolahti form nor any other Top 5 athlete winning two Sprints, two Pursuits and a Mass Start seems very likely.

Jeanmonnot has already secured the Individual Score title in Kontiolahti.

Tight Discipline Score battles

With the Mass Start win in Kontiolahti Julia Simon took the lead of 45 points over Jeanmonnot in the Mass Start Score standings before the last showdown in Oslo-Holmenkollen. In the women’s Sprint Score, Jeanmonnot leads with 311 points, Minkkinen has 255 and Maren Kirkeeide 239. On the men’s side Giacomel leads with 309 points but it will most probably be Samuelsson (274 points) and Perrot (241 points) who will decide the winner.

In the women’s Pursuit Score Minkkinen has 289 points, Jeanmonnot 277 and Hanna Oeberg 245 and (with Magnusson and Elvira Oeberg not far behind) we could see the first chapter of season’s closing drama in Otepaa . Perrot has 307 points as the leading man in the Pursuit Score, Samuelsson will challenge him from 264 points in the third place.

In the Mixed Relay Score France has 305 points to Norway’s 250 before the last Mixed Relay and Single Mixed Relay of the season in Otepaa.

Photos: IBU/Christian Manzoni, Yevenko, Nordic Focus