After an average performance in Oberhof, Lou Jeanmonnot put the pedal down in Ruhpolding with a win and a second place, cementing her lead in the Antholz 2026 Power Rankings. Tommaso Giacomel, Eric Perrot, and Sebastian Samuelsson pushed each other to the limit, with Giacomel remaining on top.

Jeanmonnot and Hanna Oeberg shine in Ruhpolding

With her trademark quiet, elegant style of biathlon, Lou Jeanmonnot finished second in the Sprint and won the Pursuit in Ruhpolding. Her performance was matched by Hanna Oeberg, who won the Sprint and finished second in the Pursuit, moving up five places into second in the women’s Antholz 2026 Power Rankings.

Her sister Elvira, after narrowly missing the podium in the Sprint and dropping out of podium contention in the Pursuit after the third shoot, slipped one place and now sits third. Elvira has collected 266 World Cup points over back-to-back blockbuster weeks in Germany — the most of any woman — eight more than her sister Hanna and 29 more than Jeanmonnot.

Elsewhere, movements were limited, as Franziska Preuß, Suvi Minkkinen, and Maren Kirkeeide all remained outside the podium in Ruhpolding.

Giacomel, Perrot, Samuelsson now form an elite group

A Christmas virus sidelined Johan-Olav Botn for the entirety of Trimester 2, leaving Tommaso Giacomel, Eric Perrot, and Sebastian Samuelsson — with occasional disruption, such as Johannes Dale-Skjevdal’s win in the Ruhpolding Pursuit — to share victories and podiums among themselves. Giacomel collected 305 World Cup points across Oberhof and Ruhpolding, Samuelsson 255, and Perrot 207.

They have retained their top-three positions in the men's Antholz 2026 Power Rankings, with Samuelsson edging slightly closer to Perrot in second place. After a disastrous week in Oberhof — followed by a short illness — Emilien Jacquelin showed renewed vigour and has returned to the top 10.

One note of concern: whether due to lingering illness or a change in equipment, Sturla Holm Laegreid’s ski speed does not currently look convincing, with the first Olympic start just three weeks away.