2006-07 Biathlon World Cup

The 2006−07 Biathlon World Cup (BWC) was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season lasted from 29 November 2006 to 18 March 2007.

This article contains the top ten result listings and concise summary comments for each of the season's twenty-seven individual races and five relays for both genders, arranged by World Cup meet 1 through 9 (denoted WC 1–9), accompanied by the top ten Total Cup rankings after each of the meets plus the 2007 World Championships (held between WC 6 and 7, and in the usual way counted as a World Cup meet towards the accumulated scores).

* For detailed tables of the development of accumulated scores and related rankings in the Total, Individual, Sprint, Pursuit, Mass start, Relay, and Nation Cups, see the subpage /Progression statistics.
* For a list of the Total and Relay World Cup winners and runners-up of all World Cup seasons since 1977-78, see the Biathlon World Cup article.

Pre-season brief on participants

Retired after the previous season:
* Katja Beer (GER), 30, after 10 seasons – 1 WC win, 3 WC podiums, 6th in 2003 WCh Mass Start.
* Uschi Disl (GER), 36, after 16 seasons – 2 Olympic gold medals in relay, 8 Olympic medals (4 relays), 6 WCh gold medals (4 relays), 15 WCh medals (8 relays), 30 WC wins, 74 WC podiums, 3 times 2nd in overall World Cup.
* Liv Grete Poirée (NOR), 32, after 12 seasons – 3 Olympic medals (2 relays), 7 WCh gold medals (1 relay), 11 WCh medals (2 relays), 22 WC wins, 46 WC podiums, overall World Cup winner 2003–04.
* Pavel Rostovtsev (RUS), 35, after 11 seasons – 1 Olympic silver medal in relay, 3 WCh gold medals (1 relay), 9 WCh medals (4 relay), 7 WC wins, 25 WC podiums, 2nd in overall World Cup 2001–02.
* Olena Zubrilova (BLR), 33, after 14 seasons – 3 WCh gold medals, 14 WCh medals (4 relays), 21 WC wins, 49 WC podiums, 2 times 2nd in overall World Cup.

Changing surname due to marriage:
* Nathalie Santer-Bjørndalen (BEL), nee Santer, married Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen in May 2006.
* Linda Grubben (NOR), nee Tjørhom, married former head coach of the Norwegian men's team, Roger Grubben, in August 2006.
* Olga Zaitseva (RUS), after marrying former summer biathlete Milan Augustin (SVK) in September 2006, planned to change her surname to his. [ [http://www.biathlonworld.com/eng/news/page_000171_542.htm Olga Zaitseva – Russian biathlete marries Slovakian] , biathlonworld.com, by Ivor Lehotan, IBU, 17 October 2006]

Changing nation since the previous season:
* Alexei Aidarov changed his citizenship from Belarus to Ukraine; the change was deemed valid for World Cup purposes from January onwards, but not for the World Championships. [ [http://www.biathlon-online.de/content/view/701/89/ Aidarov nun für die Ukraine] de icon, Biathlon-Online, by Petra Adámková, czech-biathlon.com, 15 October 2006]
* Nathalie Santer-Bjørndalen of Italy did not qualify for her country's team this season, but was able to participate for Belgium, the birth country of her mother. [http://www.biathlonworld.com/eng/news/page_000387_601.htm Chatlog: Nathalie Santer-Bjoerndalen] , biathlonworld.com, by Tom Klein (ed.), ZDF digital productions, 4 January 2007]

Passing over this season due to pregnancy: [ [http://www.biathlon-online.de/content/view/830/89/ Von Babys und Schwangeren...] de icon, Biathlon-Online, 4 January 2007]
* Albina Akhatova (RUS), 30
* Kateřina Holubcová (CZE), 30
* Svetlana Ishmouratova (RUS), 34
* Olga Nazarova (BLR), 29
* Olga Zaitseva (RUS), 28

Planning to make this season their last:
* Nathalie Santer-Bjørndalen (BEL) , 34, starting her 16th season – 3 WC wins, 15 WC podiums, 2nd in overall World Cup 1993–94, 4th in 1996 WCh Individual, 6th in 1994 Olympics Sprint.
* Ludwig Gredler (AUT), 39, starting his 17th season – 2 WCh Individual medals, 6 WC wins, 17 WC podiums, 4th in 2002 Olympics Pursuit.
* Ricco Groß (GER), 36, starting his 17th season – 4 Olympic gold medals in relay, 8 Olympic medals (5 relay), 9 WCh gold medals (5 relay), 19 WCh medals (9 relay), 9 WC wins, 52 WC podiums, 2nd in overall World Cup 1997–98. [ [http://www.biathlon-online.de/content/view/860/89/ Hitzer und Groß mit neuem Web-Auftritt] de icon, Biathlon-Online, 11 January 2007]

Scores and leader bibs

* For the seventh successive season, the race victory gives 50 points, a 2nd place gives 46 pts, a 3rd place 43 pts, a 4th place 40 pts, a fifth place 37 pts, a 6th place 34 pts, then further decreasing by two pts down to the 15th place (16 pts), then linearly decreasing by one point down to the 30th place (see the Place/Points table on the page's upper right). Equal placings, i.e. same-time finishes (ties) give an equal number of points.

* The sum of all WC points of the season, minus the score from a predetermined number of events (say, 3) give the biathlete's accumulated WC score (naturally, the races chosen to be eliminated from the total will be those with the lowest scores). Biathletes with an equal number of accumulated points are ranked by number of victories, 2nd places, 3rd places, and so on, in practice reducing the possibility of ties to just about nil.

* In addition to the Total WC score as described above, the points from races in each separate single-biathlete format—Individual, Sprint, Pursuit, and Mass start—accumulate toward separate scores with associated "sub-Cups" to be won. See the main Biathlon article for a detailed description of the race formats.

* In any given race, the biathlete with the highest accumulated Total WC score before the race wears a yellow yel bib number bib. The leader of the specific race format wears a red red bib bib. If the same biathlete leads both the Total and the specific format's World Cup, a combined yellow-and-red yel n red bib bib is worn. In the first races of the season, the winners of the previous season's Cups wear the associated bibs.

* There are also two multi-biathlete Cups to be won, namely the Relay and Nation Cups. The scores of the Relay races are awarded to each nation's team in the same manner as in the single-biathlete Cups. No leader bibs are worn during the Relays. For the Nation Cup, the combined scores of the three best biathletes from each nation in the Individual and Sprint races, as well as the Relay scores, are accumulated. The Nation Cup points scale is different from the World Cup points scale; each place from 1st through 30th scores 100 more points than in the World Cup, and from 31st down to 130th points are awarded on a scale from 100 to 1.

WC meet results with intermediate Top 10 WC standings

WC 1, Östersund, Sweden, 29 Nov–3 Dec

Race results

Yellow and red bib markings for the first races indicate the final standings (overall and of each race format) from the previous season.

WC 2, Hochfilzen, Austria, 8–10 Dec

Race results

WC 3, Osrblie, Slovakia (→Hochfilzen), 13–17 Dec

This WC meet was moved to Hochfilzen due to warm weather and lack of snow in Osrblie. For the same reason, the men's Individual competition was changed to a Sprint, which could be arranged on the smaller 3.3 km loop. Despite the move, all events were arranged by the Osrblie staff.

World Cup leader Ole Einar Bjørndalen did not take part, instead competing in the cross-country skiing World Cup. Also absent was Linda Grubben, who before the WC 3 races ranked no. 2 in the women's World Cup.

Race results

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Relay teams:

Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.

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WC 4, Oberhof, Germany, 3–7 Jan

Race results

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Relay teams:

Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.

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WC 5, Ruhpolding, Germany, 10–14 Jan

Many German biathletes were down with a cold; World Cup leaders Henkel and Greis, as well as last season's Mass start Cup winner Martina Glagow, missed the first two races due to this. Sven Fischer was out with a bruised rib. [ [http://sport.ard.de/sp/wintersport/news200701/10/ruhpolding_staffel_fischer_greis.jhtml Fischer und Greis pausieren] de icon, ARD sport, 10 January 2007]

Race results

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Relay teams:

Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.

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WC 6, Pokljuka, Slovenia, 17–21 Jan

No Asian nations were present at the meet, with the 2007 Asian Winter Games starting in Changchun the following weekend. Overall WC leader after WC 5, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, spent the week at home in South Tirol, practicing for the upcoming World Championships.

Race results

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World Championships 2007, Antholz, Italy, 3–11 Feb

As usual in biathlon, the World Championship races counted in the World Cup; regular scores were awarded and added to the Total and format-wise rankings.

No teams from Asian nations took part during the opening weekend, since they had participated in the Asian Winter Games as recently as the Friday before; the biathletes had to travel the 8000+ km to Italy and then acclimatise themselves before being able to compete in Antholz.

Race results

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(* Linda Grubben's final score, as she retired immediately after the World Championships.)

Relay teams:

Final standings. Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.

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WC 7, Lahti, Finland, 28 Feb–4 Mar

Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Lars Berger of Norway skipped the meet to take part in the Nordic skiing World Championships in Sapporo, Japan. While Bjørndalen only participated in one race, the 15 km Free technique, where he finished 16th, Berger took home two gold medals, one in the 15 km Free and one in the Relay. Andreas Birnbacher, ranked no. 5 in the Total World Cup before WC 7, missed the meet due to illness. [ [http://www.biathlon-online.de/content/view/1051/89/ Weltcup-Infos] de icon, Biathlon-Online, 3 March 2007]

Race results

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(* Linda Grubben's final score, as she retired after the World Championships.)

WC 8, Oslo Holmenkollen, Norway, 8–11 Mar

Race results

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( * Raphaël Poirée's final score, as he retired immediately after this WC meet.)
(** Linda Grubben's final score, as she retired after the World Championships.)

WC 9, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, 15–18 Mar

Race results

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( * Raphaël Poirée retired after WC 8 in Holmenkollen, and did not take part in WC 9 in Khanty-Mansiysk.)
(** Linda Grubben retired after the World Championships in Antholz, and did not take part in WC meets 7, 8, and 9.)

=Post-season brief on participants [http://www.biathlon-online.de/content/view/1099/58/ Time to say goodbye...] de icon, Biathlon-Online, 19 March 2007 (updated 21 March 2007)] [ [http://www.biathlonworld.com/eng/news/page_000055_717.htm Review of the 2006/2007 World Cup Season - Part VIII] , biathlonworld.com, by Tom Klein, Jürgen Palme (eds.), ZDF-digital productions, 26 March 2007] =

First World Cup career victory:
*athl iocc|Magdalena Gwizdoń|POL, 27, in her 9th season — the WC 1 Sprint in Östersund; first podium was 2004-05 WC 2 IN in Holmenkollen
*athl iocc|Helena Jonsson|SWE, 22, in her 2nd season — the WC 9 Mass start in Khanty-Mansyisk; also her first individual podium
*athl iocc|Oksana Khvostenko|UKR, 29, in her 11th season — the WC 6 Mass start in Pokljuka; first podium was 1998-99 WC 8 MS in Holmenkollen
*athl iocc|Irina Malgina|RUS, 33, in her 5th season — the WC 1 Individual in Östersund; also her first individual podium
*athl iocc|Magdalena Neuner|GER, 19 , in her 2nd season — the WC 4 Sprint in Oberhof; also her first individual podium
*athl iocc|Maxim Tchoudov|RUS 24, in his 3rd season — the WC 9 Pursuit in in Khanty-Mansyisk; first podium was 2005-06 WC 3 IN in Brezno-Osrblie
*athl iocc|Ivan Tcherezov|RUS, 26, in his 4th season — the WC 9 Mass start in in Khanty-Mansyisk; first podium was 2004-05 WC 3 MS in Östersund

First podium placement:
*athl iocc|Liv Kjersti Eikeland|NOR, 27, in her 5th season — no. 2 in the WC 1 Individual in Östersund
*athl iocc|Simon Fourcade|FRA, 22, in his 3rd season — no. 2 in the WC 7 Individual in Lahti
*athl iocc|Hans Martin Gjedrem|NOR, 26, in his 2nd season — no. 3 in the WC 7 Sprint in Lahti
*athl iocc|Kathrin Hitzer|GER, 20, in her 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 7 Pursuit in Lahti
*athl iocc|Dmitri Iarochenko|RUS, 30, in his 6th season — no. 2 in the WC 1 Sprint in Östersund
*athl iocc|Zina Kocher|CAN, 23 , in her 4th season — no. 3 in the WC 1 Individual in Östersund
*athl iocc|Tatiana Moiseeva|RUS, 25, in her 2nd season — no. 2 in the WC 6 Sprint in Pokljuka
*athl iocc|Alexander Os|NOR, 27, in his 3rd season — no. 2 in the WC 7 Sprint in Lahti
*athl iocc|Matthias Simmen|SUI, 34, in his 5th season — no. 3 in the WC 2 Sprint; SUI's first podium placement
*athl iocc|Michal Šlesingr|CZE, 24, in his 5th season — no. 2 in the BWCH Sprint in Antholz
*athl iocc|Natalya Sokolova|BLR, 33, in her 6th season — no. 3 in the WC 6 Pursuit in Pokljuka
*athl iocc|Emil Hegle Svendsen|NOR, 21, in his 2nd season — no. 3 in the WC 5 Sprint in Ruhpolding

Retired during the season:
*athl iocc|Linda Grubben|NOR, 27, in her 8th season — her final race was the BWCH Relay in Antholz, where Norway took the bronze [ [http://www.biathlonworld.com/eng/news/page_000171_674.htm Linda Grubben announces Retirement] , biathlonworld.com, by Tom Klein (ed.), ZDF digital productions, 11 February 2007]
*athl iocc|Raphaël Poirée|FRA, 32, in his 11th season — his final race was the WC 8 Mass start in Holmenkollen, where he finished second [ [http://www.biathlonworld.com/eng/news/page_000171_700.htm Adieu Raphael Poiree!] , biathlonworld.com, by Tom Klein (ed.), ZDF digital productions, 11 March 2007]
*athl iocc|Sergei Tchepikov |RUS, 40, in his 20th season — his final race was the WC 6 Sprint in Pokljuka, where he finished 38th

Retired at the end of the season:
*athl iocc|Katrin Apel|GER, 33
*athl iocc|Florence Baverel-Robert|FRA, 32
*athl iocc|Ludwig Gredler|AUT, 39 (*)
*athl iocc|Ricco Groß|GER, 36
*athl iocc|Wilfried Pallhuber|ITA, 39
*athl iocc|Julien Robert|FRA, 32
*athl iocc|Nathalie Santer-Bjørndalen|BEL, 34 (*)

(* As of the end of March 2007, Gredler and Santer-Bjørndalen's final decisions of retirement were still not taken, despite the indications that had been given before the beginning of the season. 36-year-old athl iocc|Sven Fischer|GER told reporters that he might make a retirement decision in April.)

Footnotes and references