Emilien Jacquelin is the seventh man in yellow this season, Elvira Oeberg much improved standing shooting brought her first and second BMW IBU World Cup victory, France had the most podiums, Norway the most wins, but eight nations were on the podium, names kept changing in the IBU Cup and Jan Gunka shone in the IBU Junior Cup in Martell.

Men’s biathlon is like a box of chocolate

After his fantastic win in the mass start in Annecy Le Grand Bornand, Emilien Jacquelin became the seventh leader in the Total Score standings this season and will start 2022 in yellow. He got the coveted bib from Quentin Fillon Maillet, who wore it for one day. Before the two Frenchman, the yellow bib belonged to Sebastian Samuelsson (first time after his sprint win in Oestersund; second time in Hochfilzen), Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (after his pursuit win in Oestersund), JT Boe and Simon Desthieux, who shared the lead after the first week in Oestersund, and Sturla Holm Laegreid as the winner of the Individual at the first competition of the season.

The standing shooting brought Elvira Oeberg two wins

Elvira Oeberg arrived here on the wings of her third place from the Hochfilzen pursuit and with bad memories of Le Grand Bornand from two years ago when rain and not sun greeted thousands of fans and athletes. She was third in the sprint and won back-to-back races in the pursuit and mass start this time around, relying on fast skiing (as usual) but also superb standing shootings. Elvira’s accuracy in the standing shooting was at 79% last season. It was at 90% in both 20-shot competitions in Annecy and is 84% at the end of Trimester 1. The win in the mass start also brought her first red bib.

While base for podiums broadens, the air at the top is thin

Balanced and numerous tight battles resulted in a broad base of podium winners in Trimester 1. Eight nations scored at least one podium in Trimester 1, and France was the most thriving nation with 20. Russia is very much back in the mix this season with six Top 3 finishes, most of them based on the performance of much improved Eduard Latypov. Dzinara Alimbekava and Hanna Sola brought home four podiums and Anton Smolski one for Belarus. Norway scored eight wins to Swedish six and French four. France collected four double-podiums to Norway’s three.

IBU Cup like an international airport

At times the IBU Cup looks like an international airport where athletes come and go. Those from the BMW IBU World Cup are looking for a form that has eluded them in the first weeks of the season, like Dominik Windisch for example. Those still eligible to compete in the IBU Junior Cup are looking for the taste of the bigger things to come, like Linda Zingerle for instance. And some are finding second spring in their long careers, which have seen better days as they still want to be in the heat of the battle and part of an ever-evolving drama that is biathlon. Like Franziska Hildebrand for example. And as the curtain falls over Trimester 1, fully committed to the IBU Cup, Anastasia Shevchenko of Russia and Lucas Fratzscher (GER) go to the Christmas break as the Total Score leaders. 

Jan Gunka was gunning in Martell

Winning twice, Jan Gunka (POL) was the main star in the second week of the IBU Junior Cup in Martell-Val Martello. He is also the leading junior man in the Total Score standings, not to mention his strong relay performances fro Team Poland in the past weeks. Sara Scattolo of Italy also has two wins to her name - stretched over the two Martell weeks - and is the leading junior woman before the IBU Junior Cup returns in Hochfilzen on 12 January 2022.

Photo: IBU