Putting the problems with the lungs behind him, Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen returned to the World Cup in grand style. After the finest biathlon week of her life, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold sits atop the women's Total Score standings again. More than 60,000 fans in the Chiemgau Arena celebrated Germany's two relay podiums and got to know 18-year-old Julia Tannheimer from Ulm. Oh, and Emilien Jacquelin found his mojo back.

Vetle goes to Hollywood

Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen - after sitting out the Oberhof week - won in the Sprint and finished second in the Pursuit. Vetle being Vetle, he had a script ready for Hollywood movie-makers. Main actor? Vetle himself!

But it was Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, the fastest skier of the season, who announced his bid for the Total Score title with the win in the Pursuit: he is four points behind Tarjei Boe in second place and 82 points behind the leader, JT Boe.

After a disastrous week in Oberhof, the mercurial Emilien Jacquelin emerged rejuvenated in Ruhpolding with back-to-back fourth place in the Sprint and Pursuit.

On the U25 front, Tommaso Giacomel clinched second place in the Sprint and Campbell Wright a career-best 12th place.

Tandrevold back in yellow, Tannheimer says hello

Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold won the yellow bib back with a win in the Sprint and second place in the Pursuit. After she backed her Sprint triumph with a third place in the Pursuit in Hochfilzen, Tandrevold was in yellow in December.

Lisa Vittozzi won for the fifth time in her career: four of the wins were in Germany. The Italian is now just 60 points behind the yellow bib Tandrevold (and 51 behind the second Justine Braisaz-Bouchet).

Mona Brorsson is on a roll in 2023/2024: she scored a career-best second place in the Sprint!

Still only 18 years old, Julia Tannheimer, who won the Youth Sprint-Pursuit double at the IBU Youth & Junior World Championships 2023 and her first-ever IBU Cup win in the Mass Start 60 in Sjusjoen in December, debuted in the BMW IBU World Cup with a 10/10 shooting performance and 15th place in the Sprint, less than a minute behind the winner Tandrevold.

Riethmueller breaks Norwegian ranks, Guigonnats share joy

At the fifth IBU Cup in 2023/2024 in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Danilo Riethmueller of Germany broke through the Norwegian ranks and won the Mass Start 60. His teammates Philipp Horn (Sprint in Idre Fjall) and Simon Kaiser (Sprint in Sjusjoen) are the only other athletes who got the better of the mighty Norwegians in 2023/2024. Antonin Guigonnat joined the French IBU Cup team and shared a podium in the Mixed Relay with his sister Gilonne. It was the first time ever that Guigonnats competed on the same relay.

Photo: IBU; Jaroslav Svoboda, Harald Deubert, Nordic Focus