The first week offered unexpected stars, returning champions, and bold breakthroughs across the field. With Oestersund behind us and Hochfilzen ahead the fight for consistency is only just beginning thinks Marte Olsbu Roeiseland.

To me, the first three individual competitions of the season were incredibly exciting, and the results brought a few surprises as well. Dorothea Wierer’s victory in the Individual was a perfect reminder of the competitor she truly is. With the home Olympics approaching, that inner fire in her is clearly awakening again. Suvi Minkkinen was another standout performer. It was genuinely enjoyable to watch such a strong Finnish team throughout the weekend, and Suvi delivered a fantastic sprint — and honestly, a very strong pursuit, even if she faded slightly toward the end. What impresses me most is how she executes her races: calm yet decisive, completely unaffected by pressure or by wearing the yellow bib. She simply gets the job done, and it has been wonderful to watch. Blossoming a bit later in a career also brings the advantage of greater experience, which often makes it easier to handle both success and adversity.

On the men’s side, Johan Olav Botn finally reaped the rewards of years of hard work. His extraordinary training tolerance allows him to handle massive workloads, and this weekend showed what that foundation can produce. He can absolutely maintain the level he’s showing now — as long as he continues making the right choices over time. And in biathlon, once you find your flow, it can be surprisingly easy to keep it going. I hope he really enjoys wearing the yellow bib in Hochfilzen. Martin Uldal also looks ready for major achievements. He is a fearless athlete, and in many ways he reminds me of Johannes Thingnes Boe.

Moving from Oestersund to Hochfilzen will also bring changes. Conditions in Oestersund were tough and heavy — loose climbs and polished downhills — and while Hochfilzen can also produce polished tracks, I doubt the conditions will be as demanding as what we saw last weekend. It’s always a joy to arrive in Hochfilzen and finally see the sun again; you really feel an energy boost. But sunlight can make shooting trickier, as it can alter the sight picture depending on the sun’s position.

I expect several athletes to step up after a quieter performance in Sweden. On the women’s side, the Oeberg sisters will surely want to show what they are capable of — Hanna in particular, after delivering an outstanding Pursuit and probably setting a world record for climbing 50 places in one race. Among the men, I strongly believe Sturla Holm Laegreid will reach the podium; his form has been building nicely, and he should be even stronger in Hochfilzen. The same goes for Eric Perrot.

As for the Norwegian women, they have shown strong skiing but have been a bit disappointing on the shooting range. Hopefully they will take the time to analyse what isn’t working and what can be improved. Once they solve that, I don’t think a podium is far away.