Every team faces a unique challenge this season: balancing World Cup and Olympic success. Not being ready for the first trimester could erode confidence while peaking early in the World Cup season might result in a mid-season slump just before the Antholz competitions.

The Olympic Winter Games are the highlight of every quadrennial: every team wants their athletes to be at their best. At the same time, World Cup results are important, putting coaches on a tightrope to make the right calls that bring the expected results.

Sweden: Confidence from Good Races

Sweden’s Johannes Lukas depends on past experience to set up the season. “I think if you look at the past years, we managed this quite well to be in good shape in the World Cup and World Champs. It is always a balance of how much you can push, especially from Christmas on; you need a good base period there. It also depends on how many races you will do. My strategy is to get confidence and good races in the beginning, in Oestersund or Hochfilzen; you are then calmer at Christmas and can focus on the Olympics. I do not like to gamble.”

Staying healthy remains a crucial part of the puzzle. “The biggest challenge is focusing on recovery and avoid sickness, so you keep up a good ground level over the whole season.”

Germany: “Battery Charged; Ready Mentally”

2026 will be Germany’s Sverre Olsbu Roeiseland’s first OWG as a coach and likely the first for several of Germany’s women. He admits everyone has to be ready for the World Cup first. “All of the girls have to show something in the World Cup to be qualified because we have some rules in Germany. After Christmas, it becomes more individualized. If they are fixed for the Olympics, then we have Plan A, B and C, with different options for different athletes. For Antholz, it is about good biathlon shape. You can do a lot for the physical shape, but for the mental part shooting, the battery has to be charged and you are ready mentally. I think this is maybe the most important thing.”

France: “More offensive in our preparation”

Simon Fourcade, also a rookie Olympic Coach, feels last year’s plan that netted four individual and three relay IBU World Championships medals is a good blueprint for this season. “Last year, I was a bit more offensive on our preparation. The year before, I used the first World Cups to improve our shape and it did not work out (only two relay podiums before the Nove Mesto World Championships) until very late in the season. It was a learning experience. We started the 2024/25 quite well and continued week after week. I am inspired about how well that worked and we will continue that way this season.”

Norway: “Use December to get good results, not get fatigued”

The Norwegian team plans for success across the board by performing well from the season’s outset, improving their shape and carefully monitoring the training/rest cycle, according to Siegfried Mazet “We will not perform well in the Olympics if we don’t perform before the Olympics. The first checkpoint is December, using that month to get better, get good results of course, but also increasing the shape and not getting fatigued and tired. It is all about adjusting between now and Christmas. By then, we will have a good idea who will compete in the Olympics. We know the flow in December is travel day, two training days. and three competitions days. In this rhythm, it’s important to stay fresh, have the right stimulations at the right moment and adjust; it is really day-by-day training.”

Regardless of the execution, every coach’s plan includes a good opening to the BMW IBU World Cup season, preparing their Olympic qualifiers, and keeping them fresh and healthy for February.

Photos: IBU/Archive, Nordic Focus