After challenging JT Boe twice in Ruhpolding, Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen - the great man and athlete he is - acknowledged the might of his incredibly powerful teammate by handing him the Hulk gloves. And just like that, the now famous green gloves tell the overarching story of 2022/2023: Johannes is competing, but above all skiing, on levels not seen before. But behind him, many great stories are developing and will gain momentum in Antholz-Anterselva.

JT Boe is after 10th and 11th win of the season

Hitting the form of his life on the skis, JT Boe wrangled the wins in the Individual and Mass start from Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen’s hands in Ruhpolding. His count of wins is at 9 (out of 12 competitions so far this winter) before the Antholz-Anterselva week - as it was in his record-breaking 2018/2019 season. Christiansen and Sturla Holm Laegreid will want to stop Boe’s dominance. A glance in the record books shows that JT loves Antholz-Anterselva: he won seven times in South Tirol.

Vittozzi vs Wierer four years later

After her win in the Individual and second place in the Mass start in Ruhpolding, Lisa Vittozzi is third in the BMW IBU Cup Total Score standings. Dorothea Wierer is fourth, 61 points behind Vittozzi. Four years ago, Wierer was the leader, 18 points ahead of Vittozzi in the second place, as their battle - at the end won by Wierer - stretched throughout the season. Wierer won four times in Antholz-Anterselva: she took gold medals in the Pursuit and Individual at the BMW IBU World Championships 2020. She finished first in the Pursuit in 2018/2019 and the Mass start last season, hitting a streak of vigorous form just in time for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Including the wins, Wierer counts eight podiums to her name in her home venue. Vittozzi was third in the Pursuit in 2018/2019, her only podium in Antholz-Anterselva. Vittozzi achieved five Top 3 finishes this season, Wierer three.

After Hofer, Giacomel?

We have not yet seen injuries-plagued Lukas Hofer in action this season but enjoyed the rise of Tommaso Giacomel, who learned a bunch alongside Lukas and Dominik Windisch. Hofer is the last Italian man with a World cup win in Antholz-Anterselva: he was the fastest in the Sprint in 2013/2014. Giacomel is yet to finish on the podium but has shown that he can challenge the best on any given day.

Julia Simon keeps rising to the occasion

With Elvira Oeberg struggling in Ruhpolding - she skipped the Mass start - Julia Simon seized the unexpected opportunity, finished third in the Individual, and won in the Mass start. After nine podiums - three of those were wins - she leads in the Total Score with 756 points (141 points over Oeberg in second). Simon has a win and a second-place finish in Antholz-Anterselva to her name, but Oeberg is yet to finish on the podium in South Tirol.