On a weekend when the biathlon family said an emotional goodbye to the tragically deceased Sivert Guttorm Bakken, Tommaso Giacomel found almost otherworldly strength to win for his close friend Sivert and for himself. Giacomel left Oberhof wearing the yellow bib and leading the Antholz 2026 Power Rankings. Lou Jeanmonnot retained the yellow bib and the top spot in the Antholz 2026 Power Rankings, although the dynamics among the women shifted once again.

Giacomel surged through emotions and course

Losing your best friend leaves a scar for life. Losing a best friend with whom you shared Olympic dreams leaves little room for processing grief. Tommaso Giacomel arrived in Oberhof carrying his own sorrow, shared across the biathlon family — and especially among Norwegian athletes — but as someone who wears his emotions openly, he took the Oberhof week deeply personally.

There was no force more powerful than Giacomel’s will to win for Sivert, to find meaning in the unimaginable loss by achieving his first Sprint–Pursuit double. The result earned him the yellow bib — making him only the third Italian in IBU World Cup history to wear it — and lifted him to the top of the Antholz 2026 Power Rankings. Eric Perrot slipped one place, Sebastian Samuelsson moved into third, and with Sturla Holm Laegreid and Johan Olav Botn sidelined by illness, the dynamics may shift again after Ruhpolding.

Safely in her own bubble, Elvira Oeberg won big

In what was a below-par weekend by the standards of still-leading Lou Jeanmonnot, Elvira Oeberg convincingly won both the Sprint and the Pursuit and surged six places to second in the Antholz 2026 Power Rankings. Drawing on techniques from her sports psychologist, Elvira asked her coaches not to share any information during the races so she could rely solely on her inner voice. It worked perfectly.

Riding the momentum of two second-place finishes, Suvi Minkkinen moved up to second in the Total Score standings and third in the Antholz 2026 Power Rankings. Franziska Preuss stabilised both her health and her Top 5 position, while Océane Michelon climbed back into the Top 10. Absent Italians Dorothea Wierer and Lisa Vittozzi are expected to return to the World Cup — and Wierer potentially the Top 10 of the Antholz 2026 Power Rankings — in Ruhpolding.

Photo: C. Heilwagen: IBU Photo Pool