There are important decisions for German biathletes in Pokljuka in Slovenia. Franziska Preuß wants to defend the yellow jersey, Selina Grotian chases the blue, and the Nations Cup is about the starting places for the 2026 Olympics.
For persecution world champion Franziska Preuß, the pressure in the penultimate World Cup is the pressure in the struggle for the yellow jersey of the overall world cup. That she is concerned with the situation and therefore “rattled in the rear room“She had granted the races last week in Nove Mesto.
Fight with a “fresh head” for yellow jersey
There, the lead over her worst competitor Lou JeanMonnot was melted after weak appearances in Sprint (15th) and persecution (13th) from 92 to 36 points. The dream of the large crystal ball threatens to burst prematurely for the Upper Bavarian. In her adopted home of Ruhpolding, Preuss is refueling around her 31st birthday on Tuesday (11.03.2025) these days to recharge your batteries to “with a fresh head“To attack again. How important the week is, sports director Felix Bitterling emphasizes, because Prussia”also fights for victory in the mass start-up ranking“.
Prussia is clear: “You fight for every point“In her most successful winter so far, she has already shown the battle spirit in the 16 individual races of the winter. The balance sheet: two victories and ten podium places. Now the currently best German ski hunter has to add more in the end of the season. At the high level Pokljuka (13th to 16th March) and at the end of the World Cup season on the Holmenkollen in the Norwegian Oslo (21st to 23rd March) there are still five decisions in Single.
For Grotian, things were going really well at the shooting range
The individual races are not only important for Prussia. The struggle for the blue jersey of the U25 classification remains exciting, “Because Selina Grotian still has a good chance here. The individual competition and the mass start are particularly relevant because they are crucial for these ratings“, explains Bitterling.
In the Czech Republic, Grotian was the best DSV starter with the ranks five and ten. “For Pokljuka I have not made any major changes, but would like to build exactly where I stopped in Nové Město. At the shooting range, things went really well recently, and I also felt comfortable on the track“, said the 20-year-old.The routes here lie here, so I’m looking forward to the upcoming races and motivated to attack again at the front. “
Nations Cup important for the Olympic quota in starting places
For the DSV, with a view to the starting places for the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Nations Cup, it is also important to cut off in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. “In Pokljuka, the individual races and the two seasons count for this evaluation – the mass start, however, not“, explains Bitterling. “The Nations Cup is very important because the three best nations get an Olympic quota of six starting places at the end of the season. The supervisor quota at the Olympic Games is also related to this placement, which also underlines the importance of the Nations Cup”.
DSV ski hunters are still looking for formula for success
The German men who continue to search for the formula of success are then required. After the disappointing sprint with Justus Strelow as the best DSV ski hunter, Philipp Horn also ran 19 in Nove Mesto’s hunting race – and was the fastest in the team of the new national coach Tobias Reiter.
Philipp Nawrath, 23rd and 27th in the Czech Republic, announced that he wanted to do it much better at the weekend. “My goal is to run back towards top ten – that would be a great success for me. After Nove Mesto I was at home for a short time to invite the batteries, and now I’m ready to attack with full energy in Pokljuka. “