Start in Oberhof
German biathlete is kicked out of the World Cup squad
January 9, 2025 – 10:39 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
After the Christmas break, the German biathletes will start the sprint in Oberhof on Thursday. There is a personnel change in the World Cup squad.
At 2:20 p.m. this Thursday, the German biathletes will start the World Cup again after the break over Christmas and New Year. The women’s sprint starts at the home game in Oberhof – there is a personnel change in the squad. The German Ski Association (DSV) announced this on its homepage.
Anna Weidel, who was most recently part of the World Cup team, now had to take a step backwards. She will now compete again in the IBU Cup, while Sophia Schneider will make the World Cup squad for the first time this season.
Sports director Felix Bitterling said of the decision: “Sophia’s strong running performance will be an advantage on the demanding routes in Oberhof. For some athletes, the focus is also on World Cup qualifications – results in the IBU Cup could have an influence on further lineups in January. “
Weidel hasn’t been able to score points recently, especially in terms of running. Although she hit all the targets in her season premiere in Annecy, she only finished 21st and 43rd in the pursuit and sprint. Their weak maturities are therefore likely to have been the decisive factor for their degradation.
Franziska Preuß is still ahead in the overall women’s World Cup rankings and wears the leader’s yellow jersey. Vanessa Voigt is in fifth place. Selina Groatian is also among the best in the overall ranking with tenth place.
She told the DSV before the start in Oberhof: “In the last two weeks I was able to recover really well. The weather and the conditions at home were simply perfect – it really couldn’t have been better. I made the most of this time to prepare for the home World Cup in Oberhof.”
Now the anticipation is “huge”. Also because the home crowd can be a decisive factor for Grotian, as she already knows from last year: “The fans were so loud and rousing that I had the feeling that the ground was shaking beneath me as I ran up the Birxsteig . I’ll never forget that! That’s why I’m even more excited to experience this atmosphere again.”