October 23, 2025

It was the kind of week where the rulebook wore a parka, the city stole a ski race from the mountains, and one veteran jumper looked at a hill and said: absolutely not.

First, the coldest wind didn’t come from Lapland; it came from the FIS Council call. After six hours and an anonymous vote, Russian and Belarusian skiers are out of international competition and out of Milano–Cortina 2026. Athletes in Scandinavia called it the right decision; Moscow called it a “Scandinavian lobby” conspiracy and promised an appeal; Veronika Stepanova called it loyalty to her president and, by implication, to the consequences. Read the decision’s spine and all the reverberations in FIS rules Russian and Belarusian skiers out of international competitions and the 2026 Olympics (/cross-country-skiing/fis-keeps-ban-on-russian-and-belarusian-skiers-through-2026-olympics/), the chorus of reactions in No Russian skiers at the 2026 Olympics – stars react: “The right decision” (/cross-country-skiing/no-russian-skiers-allowed-olympics-2026-stars-react-right-decision/), and the sharp quotes from both sides in Russian and Belarusian skiers barred from Winter Olympics: “My country is always right” (/cross-country-skiing/russian-belarusian-skiers-barred-from-2026-olympics-fis-decision-stepanova-reaction/). Even ski jumping legend Janne Ahonen kept it simple: right call, move on (/ski-jumping/janne-ahonen-backs-fis-decision-on-russian-exclusion/).

Then, while the politics argued, biathlon threw a street party. Munich’s Olympic Park turned into a rollerski race track with a festival wristband, and the crowd showed up like it was a championship final. Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi and France’s Éric Perrot won the shiny new super sprints, because apparently the key to fast skiing is thousands of city-dwellers yelling at you to reload faster. Catch the top-step smiles in Strelow third as Vittozzi, Perrot win at IBU LOOP ONE in Munich (/biathlon/vittozzi-perrot-win-ibu-loop-one-munich-strelow-third-biathlon-exhibition/).

Sweden double-podiumed behind Vittozzi, Mona Brorsson called it “world-class,” and somewhere a wax tech decided city dust is just urban pollen. The glow is here: Biathlon rollerski success in Munich: Double Swedish podium (/biathlon/rollski-biathlon-munich-double-swedish-podium/). Not everything was champagne and confetti—Austria’s Lara Wagner left the final with road rash and a grimace after a penalty-loop pile‑up, a reminder that tight corners don’t care about broadcast angles (/biathlon/lara-wagner-bloodied-finish-after-crash-munich-rollerski-biathlon/). Austria still loved the concept: 50,000 fans and Anna Gandler calling it “brutally many spectators,” which is Alpine for “a lot” (/biathlon/biathlon-urban-showcase-munich-anna-gandler-loop-one-festival/).

Meanwhile, up on the jumping hills, Austria’s Eva Pinkelnig looked at the Predazzo injury list—her own ACL included—and lit a flare. She says athletes were “used as guinea pigs” on a hill with a known design flaw, and the “athletes are at the center” slogan sounds different when you’re staring at an MRI. Her rehab is optimistic; her patience with hill safety is not. Her blast is here: Eva Pinkelnig furious – says athletes were “used as guinea pigs” after Predazzo crash (/ski-jumping/eva-pinkelnig-slams-fis-over-predazzo-hill-safety-athletes-used-as-guinea-pigs/).

And in the department of policies-that-will-age-like milk or wine, FIS clarified that sex verification testing won’t start now-now, but at Falun 2027, with World Cup rollout in 2027/28. The timeline is tidy; the debates will not be. Details sit in Confirmed: Sex verification testing to be introduced at the 2027 World Championships in Falun (/cross-country-skiing/sex-verification-testing-to-begin-at-falun-2027-world-championships/) and the expanded explainer Decision: FIS to introduce sex testing in skiing — first at 2027 Falun World Championships (/cross-country-skiing/fis-to-introduce-sex-testing-skiing-first-at-falun-2027/).

Somewhere between the council calls and the city sprints, an Austrian kid named Jan Hörl won Hinzenbach, and Kamil Stoch proved that a late-career Polish legend can still throw the longest arrow off a small hill. But that’s a different kind of politics—the kind you settle with a telemark. For now, remember: in Nordic sport, the snow may be months away, but the plotlines never wait for winter.