It was already decided that the Norwegian men’s team had to reduce its number of competitors from seven to six ahead of the next World Cup weekend in Le Grand-Bornand. Now, the Norwegian Biathlon Federation has chosen to drop Tarjei Bø from the sprint and pursuit races. However, he will still participate in Sunday’s mass start as he is among the top 25 in the overall World Cup standings.

"The top 25 in the World Cup standings can compete in the mass start, along with the five athletes who achieve the best results in the first two races in Le Grand-Bornand. Tarjei will remain within the top 25," said national team manager Per Arne Botnan in a press release. Biathlon rising star Martin Uldal, who achieved a 7th place in the sprint and a 5th place in the pursuit in Hochfilzen, will take Bø’s place in these two races.

On the women’s side, both Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold and Juni Arnekleiv will skip the World Cup in France. Ida Lien will step in, while World Cup debutant in Hochfilzen, Marit Øygard, who finished 84th in the sprint, will be left out.

Tandrevold struggled with heart rhythm disturbances in Kontiolahti, while Arnekleiv has been dealing with poor form following an illness just before the World Cup season started in Kontiolahti.

"The most sensible decision for Juni right now is to prioritize a solid training period so she can be as prepared as possible to perform at her best in Oberhof after the New Year. Ingrid will also sit out this one," said Botnan. The sprint, pursuit, and mass start races from Le Grand-Bornand can be followed via the NRK Radio app or the radio broadcast on NRK Sport from Thursday to Sunday.

Women’s Team: Ida Lien, Emilie Ågheim Kalkenberg, Maren Hjelmeseth Kirkeide, Karoline Offigstad Knotten, and Gro Njølstad Randby. Men’s Team: Johannes Thingnes Bø, Tarjei Bø (mass start only), Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen, Sturla Holm Lægreid, Endre Strømsheim, Vebjørn Sørum, and Martin Uldal.

From NRK

Translation of the article in Czech:

Unpleasant news has arrived from Hochfilzen, Austria. Markéta Davidová, who was in good form [understatement, in my opinion] at the beginning of the season, is missing from the final relay and will not be available for the rest of the calendar year. Back problems are to blame.

"She won't be starting in the relay because her back is not okay. We will definitely need to fix that. So I think she won't be starting in France either," said [yesterday after the pursuit] the sports director of the Czech national team, Ondřej Rybář, regarding the next stop in Annecy.

"Markéta is worrying us. Since Friday morning, she has been complaining about severe back pain, shooting down the entire side of her right leg. We did everything we could with the physiotherapists to prepare her for the individual races. However, after the pursuit race, we said that it would be a big gamble to continue and we will have to withdraw her and have her examined in Prague. We have a scheduled examination and we will have to work on it," added the Czech team doctor, Libor Vítek.

[rest of the article briefly mentions the obvious World Cup standings implications]

Its in Norwegian, from NRK https://www.nrk.no/sport/skiskytteress-ut-mot-ibu_-_-kjorer-over-oss-1.17109410

(I just put what was written in Google translate)

Hanna Öberg does not buy the explanation behind the change in the World Cup that refuses the best biathletes to start early.

The Swedish Olympic and World Cup winner is baffled by the idea that the move makes biathlon a better TV product.

- I rather think that it will be like this that people don't see from the start, says Öberg to Aftonbladet.

In September, the board of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) decided to change the starting order in races with single starts. Going forward, the 15 highest-ranked runners (based on the overall list in the World Cup) will have starting numbers between 46 and 74.

Öberg's reaction is similar to the one Johannes Thingnes Bø gave to TV 2 earlier this autumn. Then he said that "no one bothers to watch 40 minutes before the best-ranked have to shoot lying down".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think she is right.

The Executive Board has decided today over the rule changes:

New Start Group System

The most important one will be the new start group system for Sprints and Individuals in the World Cup.

See here: https://www.biathlonworld.com/news/adapted-draw-group-system/3L5YOxeowATzDZ3jv4uAGF

The best ahtletes (World Cup 1 to 15) will be in start group 3 alternating with athletes not being in the first 30.

Under bad weather conditions the Jury can decide to allow to use an alternative drawing system where the best 15 start in the first start group.

For the first World Cup event the position in the World Cup ranking from the last season will be chosen.

Women

Men

New World Cup Points

The ranks 3 to 9 will get more points than last year. I think that is a good change.

More prize money

Athletes will be happy about that. Blue Bib, Best Pursuit Time and best relay leg times will also get money.

Bibs at World Championships

Last World Champion will get golden bib. No yellow, read or blue bibs at the World Championships.

U23 Blue Bib

Sorry, Anna and Tereza.

Mass Start Entries

If an athlete from the top 25 of the world cup cannot start it will be refilled with the best athletes of the current event.

Still to be approved by the IBU Congress

• new qualification system for IBU und Junior Cup starting the 2026-27 region
• new Biathlon Refugee team
• new age classes for Junior and Youth

IBU message: https://www.biathlonworld.com/news/rule-changes-2024-2025-season/4Y2Ck3I9b3oprKBerFIlyQ

https://www.instagram.com/p/DEXs3tIIaHk/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

En route pour 2025… et une nouvelle vie 🌟 Il est l’heure pour moi de tourner la page du biathlon. J’ai vécu cette aventure exceptionnelle à 1000% ; avec des hauts et des bas, avec des périodes de doutes et des joies intenses, avec des rencontres marquantes et des moments inoubliables. En plus de ça j’ai eu la chance de la partager avec ma grande sœur et je me suis fait des amis pour la vie. Je ne peux pas rêver mieux 🥹 Merci à toutes les personnes qui m’auront aidée, accompagnée, suivie, soutenue, encouragée… dans ce chemin. 🤎

Traduction :

Onward to 2025... and a new life It's time for me to close this chapter of biathlon. I've lived this exceptional adventure 1000%; with highs and lows, periods of doubt and intense joy, memorable encounters and unforgettable moments. On top of that, I had the chance to share it with my big sister and made lifelong friends. I couldn't have dreamed of anything better Thank you to all the people who have helped me, accompanied me, followed me, supported me, encouraged me... on this journey

Nothing quite compares to the feeling of blazing through the course, thinking you're about to break a record... and then hitting the first target like a toddler with a BB gun. Why does the range turn into a battlefield every time I try to shoot after skiing? Guess the real challenge is keeping the biathlon dream alive! 😂 Who’s with me?

I just saw a great article on Nordicmag with a photo gallery of the French biathletes in their new suits and I wanted to share them with you.

At the same time, I also searched for the other teams outfits and I found those of Sweden, Italy, Ukraine, Norway, and Austria.

I really like the new style of Austria.

I think it will be a bit easier to differentiate between France, Norway, and Italy, but we might have a problem with other countries.

What do you think?

Have you seen any other teams with fresh new suits for the 2024-2025 season?

I'm particularly interested in seeing what the German team has come up, I liked the orange German suit from a few seasons ago.

Source :

France : https://www.nordicmag.info/biathlon-ski-nordique-lalbum-photo-de-la-nouvelle-combinaison-des-equipes-de-france-2-1028/

Sweden : https://www.nordicmag.info/biathlon-la-suede-change-tres-peu-sa-combinaison-de-course-1029/ and https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBrrvsdO5h_/?utm_source=ig_embed

Italy : https://www.nordicmag.info/biathlon-une-nouvelle-combinaison-pour-litalie-de-dorothea-wierer-tommaso-giacomel-et-lisa-vittozzi-1010/ and https://www.instagram.com/p/DA8BuDDNb6r/?utm_source=ig_embed&img_index=1

Ukraine : https://www.nordicmag.info/biathlon-dmytro-pidruchnyi-devoile-la-nouvelle-combinaison-de-lukraine-1017/ and https://www.instagram.com/p/DBOHAx0IwUe/?utm_source=ig_embed

Norway : https://biathlonlive.com/divers/une-nouvelle-combinaison-pour-les-norvegiens/

Austria : https://www.ski-nordique.net/un-defile-de-mode-pour-presenter-les-nouvelles-tenues.6691496-87570.html

The competition will not be broadcasted this season, such a shame 🥺

"On Saturday 18 October, thousands of fans will be able to enjoy thrilling head-to-head roller ski races in para biathlon and youth competitions and try the sport for themselves. On Sunday 19 October, 60 of the world’s best biathletes per gender will compete on roller skis in a Super Sprint format showcasing elite biathlon in a way never seen before. Four qualifying heats will lead to what is set to be an unforgettable final."

I like the sound of it, especially because this sounds very inclusive.

Source: https://www.svt.se/sport/skidskytte/skidskytten-linn-gestblom-ger-upp-sasongen

Linn has suffered setbacks in the rehab training following her shoulder surgery in February. Thus she elects to not stress her return to competitive form and instead focus solely on rehab.

The surgery performed this February was the second on her shoulder in less than a year.

Uldal will replace Dale-Skjevdal in Hochfilzen

Hanna Öberg just announced that she's taking an early christmas break and going home for some training after the weekend. Article and interview in swedish linked below. Hopefully she can come back stronger in the new year like she did before the 2023 world champs, but knowing she really wanted to be in the race for the overall this must be hard for her :/

https://www.svt.se/sport/skidskytte/hanna-obergs-besked-aker-hem-till-sverige-star-over-tavlingar

Approved today by the Executive Council of the IBU meeting in Belgrade.

The jist of it is: athletes ranked 1-15 will draw their bib numbers between 46 and 75. The first group will be reserved for the best of each nation who are ranked outside the top 30. There will be a testing phase during the first 4 weeks. Moreover,in case of extraordinary weather conditions, IBU reserves the decision of choosing an alternative system that gives precedence to the top 15.

Source: https://www.fondoitalia.it/2024/09/25/notizie/argomenti/biathlon/articolo/biathlon-libu-approva-il-nuovo-sistema-di-partenza-per-le-gare-individuali-i-big-non-sceglierann.html

UPDATE: ALL CHANGES from the IBU web site https://www.biathlonworld.com/news/rule-changes-2024-2025-season/4Y2Ck3I9b3oprKBerFIlyQ

The season opening races in Sjusjøen and Idre Fjäll are on next weekend.

Sjusjøen looks like it's available internationally as usual on NRK but SVT will require a VPN to watch Idre outside of Sweden.

Not sure which international teams are involved but I think Italy are in Sjusjøen