Biathlon: incredible scenario in Oslo-Holmenkollen
Who could have predicted this crazy scenario? Early on Sunday afternoon, in the sunshine of Oslo-Holmenkollen (Norway), the women’s mass-start to close the 2024/2025 winter season offered moments of rare intensity. During this race, it was of course the duel between Lou Jeanmonnot and Franziska Preuss that dominated the minds of the thousands of people massed on the Oslo hill.
To find out which of the two biathletes would lift the big crystal globe, the deal was pretty simple: finish ahead of the other. As a result, the mass-start final resembled a real boxing match. The first uppercut came from the German in the first shot. With 5/5, she was effectively ahead of her French rival, who made a mistake on her last ball.
Although Lou Jeanmonnot managed to claw back a few seconds and then hit the perfect shot on the second dismount, like her opponent, she was unable to catch up before the first standing shot. It was only a mistake by Franziska Preuss, combined with a clear round on her part, that allowed her to come back and even overtake the German. However, the Doubt-born biathlete was not able to hold on to her advantage on skis for this last outing of the winter , and the two biathletes embarked on the final mat run of the season together.
And it was also together that the two young women cleared the five targets. So it was on the skis and in a final round of knife-edge competition that the big globe was decided. A fair and even duel that the entire biathlon family had been dreaming of. A dream fulfilled by the two queens of the season. While Elvira Oeberg climbed back up on the duo, it was Lou Jeanmonnot who put a cartridge in the big climb of the course.
A collision on the gong as judge of the peace
The Swede let go, but the German followed on the skis like a sensu. Franziska Preuss, who had recovered physically after some tricky performances in this area over the last few days, then tried to pass her rival on the bend at the entrance to the stadium. But the two stars of the season clashed and Lou Jeanmonnot fell on the inside.
In the process, her hopes of lifting the crystal globe were dashed. The German, on the other hand, was on course for a victory that would give her both the small globe in the speciality and, above all, the big one in the overall classification.
For Franziska Preuss, who becomes the first German woman to triumph at the end of a season since 2017, it is the end of a career quest. Lou Jeanmonnot, for her part, will dry her tears and try to return next winter. And while a protest was once envisaged to challenge this move, the French team ultimately decided not to go down that route.
The result was confirmed with Franziska Preuss (19/20) winning the last race of the winter ahead of Elvira Oeberg (17/20) and Lou Jeanmonnot (19/20). Océane Michelon (17/20), fourth, won the trophy for best U23, while Paula Botet (18/20) was fifth and Paulina Batovska Fialkova (17/20) sixth.
Among the other French girls, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (15/20) is eleventh, Jeanne Richard (15/20) fifteenth, Camille Bened (17/20) sixteenth and Julia Simon (16/20) twentieth.
𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗤𝗨’𝗔𝗨 𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧… 😔
Lou Jeanmonnot gave it his all in this final race of the season, but ultimately had to settle for 3️⃣e place in the Oslo mass start 🇳🇴 after an unfortunate fall… An intense final duel against Franziska Preuss, who narrowly escaped her grasp… pic.twitter.com/cdlB86JwLi– FFS – Fédération Française de Ski (@FedFranceSki) March 23, 2025
Live data from the mass-starts
Full results
The final overall World Cup ranking
- The full programme for the Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup, the ninth and final stage of the 2024/2025 season
- Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup: the full programme for the presentation of the crystal globes
- Corinne Niogret: my best memory of… Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Firsts for Camille Bened and Amandine Mengin, the boys’ sevens: the French team selection for the Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup finals
- “I want to show myself at my best”: how Camille Bened approached her first steps on the World Cup sprint circuit in Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Chloé Bened’s pride after her older sister Camille Bened won the IBU Cup overall and was selected for the World Cup: “She’s our star, our champion, our idol”.
- Amandine Mengin on the eve of her World Cup debut in Oslo-Holmenkollen: “I have no idea why my season has taken such a turn for the worse…”.
- “She’ll remember this season for the rest of her life”: long-time friend and team-mate Maëla Correia talks about Amandine Mengin, who is about to discover the World Cup in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- “Help them to repeat what they have done so far”: what Cyril Burdet expects from Camille Bened and Amandine Mengin at their first World Cup in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- “The small sprint globe is up for grabs”: in addition to the overall podium, Emilien Jacquelin will be going for the crystal in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- Race for the big crystal globe: the sprint in the Oslo-Holmenkollen finals, a decisive stage in Lou Jeanmonnot’s quest
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Johannes Thingnes Boe, king in front of his home crowd, wins the last sprint of his career, Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Emilien Claude in the top 10
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the small globe in the sprint, the fourth of his career
- “I felt my left leg shaking…”. how Emilien Jacquelin explains his cracking standing shot in the Oslo-Holmenkollen sprint
- “I’m still very upset”: Eric Perrot angry at the IBU’s decision not to reverse the sprint start list
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the French men’s team triumphs at the Nations Cup for the first time in its history
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French men’s team with the Nations Cup crystal globe
- “Very satisfied to finish ninth”: in the sprint of the Oslo-Holmenkollen finals, Emilien Claude scored his fourth individual top 10 of the season.
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Franziska Preuss wins the sprint 2 tenths of a second ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot, Julia Simon fifth
- “15 points for 2 tenths is extremely expensive”: despite a full race, Lou Jeanmonnot lost ground to Franziska Preuss in the quest for the big globe
- “I was very relieved when Lou finished his race”: two tenths worth 15 precious points for Franziska Preuss after the sprint in Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: by winning the sprint just ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot, Franziska Preuss takes a 35-point lead overall
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Franziska Preuss secures the small globe in the sprint, becoming the sixth German woman to win it
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Jeanne Richard edges out Océane Michelon in the battle for the best U23 trophy
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: for the third year running and the sixth time, the French women’s team lift the small globe in the Nations Cup
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French women’s team with the Nations Cup crystal globe
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot’s photo album with the crystal globe in the individual race
- “It’s a great feeling to be able to fight for a good place”: Camille Bened, thirteenth in her first World Cup outing at the Oslo-Holmenkollen sprint, is satisfied.
- In the Oslo-Holmenkollen sprint, Amy Baserga, Lena Haecki-Gross and Aita Gasparin achieved a historic result for Switzerland
- “They’re going to have a spectacular race”: the pursuit from Oslo-Holmenkollen, a new duel for the big globe at high altitude between Franziska Preuss and Lou Jeanmonnot
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Sturla Holm Lægreid wins the pursuit ahead of Johannes Thingnes Boe and Quentin Fillon-Maillet
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Sturla Holm Lægreid becomes the seventh Norwegian to win the Crystal Globe
- “I have a lot of respect for him”: Johannes Thingnes Boe pays tribute to Sturla Holm Lægreid, winner of the Crystal Globe for the first time
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the small globe in the pursuit for Sturla Holm Lægreid, as in 2021
- “I waited as late as possible to get through”: how Quentin Fillon-Maillet beat Tommaso Giacomel to the podium in the pursuit at Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Campbell Wright secures the trophy for best U23
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French men’s team with the relay crystal globe
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: eighth victory of the winter for Lou Jeanmonnot, who triumphed in the pursuit ahead of Elvira Oeberg and Lena Haecki-Gross.
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot takes the yellow bib from Franziska Preuss for 5 points before the mass-start to close the winter season
- “I don’t know what happened”: by making three mistakes in the pursuit, Franziska Preuss relinquishes her yellow jersey to Lou Jeanmonnot one race from the end of the season.
- “It’s a dream come true to arrive at the last race with the yellow jersey on your back”: an all-round winning chase in Oslo-Holmenkollen for Lou Jeanmonnot
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot secures the small globe in the pursuit, like Sandrine Bailly and Julia Simon before her
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot’s photo album with the small globe in the pursuit
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: starting with bib 44, Paulina Batovska Fialkova invites herself to the flower ceremony after a huge comeback in the pursuit
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French women’s team with the relay crystal globe
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Jeanne Richard takes a big step towards the trophy for best U23 before the final race
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: on the eve of the Boe brothers’ farewell, Canada’s Emma Lunder and Switzerland’s Elisa Gasparin were celebrated
- “There is frustration, but the feeling of pride is stronger”: fifteenth in the pursuit at Oslo-Holmenkollen, Camille Bened was on the podium in the last standing shot.
- “I wanted to take that chase”… Amandine Mengin tells Nordic Magazine about her first World Cup start at the Oslo-Holmenkollen sprint.
- 5 points ahead of Franziska Preuss before the mass-start of Oslo-Holmenkollen: time for the final battle for the big globe for Lou Jeanmonnot
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot will win his first big crystal globe after the mass-start if…
