December 21, 2025

It was one of those December weekends when the wax techs mutter to themselves, the rifles whisper sweet nothings to the targets, and the wind decides it wants a coaching role. Out of the biathlon bustle in Le Grand-Bornand, Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel went and made the mountain look small, cruising to the men’s mass start win while France’s Éric Perrot kept the home crowd breathing and Norway’s Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen did his patented last-lap thunderclap to the podium. The Italian called it “fantastic,” which is about right for a day you can put on the fridge. See the full tale of his control-freak masterpiece in Annecy here: Giacomel stuns the field: wins the men’s mass start in Le Grand-Bornand and the play-by-play version here: Tommaso Giacomel dominant in mass start.

Not to be outdone, Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide decided the women’s mass start needed a plot twist. Starting the last lap behind France’s Camille Bened, she pressed the turbo and out-sprinted two very serious Frenchwomen—Lou Jeanmonnot and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet—right in front of 30,000 fondue-fueled fans. First career win, lungs on fire, smile intact. Catch the sprint-to-glory version here: Kirkeeide wins women’s mass start in Le Grand-Bornand and the broader wrap with team notes here: Maren Kirkeeide claims first World Cup victory.

Meanwhile, Germany’s women made the most of the mass-start mayhem—Franziska Preuß sealed Olympic qualification with sixth, Vanessa Voigt and Anna Weidel joined the top ten, and a broken pole tried (and failed) to ruin the party. The last lap was a carousel; they all hopped back on. That tidy German recap lives here: Preuß, Voigt and Weidel charge into the top 10. Sweden had drama of its own: Ella Halvarsson led early, then paid two penalties’ worth of tuition for lane one, still smiled her way to ninth—“most fun mass start ever,” she said, which is not a sentence you often hear: Halvarsson drops from podium contention. Elvira Öberg, on the other hand, canted right and sent three to the parking lot on prone one, muttering the universal phrase of biathletes everywhere: “It really sucks.”

Across the valley in Engelberg, the wind ran the ski-jumping show like a moody stage manager—lights on, lights off, please wait for the green light. Through it all, Nika Prevc collected yet another win, Anna Odine Strøm kept stacking podiums, and Germany’s Katharina Schmid finally parked a bronze on the mantel. The Germans had both cheers and gasps, as Selina Freitag flew 138 m and then practiced the “I’m okay!” fall—stood up, smiled, and still took ninth. The rollercoaster is documented here: Joy and tears for Germany in Engelberg and here: Schmid returns to the podium. Lisa Eder, on podium pace after round one, got a harsh lesson in gust etiquette and drifted to eighth: Eder hit by wind misfortune as Prevc shines.

And if you like your jump stories with exclamation points, Austria’s 19-year-old Stephan Embacher fed one to the record books—145 meters, a new Gross-Titlis hill record, and a landing judged “please don’t do that to us again.” Gusts turned points into confetti, yet the number stands tall: hill record smashed with a 145 m bomb. On the men’s podium, Ryoyu Kobayashi ended Domen Prevc’s streak, while Germany’s Felix Hoffmann made a habit of climbing steps: Hoffmann third in Four Hills warm-up. Poland’s teen comet Kacper Tomasiak kept stealing headlines—career-best fifth, a tidy boost up the standings, and even a nice payday for the travel kitty: career-best amid wind chaos and the ledger entry here: record payday.

One sober note in the midst of the merriment: Norway’s Ida Lien had back surgery and is out for Milano–Cortina 2026, hoping for a careful return later this winter. Sometimes the bravest splits don’t show up on a results sheet: Ida Lien out of Milano–Cortina after back surgery.

And finally, a reminder that skiing isn’t just a game of medals: Italy’s Gianfranco Paglia, a tetraplegic veteran, pushed a sit-ski for two hours in Corvara and set a new benchmark at 14.36 km, a record measured not only in meters but in stubborn joy. The country’s president and prime minister called; he probably needed a glass of water—and maybe two cookies: Paglia sets new Paralympic Nordic skiing record.

So we pack up for Christmas break: biathletes humming carols about clean standing, jumpers asking the wind to mind its manners, and everyone counting down to Four Hills and the Olympic stretch. If the snow could speak, it would say, “Bring snacks.”