Biathlon Hochfilzen: Pursuit & Relay Predictions | World Cup 2024

• Biathlon–World Cup 2025/26 – current results
• Schedule in Hochfilzen (Austria) from December 12th. until 14.12.
• World Cup results in the news ticker

After Franziska Preuß’ overall World Cup victory last winter, German fans are hoping for another successful World Cup season. DSV athlete Selina Grotian, who is only 21 years old, also performed well among the women. Meanwhile, the question among men is who will follow in Johannes Thingnes Bö’s footsteps. The Norwegian had dominated the sport for years, but ended his career after the 2024/25 season. His compatriot and reigning overall World Cup winner Sturla Holm Laegreid is eligible. The German biathletes want to be able to achieve top results more often again. They will have their next chance at the World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria from December 12th to 14th, 2025.

Biathlon World Cup 2025/26: Schedule in Hochfilzen (Austria)

This is what the program for the biathlon stars in Hochfilzen looks like:

Biathlon World Cup in the news ticker: All results from Hochfilzen

Fans can find out here who is successful in the competitions in Austria.

+++ December 12th, 2025: Biathlon: Voigt and Weidel get Olympic standard +++

The German biathletes Vanessa Voigt and Anna Weidel cracked the Olympic standard at the start of the second World Cup season in Hochfilzen. In the victory of Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot, Voigt, who shot flawlessly, was the best German in seventh place (+ 37.7 seconds). Weidel also hit all ten targets and was eighth after 7.5 kilometers, 42 seconds behind the winner. Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide came second (1 mistake/+15.3 seconds) ahead of Anna Magnusson from Sweden (0/+16.1 seconds).

The other four Germans also made it into the pursuit on Sunday (2:45 p.m./ARD and Eurosport), although they ended up far back in the field in the sprint. Marlene Fichtner only came 44th despite shooting perfectly, while Janina Hettich-Walz and Julia Tannheimer had to settle for 53rd and 54th place after four penalty loops each. Julia Kink, in 59th place, barely made it into the hunt for the best 60th overall World Cup winner Franziska Preuß and Selina Grotian were missing after corona infections.

Sentenced Simon back

Meanwhile, Frenchwoman Julia Simon, who was convicted of fraud, returned after her ban. However, after a mistake in her first race of the season, the ten-time world champion was 19th, more than a minute behind the leaders. The 29-year-old was sentenced to a three-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 15,000 euros on October 24th because of a credit card affair. The French Ski Association had banned her from competing and training for six months – although five months of that were on probation.

+++ December 12, 2025: Biathlete Horn celebrates the first podium finish of his career +++

Philipp Horn gave the German biathlon team the desired exclamation mark with the first podium finish of his career. The 31-year-old came third in the Hochfilzen sprint and gave the DSV ski hunters their first sense of achievement in the Olympic winter. At the start of the second World Cup weekend in Austria, the Thuringian only had to admit defeat to Tommaso Giacomel from Italy and Eric Perrot from France.

After ten kilometers, Horn was only six seconds behind the winner, and the strong running Horn was only two seconds behind second place and Perrot. The trio remained flawless. Horn was the only one of the German sextet to clear all ten targets. This means that the Thuringian has promising prospects for the pursuit on Saturday (12 p.m./ARD and Eurosport).

+++ December 9th, 2025: Convicted biathlete Simon back in the World Cup after suspension +++

French biathlete Julia Simon, convicted of fraud, returns to the World Cup after her ban. The French Ski Association nominated the ten-time world champion for the races starting on Friday in Hochfilzen, Austria. The 29-year-old will compete in her first races of the Olympic winter from Friday, when the second World Cup begins with the sprint (2.15 p.m./ARD and Eurosport).

The overall World Cup winner of the 2022/2023 season caused a stir with the explosive credit card affair. Simon had confessed to having purchased goods worth around 2,500 euros online using stolen credit card details from her teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (29) and a team physiotherapist. She was then sentenced on October 24th to a three-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 15,000 euros.

Association only blocks Simon briefly

The French Ski Association banned Simon from competing and training for six months – although five months of that were suspended. The ban applied from November 7th, so she only missed the start in Östersund. The association spoke of a “very strict” decision, but even with the fine of 30,000 euros, 15,000 were suspended.

Immediately before the start of the Olympic season, the well-informed magazine “Ski Chrono” spoke of a “tense atmosphere” within the French women’s team. It seems difficult to imagine that Simon can be reintegrated normally. However, the French association also knows about the sporting qualities of the fast shooter, who should win as many medals as possible at the Winter Games.

Simon won four gold medals at the World Championships in Switzerland in the spring and became the most successful athlete. After Olympic silver with the mixed relay in Beijing in 2022, her first Olympic victory is now her big goal.

+++ December 9th, 2025: World Cup start for Preuß and Grotian open +++

It is questionable whether biathlon world champion Franziska Preuß, who is suffering from Corona, and Selina Grotian, who is also ill, will start at the second World Cup of the season in Hochfilzen. The duo is supposed to travel to Pillerseetal in Austria. “However, the final decision will only be made in the next one or two days, as both are known to be ill in Östersund and we cannot currently say 100 percent whether it is enough,” said sports director Felix Bitterling in an association statement.

Overall World Cup winner Preuß (31) unexpectedly weakened at the start of the Olympic winter in the relay (1 penalty loop/11th place) and 29th in the individual. Then she skipped the sprint and with it the pursuer. Grotian (21), who scored two penalties in the relay in central Sweden and couldn’t get past places 30 and 50 in the individual races, then had to cancel the hunting race due to illness.

Vanessa Voigt, Janina Hettich-Walz, Julia Tannheimer, Anna Weidel and Julia Kink, who is replacing Marlene Fichtner in the squad, are now scheduled for the sprint on Friday (2.15 p.m./ARD and Eurosport). Justus Strelow, Philipp Nawrath, Philipp Horn, Danilo Riethmüller and Simon Kaiser will start in the men’s World Cup on Friday with the sprint (11.25 a.m.). David Zobel replaces Lucas Fratzscher after his strong performances in the IBU Cup. The pursuit and relay races are still on the program in the 20217 World Cup venue.

Further information about Winter sports-Season 2025/26 can be found in these articles:

gom/news.de/dpa