Giacomel stuns the field: wins the men’s mass start in Le Grand-Bornand

December 21, 2025 / La Gazzetta dello Sport

Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel dominated the IBU World Cup mass start in Le Grand-Bornand, finishing ahead of France’s Éric Perrot and Norway’s Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen. In the women’s race, Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide took the win, with Italy’s Rebecca Passler 11th and Dorothea Wierer struggling to 27th as Lisa Vittozzi was ill. Giacomel called the victory “fantastic,” saying he could hardly believe it.

Biathlon mass start in Annecy: Preuß, Voigt and Weidel charge into the top 10

December 21, 2025 / Sportschau

Franziska Preuß (6th), Vanessa Voigt (7th) and Anna Weidel (10th) all finished in the top ten in the women’s 12.5 km mass start at the Biathlon World Cup in Annecy–Le Grand-Bornand. Preuß, recently recovered from illness, secured her Olympic qualification with the result. The win was decided in a sprint, with Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide edging France’s Lou Jeanmonnot and Justine Braisaz‑Bouchet.

Biathlon: Ella Halvarsson drops from podium contention after misses in Le Grand-Bornand mass start

December 21, 2025 / SVT Sport

Sweden’s Ella Halvarsson led early in the women’s World Cup mass start at Le Grand-Bornand after clean shooting through two stages, but two misses in the third shooting cost her a first individual podium of the season and she finished ninth. Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide won her first individual World Cup race in a sprint finish ahead of France’s Lou Jeanmonnot and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. Hanna Öberg was 14th, Elvira Öberg 19th, and Anna Magnusson 20th.

Tommaso Giacomel dominant in mass start, claims third career World Cup win

December 21, 2025 / SVT Sport

Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel won the men’s mass start in Le Grand-Bornand with commanding shooting and skiing, taking his third career World Cup victory. He missed just one shot (in the first prone) and cleaned both standing stages to finish comfortably ahead of France’s Éric Perrot and Norway’s Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen. Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson faded to eighth after shooting errors, with Martin Ponsiluoma 11th and Jesper Nelin 27th.

Norway’s Ida Lien out of Milano–Cortina 2026 after back surgery

December 21, 2025 / Eurosport Norge

Norwegian biathlete Ida Lien, 28, has undergone successful back surgery after a prolapsed disc and will miss the 2026 Winter Olympics. She hopes to be back on skis in February and possibly race late-season events, but says that remains uncertain. Lien made her Olympic debut in Beijing 2022, where Norway finished fourth in the relay.

Kirkeeide wins women’s mass start in Le Grand-Bornand: “A class apart”

December 21, 2025 / NRK Sport

Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide claimed her first World Cup victory by winning the women’s 12.5 km mass start in Le Grand‑Bornand, France, after a decisive final lap. She missed once on the opening prone, then cleaned the remaining stages to outsprint French stars Lou Jeanmonnot and Justine Braisaz‑Bouchet, while Camille Bened faded to fourth. The race capped the last World Cup weekend before Christmas, with icy conditions and a roaring home crowd of about 30,000.

Annecy World Cup mass start: Sharpshooter Strelow pipped on the line

December 21, 2025 / Sportschau

Germany’s Justus Strelow shot a perfect 20/20 and was in podium position entering the final stretch of the men’s mass start in Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand, but Norway’s Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen surged past in the last meters to push him to fourth by 0.5 seconds. Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel won decisively in 33:35.1 (1 penalty) ahead of France’s Eric Perrot (0), while Germany’s Philipp Horn, Philipp Nawrath and David Zobel finished 16th, 22nd and 25th respectively after multiple penalties.

Maren Kirkeeide claims first World Cup victory; Giacomel wins men’s mass start

December 21, 2025 / Eurosport Norway

Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide earned her maiden biathlon World Cup win in the women’s mass start at Le Grand-Bornand after out-sprinting French stars Justine Braisaz‑Bouchet and Lou Jeanmonnot, having closed down leader Camille Bened on the final lap. Later, Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel won the men’s mass start ahead of Eric Perrot, with Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen storming the last loop to take third. The piece also notes strong Norwegian results, Olympic selection timing, and that Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold skipped the race.

Biathlon: Elvira Öberg’s setback — three misses in the first shooting

December 21, 2025 / SVT Sport

Elvira Öberg’s difficult start to the season continued in the women’s mass start at Le Grand-Bornand, where she missed three shots in the opening prone and left the range last, 1:09 behind the leader. Shooting coach Jean‑Marc Chabloz said her group was far right, likely due to body position on the mat, while Öberg, who otherwise felt physically good, lamented the costly start. She finished 19th with five total misses, 1:23 behind winner Maren Kirkeeide.

Biathlon: Samuelsson and Ponsiluoma shoot themselves out of contention in the mass start

December 21, 2025 / SVT Sport

Sebastian Samuelsson and Martin Ponsiluoma were in podium contention midway through the men’s mass start in Le Grand-Bornand, France, but multiple penalties in the latter shootings dropped them out of the medals. Samuelsson finished 9th with three misses, 55 seconds behind winner Tommaso Giacomel, while Ponsiluoma ended 11th with five total misses. SVT expert Mona Brorsson lamented the missed Swedish opportunity, as Jesper Nelin struggled to 27th after five misses.

Biathlon World Cup: ageless Wierer third in France in the pursuit

December 20, 2025 / La Gazzetta dello Sport

Dorothea Wierer finished third in the women’s 10 km pursuit at the IBU World Cup stop in Le Grand-Bornand, behind winner Lou Jeanmonnot and Suvi Minkkinen. Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi was sixth and Rebecca Passler 13th, while the men’s pursuit was won by Norway’s Johan‑Olav Botn with Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel climbing to 15th.

Candid Tandrevold: “I’m really angry with myself” after Annecy pursuit

December 20, 2025 / Eurosport Norway

Norway’s Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold lamented two misses on the final standing stage that dropped her to 24th in the women’s pursuit at Annecy–Le Grand-Bornand. France’s Lou Jeanmonnot won ahead of Suvi Minkkinen and Dorothea Wierer, while Maren Kirkeeide led the Norwegians in 12th. With the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics approaching, NRK commentator Torgeir Bjørn said Norway’s women’s Olympic roster is already taking shape.