Behind Franziska Preuss’ quest to win her maiden Total Score title - and Lou Jeanmonnot trying to make 2024/2025 the winter of her legend-making in the BMW IBU World Cup - there is an evolving, thrilling battle among four outstanding talents for the best U23 women athlete.

The most accurate shooter

Jeanne Richard (22) of France won her first-ever IBU Cup in the Individual in Kontiolahti last winter. Promoted to the World Cup team in Oberhof three weeks later, she strung together eighth and ninth place in the Sprint and Pursuit and never looked back. She was fourth in the Pursuit and Mass Start in Annecy—Le Grand-Bornand and is the most accurate shooter of the five. Richard won three individual silver medals at the IBU Junior World Championships in Shchuchinsk 2024.

”The battle for the Blue bib is very demanding, very tight. And I love the ’relver les defis!’ - to face the challenges, as we say in France! So, we will see who will sport the widest smile at the end of the season.”

The only one with the World Cup win

Selina Grotian (20) of Germany was flying even higher than Richard in Kazakhstan, winning in the Sprint and Pursuit at the IBU Junior World Championships. Grotian also won in the Mass Start in Annecy—Le Grand-Bornand and is the first and only athlete of the five in the U23 contests to have done so in the World Cup. Triumph in France placed her among the youngest winners in German biathlon history, following in the footsteps of legends like Magdalena Neuner, Uschi Disl, and Martina Glagow. Grotian’s biggest strength is shooting in the standing position under pressure—a sign of a champion in the making.

"Before the season started, I never really thought about competing for the U23 title. But after finishing fifth in the Sprint in Hochfilzen, I realised I could actually fight for top spots. Winning the Mass Start in Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand changed everything—I beat some of the best biathletes out there. The battle for the Blue bib is so exciting, and winning it would be amazing!"

The fastest skier

Oceane Michelon (22) of France made a breakthrough last season, winning the IBU Cup Total Score title, a no mean feat for the French women’s team, which keeps developing athletes of the highest order. The fastest skier of the four, Oceane scored her first two World Cup flower podium finishes in the Sprint and Pursuit of Oberhof this season, followed by a career-best fourth place in the Individual in Ruhpolding.

“The competition in our team is very fierce, it is very tough to get a spot. On top of that, we are good friends, and Jeanne (Richard) and I are super close. So we have this unusual competition between friends. But - finishing the season in Blue bib would be fantastic!”

Hailed by Bjoerndalen as the Norwegian star

According to Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, and her results support the claim, Maren Kirkeeide (21) is the next Norwegian star. She achieved her premiere IBU Cup win in the Pursuit in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna in the 2022/2023 season and debuted in the World Cup in Ruhpolding last winter. A clever athlete of few and carefully chosen words, Kirkeeide used the childhood experience of growing up on the slow snow in West Norway to her best advantage in Oberhof with back-to-back Sprint-Pursuit second-place finishes. Kirkeeide usually has the nerves of steel in the standing stages and when others are faltering.

"It’s such an exciting battle, and I honestly didn’t expect to be part of it at first. But after the weeks in Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand and Oberhof, everything changed—I realised I can truly compete at this level. Fighting for the U23 Total Score title has been an incredible experience. Winning it would be amazing, but more than anything, it’s just so much fun to be in the mix!"