JT Boe and Sturla Holm Laegreid both have fond memories of Pokljuka and hope to relive their winning feelings and get an edge before the grand finale in Oslo-Holmenkollen. For Franziska Preuss and Lou Jeanmonnot Pokljuka, caries no strong feelings. They a see 36-point gap from different perspectives - Preuss wants to increase it, and Jeanmonnot wants to melt it.

Why both Johannes and Sturla love Pokljuka

During the IBU World Championships Pokljuka 2021, JT Boe wondered aloud whether his style of measured, good biathlon is a thing of the past. He not only failed to win a single individual gold medal. He also seemed shaken by seeing Emilien Jacquelin blasting through the Pursuit, clearing all 20 targets with relentless, almost reckless cadence, and being challenged by Sturla Holm Laegreid, who won a gold medal in the Individual and Mass Start. But he was not dispirited only because of winning less than usual. Johannes missed his great rival Martin Fourcade, who retired the season before, and above all the fans - 2020/2021 was the season with no spectators as lockdowns swept over the normal rhythm of life.

Two seasons later, when traveling, live events, and biathlon fans roared back to life, Johannes had the best biathlon season ever. He won 16 from 19 World Cup competitions (and missed two due to illness) and 7/7 medals at the World Championships Oberhof 2023, including three individual golds. And it was in Pokljuka, where he won the Sprint-Pursuit double with skiing on a level that surprised even him when Johannes - while being cheered by adoring, almost grateful fans who knew they had witnessed something extraordinary - acknowledged that such days are rare. And one needs to imprint them deeply in the memory to recall the feelings when the career is over.

With just five between them JT Boe and Laegreid now see Pokljuka as the place where they have thrived in the past and where they could also get an edge before the World Cup moves to Oslo-Holmenkollen and the grand finale not only of the season but of Johannes’ majestic career. Momentum from Nove Mesto is with Johannes, the Individual-Mass Start programme should favour Sturla. Who will keep the nerves?

Why both Preuss and Jeanmonnot are indifferent to Pokljuka

A gap of 36 points between Franziska Preuss and Lou Jeanmonnot gives both leading women hope before Pokljuka. Neither Preuss nor Jeanmonnot has done anything memorable in Slovenia: no World Cup podiums, no individual medals at the World Championships 2021 (Jeanmonnot was with the French IBU Cup team in 2020/2021). The last time the World Cup visited Pokljuka in the 2022/2023 season, Preuss was sick, and Jeanmonnot was 10th in the Sprint and 13th in the Pursuit. As for their season stats, Preuss’ shooting accuracy is at 91%, Jeanmonnot’s at 90%, and - bar Nove Mesto - they are skiing on a similar level. The Individual competition, with 15 km of solitude, will provide a strong measure of both the athletes' form and their self-confidence and might affect their Mass Start aspirations.

As for the poker of U23 women’s aces, Jeanne Richard, Oceane Michelon, Selina Grotian, and Maren Kirkeeide have never competed in Pokljuka in the World Cup.